Bar Urbane Launceston

Recently easycraft came across some impressive images featuring easycraft COVE 50 by Tasmanian design and building firm, Prime Design. So impressive, that we reached out to the incredibly talented team at Prime Design to ask them about who they are, the work they do, and specifically about the Bar Urbane project that started us down this path to begin with.

Established in 2004 by Director Frank Geskus, Prime Design core ethos is to deliver exceptional service to their clients while expertly solving building problems. Offering a level of quality that is still unmatched by the rest of the industry today, Prime Design has grown from a single-operator business to a 20-staff, two-location company that is engaged in designing projects all over Australia.

Prime Design focuses on a collaborative approach between the design team, sub consultants, local councils, builders and clients. Their work includes simple home extensions to multi-unit developments and commercial projects including schools, hotels and retail outlets.  

When Bar Urbane first reached out to Prime Design the brief was to introduce a unique, exclusive, and sophisticated establishment to Launceston. Prime Design got to work and drew inspiration from bars all over the world, however, the key term for their main inspiration was “speakeasy”. 

These speakeasy bars emerged during the Prohibition Era (1920-1933) in America as clandestine establishments. These covert nightclub scenes exuded a moody jazz ambiance, where patrons were instructed to converse in hushed tones to evade detection by authorities. The era birthed a distinct and glamorous Art Deco interior style within these venues, paving the way for numerous design elements that were perfectly suited to the sophistication, elegance, and exclusivity that the owners of Bar Urbane were after.

All the joinery throughout Bar Urbane is from polytec, so when it came to matching the polytec Thermolaminated Cove 25 in Botanic Smooth bar panels, easycraft’s Silhouette Cove 50 profile was the perfect choice.

“The idea for using the easycraft Silhouette Cove 50 panels was to introduce a product that was more economical than installing full height joinery. The wall also contains openings which made cutting around the panels easier. It was a simple exercise to colour match a paint to polytec’s dark green Botanic” says Tahleah Hoyle from Prime Design.

“Easycraft Silhouette Cove 50 profile complimented the vertical lines created by the mirror tiles in the bulkhead and the batten detailing on the joinery end panels of the booth seating areas. It also features curves and a softness, which are incorporated into many other design elements within the space”. 

The easycraft team loved this project and found inspiration in the growing presence of the Silhouette range in commercial spaces. The Bar Urbane project highlights the seamless integration of easycraft with a high end, quality products like polytec, resulting in a cohesive and bespoke space that is unique and one of a kind, not only to Tasmania but to Australia.

The biggest plus to using easycraft panels in a commercial application is that they are tough, in fact they are 300% tougher than plasterboard and can withstand the rigors that heavy traffic in commercial spaces demands. 

To find out more about easycraft and the profiles available visit our website or for more inspiration visit our projects page. Visit our Stockist page to find a supplier near you. 

Photographer: Aaron Jones Photography | Joiner: Kitchen Boss | Builder: Jay Jay Building and Renovations

Words: Carley Eldridge