Powder Laundry in Melbourne’s Brunswick East by Studio Tate.

Laundromats are mysterious places full of opportunities for chance encounters and awkward moments, staring at your clothes swirling round in the machine. Powder pulls the laundromat concept into the 21st century, while recalling the retro feel of this staple of community life. Rolled out over multiple Melbourne locations, this design by Studio Tate has been envisaged as a kit of parts, with human-focused modules that can be inserted into each new space, while keeping the distinctive identity of the Powder brand.

A soft pink palette recalls the stray red sock that makes it into your load of white sheets. Flooring merges from pink terrazzo to durable grey rubber benches. Bar stool seating is provided, positioned just close enough to ‘accidentally’ bump into your neighbour. Power outlets and USB chargers fitted into the joinery mean that you can distract yourself with work or catch up on emails. The circular porthole of the washing machine becomes a recurring motif, with joinery created from overlaying multiple circles, and material selections such as white perforated metal backed with a soft pink. The tactile sensibilities of this manual task have been exploited using a variety of textures including studded rubber for countertops.

See more project’s by Studio Tate on Yelowtrace.

[Images courtesy of Studio Tate. Photography by Tessa Ross-Phelan.]