An inconspicuous warehouse on Victoria Street, Brunswick will soon house the new (and first!) Co-Conspirators brew pub. Home to many previous industrial uses, the space will take on a new life as a brewery and bar, serving beer brewed in-house, directly to you.

As you enter the space, the bar announces itself with a blast of Co-Conspirators Red, a beacon created through a mixture of surfaces and materials drawing you directly to where you can get yourself a fresh pint. Taking advantage of the height and proportions of the existing building, our goal was to maintain as much of the original space as we could. By leaving the brick walls exposed and the steel structure unchanged in this long rectangular space, we were able to use the rhythm of the existing columns* to define individual spaces.

A large central ‘Street’ separates the brew pub into seating on one side, and services on the other. Street posts frame this walkway, supporting elevated mezzanines and creating seating alcoves throughout. Each seating area is signposted graphically — referencing the bright neon-lit alleyways in Tokyo — and inspired by the colour tones and characteristics of some of the vibrant Co-Conspirators personalities. From The Matriarch’s pearls to The Butcher’s knife, remnants of Co-Conspirators’ most iconic characters are hidden throughout.

What isn’t hidden is the brewery itself, sitting at the heart of the space. Integral to the functioning of the whole operation, it showcases the process in all its’ glory. Bound only by a low height wall, patrons are invited to sit next to the brewery, to peer inside to see the process and feel like they are behind the scenes, or back-of-house.

The design elements embrace a feeling of purposeful unfinished-ness: the project is intended to grow and change over time and this feeling was adopted in the design language through the use of exposed stud walls which celebrate the new timber structure.

References to the conspiratorial nature of the brand are scattered throughout the brew pub, from the retro 70’s office style bathrooms to a hidden outdoor space and a few inverted messages. The space takes on the multiple personalities of the team and the characters they created, giving the patron more to discover with every visit.

And for those in the know…if you know, you know.