Move-in Showroom in Melbourne by Elenberg Fraser.

Given that we are hosting an unofficial “brick week” here on Yellowtrace, I though it would be quite fitting to wrap up with a project that takes the lil ol’ brick to a whole new level. Please make a warm welcome (back) to the supremely talented Melbourne architecture studio Elenberg Fraser. In designing the Move-in showroom in Melbourne, Elenberg Fraser worked that brick and made it their bitch, and I mean that in the nicest possible way of course.

“The design of the new Move-in showroom comes from the idea of the brick and the medium of the wall, in particular the point where the wall fails and becomes the ‘unwall’. This material-based investigation was inspired by the work of James Wines, the founder of SITE Architecture who brought the literal into the most prosaic architectural forms. The ‘unwall’ is not only not a wall, but it’s mortarless, or dry-jointed – intriguing, we know!”

The showroom was both designed and built by a team of young graduate architects who worked on the project from concept through to post-construction.

Zahava Elenberg set-out the conceptual brief, and the team went on to design the ‘unwall’. The process hit a wall (boom boom) when the team were faced with the challenge of communicating the construction advice to the builder, at which point the architects decided to take matters in their own hands. Elenberg Fraser hosted a five-day intensive construction workshop where the team built the wall themselves.

“The Move-in showroom design and construction demonstrates our studio’s role as an incubator for young architects, and we’re looking forward to the next opportunity to get our hands dirty.”

And so there you have it. This project is yet another example that demonstrates the power of a single idea – in this case a humble brick. When executed with commitment, even the smallest of elements can transform a humble commercial space into a real cinematic experience. Superb work!

Work Pod Details.

‘Unwall’ Elevations.

Showroom Floorplan.

[Images and drawings courtesy of Elenberg Fraser. Photography by Peter Clarke.]