Forging new Sino-Australian forms
Ricky & Pinky
Overview
Ricky and Pinky is a Chinese restaurant outback of the Builders Arms Hotel. Placing an East-Asian bistro within the classic corner pub is not an oxymoron in Australia where multi-culturalism has prevailed in its suburbs since the late 1970s. This socio-political shift saw migrant cultural practices absorbed by mainstream Australia, including within the country’s cuisine.
Sibling Architecture’s design for Ricky and Pinky, a restaurant stewarded by Andrew McConnell, references the faux-opulence of this suburban era. Sinuous piping reconstructs the traditional Chinese gateway to welcome the patron. It references and scales the tendril-like patterns of Shanghainese art-deco, some reaching and wrapping around mirrored lighting features. Diners can look up to see their food reflected into infinity, a nod to longevity in Chinese culture. These motifs, transformed in its Melbourne context, forge new Sino-Australian forms.
"We loved that coming together for a meal is still such an important part of Chinese culture. The idea that you share everything, and everyone sits around a spinning lazy susan was central to our approach."
Sinuous piping reconstructs the traditional Chinese gateway to welcome the patron.
Diners can look up to see their food reflected into infinity, a nod to longevity in Chinese culture.
"We loved that coming together for a meal is still such an important part of Chinese culture. The idea that you share everything, and everyone sits around a spinning lazy susan was central to our approach."
Sinuous piping reconstructs the traditional Chinese gateway to welcome the patron.
Diners can look up to see their food reflected into infinity, a nod to longevity in Chinese culture.
