Lemon Middle & Orange
A new Cafe has joined the creative ecosystem at 25 Rokeby St. Lemon, Middle and Orange Cafe is named for the pigments offered by the former paint factory at this site. With design by Wardle and upholstery by Spacecraft Studios next door, the cafe is a collaborative affair.
With custom joinery of Victorian ash, and upturned paint-tins harking back to the site's history, the cafe offers a quiet refuge in the industrial side of Collingwood. The cafe has an inventive menu, mixing Irish classics with more typical brunch fare.
- Traditional Custodians of the land Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people
- Location Collingwood, Melbourne
- Floor Area 145 sqm
The cafe occupies the long sliver of space in what appears to have originally been a laneway space adjacent the three storey building.
This new space is narrow and long, and the design accentuates its industrial heritage.
With a limited use of materials - timber, stainless steel and glazing and a neutral palette, the cafe is easy on the eye but interesting to look at. All the internal walls are bare masonry. Likewise the floors are polished concrete and the ceiling is exposed.
25 Rokeby Street is the home of the Wardle Melbourne studio. Also housed in the complex is a print workshop, Spacecraft and an independent gallery and artist-in-residence spaces, BUS Projects. The intention has been to curate a mixing of complementary creative types to create a hub of activity, and to encourage intermixing.
The rawness of the industrial shell is softened by custom designed timber elements, including a long banquette seat, light fittings and benches.
Stools made from paint tins make reference to the history of the building as a paint manufacturer, Goodlass Wall.
