Image Credit : Nicole England
Project Overview
Cinque Ristorante. Run by five siblings, a first foray into hospitality. A neighbourhood venue that transcends patrons to the exquisite dining offerings of Italy, through a holistic journey of flavours, finesse, and thoughtful design cues. Cinque Ristorante tips a respectful cap to the country's rich culture without falling into any cliches
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Michael Hrysomallis
Nathalia Suizu
Ricki Hrysomallis
Project Brief
The client’s brief was to create an 80-seat restaurant that above all champions Italian food. This is reflected in many ways, but is notably introduced via the neon that overlooks the semi-private dining space, glowing the words ‘mangia che te fa bene’. Translating to ‘eating is good for you’, this idiom is recited by countless nonnas and nonnos.
The client sought a complete dining experience marrying great food with a sophisticated environment. Overall, the client requested a space that applauded the sheer joy of good eating in good company; reminiscent of the lunches and dinners shared with family and friends they experienced growing up.
Project Innovation/Need
The dining opportunities in Ringwood North are rather limited. The Pezzimenti family that owns the restaurant knows this all too well, having grown up in the area. As such, Cinque Ristorante aims to bring a memorable dining experience complementing the local area as opposed to polarising itself. The family seeks to engage and give back to the local community through a perfect equilibrium of great food and great design.
Design Challenge
The challenge was to take the existing site and create a restaurant that satisfied the client’s expectations, both functionally and aesthetically.
Cinque Ristorante responds to the client’s brief through smart spatial and visual composition, including an animated bar with a vibrant backdrop, a transparent kitchen showcasing the theatre of cooking to the patrons, and a dining area featuring a variety of seating options.
The main restaurant area offers generously spaced general seating that supports seamless traffic flow, bar seating with fixed stools and a terrazzo countertop – reminiscent of Italy's espresso and pasta bars – and cantilevered banquette seating on a classic Italian chequerboard tile floor.
The pure form of the Roman arch initiated the aesthetic design conversation. It evoked a sense of architectural timelessness; a powerful cultural reference that directly related to the client’s aspiration for the project.
The arch motif provided a signature through the project. The back bar was designed with a series of white arches whose shape is punctuated by concealed lighting and mirrored insets. The kitchen is framed by rendered, textured arches, presenting a window to the chefs stirring up culinary brilliance in the kitchen. The banquette zone is capped with an arched space frame that floats over the diners.
Sustainability
In any case, Hiro Design aims to not demolish any features of existing sites. It’s our belief that unnecessary demolition showcases unconsidered design. As such, this project was built using the existing site’s outline and base structure, inserting restaurant components that live and breathe naturally within the space, avoiding any drastic overhauls.
The building facade was left untouched, including grand windows that allow natural light to flow in. This meant minimal lighting was implemented through the interior, and any lighting set up was installed with dimmer and sensor controls to maintain low usage.
Finishes, fixtures and flooring were all consciously sourced from companies with exceptional sustainability practices. Porcelain floor tiles were used instead of natural stone, engineered timber floorboards as opposed to natural, vinyl banquettes instead of leather. The final palette of colour, tone, texture, contrast and reflection was interwoven into the story to achieve a stimulated dining experience, without leaving a major environmental impact.
Interior Design - Hospitality - Casual
This award celebrates innovative and creative building interiors where people eat and drink - this includes bars, restaurants, cafes and clubs. Judging consideration is given to space creation and planning, furnishings, finishes, aesthetic presentation and functionality. Consideration also given to space allocation, traffic flow, building services, lighting, fixtures, flooring, colours, furnishings and surface finishes.
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