The 2013 Eat-Drink-Design Awards were announced at a cocktail party on 12 November 2013 at Melbourne’s Howler, where designers, architects and their clients gathered to celebrate Australasia’s best in hospitality design. From a shortlist of eighty-one projects, seven projects were awarded best design in their categories, and twenty-two highly commended. Inducted into the Hall of Fame – an award given each year to an establishment of enduring cultural and design value – was Melbourne’s Cafe Di Stasio. From 21 November, view video highlights and party pics from the night.

The calibre of entries and winners is testament to a maturing profession and the global influences that shape our memorable eating and drinking spaces. “Perhaps the tough economic times of the past few years have had a ‘tortured vine’ effect, honing and focusing new endeavours to intensify what they do and how well they do it,” noted the 2013 jury in its awards report in Artichoke 45. Below is the full list of winners and highly commended projects.

Hall of Fame

Cafe Di Stasio by Allan Powell Architects was inducted into the Eat-Drink-Design Awards Hall of Fame by the jury, who commented: “Beyond being a staple in the Melbourne hospitality scene for twenty-five years, Cafe Di Stasio has been pivotal in transforming the gastronomic tone and amenity of its St Kilda environs, and more than any other restaurant in Australia has married the realms of food, culture and design. It was established in 1988 by charismatic owner/operator Rinaldo (Ronnie) Di Stasio, and designed by architect Allan Powell. With its ethos of high-quality food and service and an informal, restrained setting, it captured the indulgence of the late 1980s , and challenged the stuffiness of prestige dining to quickly became a Melbourne institution in its own right.” In recent years, Cafe Di Stasio has managed to contemporized without compromising its values: “Like the menu grounded in traditional, seasonally responsive Italian food, every design element speaks of finessed material handling, longevity and teasing tensions between classical and vernacular Italianate influences.”     

2013 Awards

Best Bar Design (joint winners) – Hihou by Denton Corker Marshall and Prahran Hotel by Techne Architects
Best Restaurant Design – Farmhouse by Nicholas Gurney
Best Cafe Design – Top Paddock Cafe by Six Degrees Architects with Nathan Toleman Design & Construction
Best Temporary Design – Kitchen by Mike on Wheels by Koskela
Best Retail Design – Spring Street Grocer by KGA Architecture
Best Identity Design – Bar Di Stasio by Collegamento – David Pidgeon, Robert Simeoni & Callum Morton

High Commendations

Best Bar Design
Best Restaurant Design
Best Cafe Design
Best Retail Design
Best Identity Design

On the 2013 awards jury were: Christine Manfield (chef and restaurateur), John Birmingham (author and food writer), Domenic Alvaro (architect), Rachel Hurst (design writer) and Cameron Bruhn (Architecture Media). The 2013 Eat-Drink-Design Awards are presented by Architecture Media and AGM Publishing, with thanks to the principal partner Tanqueray; major partners The Salvage Company, Space, Planned Cover; and supporting partners Crittenden Estate, Taubmans and The Hatton, for their valued association.

Awarded and highly commended projects are all featured in Artichoke 45 along with a full jury overview. View all the entries and winners in the 2013 Eat-Drink-Design Awards online here.