The Bower Cafe

  • Prize
    Winner in Interior Design Australia Pacific
  • University
    Sydney Design School
  • Lead Designer
    Andrew Clements
  • Photo Credit
    Andrew Clements
  • Location
    Manly - NSW, Australia
  • Project Date
    Student Work

Situated along the Manly to Shelly Beach coastal walk, the Bower Cafe acts as both a destination and a pit stop. Wanting to steer away from a standard coastal aesthetic, the cafe interprets two meanings of the word 'bower'.
1. The Bowerbirds nest - a rugged yet ornate strucutre fastidiously decorated internally with blue and lusterous objects.
2. A colloquial term for a women's quarters. Research into Manly's history found that famous silent film actress Sylvia Breamer once lived along the eastern esplanade in the 1910's.
The space is a play with duality marrying ornate and soft layering with the robust and hardy. A second doorway was created to not only divide take-away customers from traversing the dine-in space but also to provide protection to those inside on windy and stormy days.