Studio Ongarato take out best ceiling design award for Jackalope Hotel restaurant

Melbourne's Studio Ongarato has been awarded Best Ceiling Design for Jackalope Hotel’s Doot Doot Doot at Restaurant and Bar Design Awards in London.

Creative director Fabio Ongarato said it's a tremendous honour.

“The ceiling design forms a central component in the immersive experience and thematic narrative at Jackalope.

"To have the studio’s work on Doot Doot Doot recognised by the design community internationally is a tremendous honour.”

The Prahran-based design studio were engaged to establish the Jackalope in Merricks North on the Mornington Peninsula by hotelier Louis Li.

He wanted a strong thematic framework – a vision realised through an immersive journey of dramatic statements and intimate shared experiences.

Studio Ongarato engaged Australian lighting manufacturer, Jan Flook, to bring the ceiling concept to life, in line with the narrative journey through the site and the conceptual approach to dining.

In addition to winning the ceiling category, the Installation was also shortlisted for the Best Lighting Award.

In the Doot Doot Doot restaurant, the Fermentation Installation features 10,000 incandescent globes. With sequenced programming tailored to various times of the day, the bulbs intermittently flare and fade to evoke an experience of bubbles bursting on a surface; an ode to the fermentation process in both the ancient art of alchemy and winemaking. 

The globes shift from a simple light source to a golden, textural piece of art as waves of light wash the ceiling, wrapping diners below in an amber glow. This injects the space with emotional resonance that nuanced site-specific lighting design brings.

The practical requirements to minimise the depth of the fixture and to conceal technology in the open ceiling cavity, whilst remaining true to the concept narrative, added a degree of design difficultly.

In addition, in keeping with Australia’s energy restrictions only minimal energy consumption was allowed over the entire 81sqm, resulting in a sustainable lighting solution using LED vintage Edison globes.

It also had to be versatile enough to allow multiple dining options below while still providing a functional warm and soft light emission.