This project on Wellington Street, we’re proud to say, brings together some of our favourite friends across the design industry. , with co-working spaces across Sydney and Melbourne, is partner of the soon-to-launch Indesign podcast, Stories Indesign. Meanwhile, , founder of the eponymous and highly esteemed studio, is set to be Guest Editor of an upcoming Habitus magazine.
Commons Coffee features – you guessed it – an on-site cafe, as well as a reading room at the Wellington Street location in Collingwood. This hybrid co-working space and community cafe has been designed to combine forward-thinking design with warmth and approachability. The upstairs co-working area was also designed by Flack Studio, with the theme of hybridity serving to blend work and social spaces throughout.
Flack explains how he wanted to create “a hive of activity away from above” while capturing the essence of Melbourne’s cafe culture. The project is defined by its book-lined shelves, cozy nooks and a striking U-shaped counter inspired by a classic Italian espresso bar.
“Knowledge is wealth,” says Flack. “It’s the most beautiful thing you could offer someone, isn’t it?” The sentiment finds material expression in the cafe’s unique design centrepiece – a warm, tactile space lined with books meant for sharing ideas.
The Wellington Street site merges hospitality, work and community design in the signature style and approach of The Commons. “The area was lacking hospitality experience,” notes founder, Cliff Ho. “We saw the space downstairs and took on the challenge to turn it into a really beautiful cafe, a place that’s not just for The Commons members but really for everyone in the precinct and local neighbourhood.”
Ho describes the importance of working with talented, local designers: “David Flack is a visionary, and we were chatting about what could be done differently with the space – so we decided to make a reading room that’s open to the public, free for everyone to come in.” The reading room then became a highly curated aspect of the design with input from Perimeter Books in Melbourne.
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“People come into the workspace and they want to connect, to have great community. Four walls and an office just isn’t going to do that,” adds Ho. “It just goes to show that if you work with great architects… really, we didn’t do anything!”
Flack Studio continuing the work at Wellington Street means that a coherent, consistent execution of what is a distinctive aesthetic has been achieved. Solid oak shelving and accents of rich kalamata burgundy complement the existing heritage architecture. Thoughtful planning then allows for big communal tables, with laptop connections, to sit alongside quieter nooks for meetings or focused work.
“It’s important that we brought something that is available for everyone in Collingwood. It’s a place where locals can come in and connect, and it’s a place they can call home,” says Ho.
Flack Studio
The Commons
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