Designed by Wall Architects, Top Tea in Clayton, Melbourne, has won Best Café Design at the Eat Drink Design Awards 2024.
The Eat Drink Design Awards, now in its 14th year, celebrate exemplary work in hospitality design across Australia.
Inspired by the taste of the café’s beverages, Top Tea’s design echoes the ‘Tetris effect’ – a phenomenon through which a prolonged and repeated action alters one’s perception. Wall Architects has translated this sensation into a multifaceted architectural and interior experience.
This approach is said to “reimagine the tea shop as a dynamic, modular space”, creating a “memorable and immersive environment for patrons”.
According to the jury citation, Top Tea stood out for its “adventurous spirit and experimental approach, creating a café experience that is both striking and refreshingly unique”.
Moreover, the jury said the creative use of a Tetris-inspired extruded grid throughout the project enhances the space’s visual appeal beyond traditional graphic applications.
“The design’s boldness is exemplified by its striking material palette and the unconventional placement of stainless-steel tactile studs on the wall, adding a touch of whimsy and surprise,” said the jury.
Meanwhile, commendation for Best Café Design was awarded to Papesch Architecture for Blak Cede Gunyah in Nowra, New South Wales – a reclaimed Aboriginal space – and Five Foot One Design for FLOUR Coffee & Doughroom – a combined bakery and café – in Caringbah South, New South Wales.
The Eat Drink Design Awards are presented by Architecture Media, a publisher for the architecture and design communities. The winners were awarded by a jury of industry leaders from the hospitality, journalism, and design sectors.
For a full gallery of the winners and to explore the creativity behind Australia’s best new cafés, visit the Eat Drink Design Awards website.
