Good Vibes Only: Hope Street Radio by Peter Frederick Cole.

Hope Street Radio—a beloved online broadcasting platform that has made its appearances in various events and unique venues—has finally put down its roots within Melbourne’s creative community. Under the curious eyes of architect Peter Frederick Cole, the newly established permanent space changes the impression of your regular music lounge. A colour palette filled with nourishing browns and playing with the existing structures for a childlike-charm changes the scene of music and food appreciation.

Appropriately located in the refurbished Collingwood Yards, the new station resides on the ground floor of the existing masonry building situated on the south of the site. The brief from the clients requested the programs to gently overlap the atmosphere for the radio station, restaurant, and bar together.

Related: Prince Public Bar and Little Prince Wine by IF Architecture.

Internally, Hope Street Radio is divided into rectangular thirds—the kitchen, bar and reception towards the Eastern wall, dining in the centre and the DJ/ Radio station towards the west and closest to the entrance façade that can be seen from the heart of Collingwood Yards.

Each section is subtly partitioned by the custom joinery’s strong statement composed of dark vertical thin timber strips and thin blue decorative lattice framework hosted on the banquet seating in the centre.

Added to the joinery includes retro school chairs (paying homage to the history of the building once known as the Collingwood Technical School Campus) and the blue edge stripping found on the custom resin benchtops—the space shouts retro in all the right places.

Related: No 92 Wine Bar in Sydney’s Glebe by Pattern Studio.

The walls and ceilings of the radio station are refreshed in white, providing a canvas for Cole and local Melbourne artist Alice McIntosh to envelop the space with a bespoke mural for a whimsical feel. Meanwhile, the floor is repaved in a light timber, offering a sharp contrast to the joinery selection. Existing floor to ceiling windows, clear at the bottom two thirds and a syrup yellow at the top, are kept to allow antique sunlight glow to unify the space.

With live entertainment and good company throughout the day presented in an embracing manner, Hope Street Radio is bound to bustle with different rigour and vibe.

An open space that invites different communities—as Duke Orsino’s famously said—“If music be the food of love, play on!”

Related: IN BED’s First Melbourne Store by Flack Studio.

[Images courtesy of Peter Frederick Cole. Photography by Tom Ross.]