Built in an old library, the passage of time has given this weatherboard building patina and permanence, and a sense of place in the community.In Torquay, the beating heart of Victoria’s famed surf-coast, a new restaurant has been carefully designed to welcome locals and travellers alike. Lovingly shaped and designed by architects Jacobsen Love, the result hints at warm, lazy afternoons, sandy beaches and the middle eastern cuisine on the menu. The Kyn is here to encourage long lunches and dinners in the glow of a setting sun, perhaps in hope of a large swell in the morning.
Authenticity plays a large part in making a restaurant like this work and what’s more authentically coastal than a weatherboard building – to fake it would be contrived, but as it stood, the former Kyndarlin library offered the perfect opportunity to bring a piece of the Torquay back to life. The Kyn has seen many things, even surfing world champion Mark “Occy” Occhilupo called it home for a time. It’s in these stories that Jacobsen Love worked to create a space that both welcomed and transported patrons.
“Hospitality projects offer you an opportunity to use a heightened application of colour, texture and form into a space,” Tanya Love tells Laminex.
In a word, The Kyn is warm. Imagine shadows over sand dunes in the late afternoon and the intricate layers of Middle Eastern design, the interior is any number of dusty pinks and clays, terracotta, rose, peach and rust, coral, tan and ochre, tawny orange, with multiple warm timbers – from the floor to the seating to the ceiling. The exacting work of local trades has been gently blended with hand finished elements and the natural qualities of wood and stone.
“The client had a very open brief - a place to be enjoyed,” says Love, “to offer the town a welcoming, warm, fun dining experience.”
Clad in dusty pink tiles and surrounded by woven rattan chairs, the community banquet table continues the multi-layered approach of textural elements, helping to convey a sense of time and depth, to honour its place in the local story and let it slowly claim its place in the future.
Materials of substance abound, stone and ceramics nod to the Middle Eastern menu, while the timber boards and slatted ceiling suggest old station wagons with long boards on their roofs. Amongst the plethora of materials and textures, Surround by Laminex is used to wrap the entirety of the space in gentle scalloped columns.
“We selected Surround by Laminex contemporary scallop panels to complement the weatherboard building construction as an alternative to flat plasterboard throughout the space,” says Love on her choice to use the Scallop 45 design, “and the accessibility of these fit-out materials gave the project abundant texture and depth whilst achieving the commercial timeframe.”
Impact resistant, Surround by Laminex panels is the perfect choice for a busy restaurant, but the same could be said for hallways, living and game rooms. The pre-primed panels allow for any colour that suits or for the perfect application of Jacobsen Love’s desert sand palette, “plus they’re light weight, easily installed and suitable for timber construction,” adds Love. Seamlessly integrated, Surround by Laminex are available in various sizes and designs to cater to heritage, contemporary and modern interpretations, and always appear continuous and uniform. For The Kyn, Jacobsen Love used Surround by Laminex extensively to add depth and another layer in their ode to coastal dining, yet in doing so haven’t sacrifced durability, longevity, or their vision.
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