Manly Wharf Bar   Tropic Restaurant
Anson Smart
Product Spec Sheet

ElementBrandProduct Name
ChairsJames Richardson
Chair 811
Customised BarstoolsReddie
Milton Stool
Custom Lighting The Lighting Guild
Snoot in a Can
ManufacturersAtmosphera
Custom Bar Stools BCI Furniture
Shelving/Joinery Finch Projects

Product Spec Sheet
Chairs
Chair 811 by James Richardson
Customised Barstools
Milton Stool by Reddie
Custom Lighting
Snoot in a Can by The Lighting Guild
Manufacturers
Custom Bar Stools
Shelving/Joinery

Manly Wharf Bar + Tropic Restaurant

Alexander & CO. as Architects

Manly Wharf Bar (MWB) is the reimagining of the eponymous venue which has held the Eastern corner of the jetty for the past 15 years. Developing upon the old sports bar and bistro, the project has reimagined the project brand and feel, replanned the bar and kitchen experiences and relaunched anew.

photo_credit Anson Smart
Anson Smart

Inspired by its sister venue The Burleigh Pavilion on the Gold Coast in Queensland, MWB has decluttered the old iconic Manly tenancy in an effort to de-theme the wharf at large and its many tenancies which have ever more become a themed pastiche. It is a renovation and brand re-positioning of the old Manly Wharf Bar and Bistro within its same tenancy envelope, however includes new doors and windows and exterior finishes and signage.

photo_credit Anson Smart
Anson Smart

The project spans from the Eastern Sports bar to the Southern Tropic Restaurant with private dining room and orientates around the central bars and open kitchen with pizza oven.

photo_credit Anson Smart
Anson Smart

MWB is then a worn back, worn away, and reclaimed coastal rumpus room, the venue feels part urban loft story, part sexy surfer. A mid century warehouse above water, an integration of the Manly CBD with the slightest touch of residential DNA. Danish furniture classics with bent chrome, rattan and timber play off against custom timber tabletops resting atop pink rammed earth table bases. The private dining room loft feels part apartment, part private dining room and features a peach coloured Laminex kitchenette. 

photo_credit Anson Smart
Anson Smart

The restaurant and bar feature exposed and painted brickwork, glass blocks and textured render, open breeze block with a central glowing cork and brass bar.  The venue has a freshness, an easy sandy-feet sense, with enough detail and material specialness to ensure the experience avoids ambivalence. It touches upon the mid century (a theme of interest for owner Ben May) whilst avoiding decorative in lieu of a more architectural slant.

photo_credit Anson Smart
Anson Smart

Broken moments of terrazzo, galvanised steel tables and communal benches made from masonry waste, the venue is curious and unexpected, and finds its timelessness in the grain of the many imperfections from its handmade materiality. 

photo_credit Anson Smart
Anson Smart

Like all our projects, less is more. The purposeful decluttering of the tenancy fit out is both an aim to return more experience for less work, but as much to reduce or remove the churn of fit out work and position the business for its next 20 years with only the necessary new furniture and paint required to get it there.

photo_credit Anson Smart
Anson Smart

Reduction is the corner stone theme of our sustainable pillar, but the venue goes on to re-use various harvested masonry elements for its wall material, and reconstitutes masonry waste into bricks, table lakes and bench surfaces.

photo_credit Anson Smart
Anson Smart

Team:

Architects: Alexander & CO.

Photographers: Anson Smart Australia 

photo_credit Anson Smart
Anson Smart

Materials Used:

Barstools - Customised Milton Stools (upholstered leather seat in 296 light and powder coated legs in light ivory) by Reddie.
Coloured glassware from Saarde Home
Ceramic bowl and plates from Specified Store
Spot lights - Aged Brass custom spotlights on ceiling made by The Lighting Guild
Ceramic bowl and plates Specified Store
Coloured glassware Saarde Home
Grey bowls Montmartre Store
Sculpture and white vessel both from Curatorial and Co
Grey vessel from Tigmi Trading
Large brown vessel from The Dea Store
Terrazzo Flooring - Stone Factory - John (Offcut Marble slabs)● Marble bowl by Greg Natale
Sculpture from Curatorial and Co
White ceramic vessels by Walter Auer
Linens from Polite Society
Coloured glassware Saarde Home
Green plates The Dea Store
Table lamp - custom made polished aluminum lamp by The Lighting Guild
Marble bowl by Greg Natale
Grey vessel and white glassware from Tigmi Trading

Project Spotlight
Product Spotlight
News
University of Strasbourg opens a new planetarium clad in burnt wood
3 Oct 2023 News
University of Strasbourg opens a new planetarium clad in burnt wood

A new planetarium has opened its doors in the heart of the University of Strasbourg. The “Plan... More

The Flexform Perry Sofa system features sophisticated tailoring and unique modularity
3 Oct 2023 Sponsored Articles
The Flexform Perry Sofa system features sophisticated tailoring and unique modularity

Flexform has been collaborating with Milan-based architect and designer Antonio Citterio for more th... More

New OMA skyscraper transforms the skyline of Bangladesh’s capital city
2 Oct 2023 News
New OMA skyscraper transforms the skyline of Bangladesh’s capital city

Bangladesh is the second-largest economy in South Asia and one of the fastest in the world. In the w... More

Sustainable prefab house journeys from Quito to the Galápagos Islands
2 Oct 2023 News
Sustainable prefab house journeys from Quito to the Galápagos Islands

“Sula” is a prefabricated home designed by architect Diana Salvador for a family living... More

YCON Amsterdam presents a dynamic frontage concept designed from the outside in
1 Oct 2023 News
YCON Amsterdam presents a dynamic frontage concept designed from the outside in

In Amsterdam Buiksloterham, YCON is a small-scale residential building featuring a frontage of outdo... More

Latypi Residence emerges as a modern interpretation of Mykonian landscape and craftsmanship
30 Sep 2023 News
Latypi Residence emerges as a modern interpretation of Mykonian landscape and craftsmanship

In the heart of Choulakia, Mykonos, where the landscape gently slopes towards the southern horizon,... More

Children's Forest by Takashige Yamashita Office paints a living canvas of nature and architecture
30 Sep 2023 News
Children's Forest by Takashige Yamashita Office paints a living canvas of nature and architecture

Nestled on a serene, forested hillside near Mount Fuji, the Children’s Forest, designed by Tak... More

The U.S. Consulate in Hyderabad weaves history and culture with concrete and brass jali screens
30 Sep 2023 News
The U.S. Consulate in Hyderabad weaves history and culture with concrete and brass jali screens

In the heart of Hyderabad, India, Richärd Kennedy Architects along with HGA, designed the new U... More