The design draws on local, low-carbon materials such as salvaged timber, kangaroo leather, and a polished concrete floor that preserves its history and imperfections.

A collaborative design process ensured that the project honours Aboriginal ways of knowing, being, and doing, resulting in a space that feels timeless and rooted in place.

The layout maximises gathering opportunities, with flexible joinery, custom loose furniture, and an operable façade that activates the streetscape while offering a warm, community-oriented interior.

The project also overcame challenges common in refurbishment, such as working around unknown structural conditions. Rather than hiding imperfections, these were embrace, particularly the lively “flaws” of the concrete floor, which became central to the space’s atmosphere.

Architecture & Design: Can you describe the initial vision for this project and how it evolved over time?

PAPESCH Architecture: Blak Cede Gunyah is a café and a reclaimed Aboriginal space. Serving native foods and fitted out with local materials, finishes, furniture and décor, the sensory presence of Country immerses you as a comforting interior atmosphere flows out to the street.

The project is founded on three key principles: prioritising Aboriginal women, reflecting and uplifting Country, and sustainability. Through honouring Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing, a collaborative design process was established. This fostered the development of an aesthetic with a timeless atmosphere founded in a deep understanding of where it is.

The design manifests sustainable practices with minimal wastage and carefully selected low embodied-carbon materials. It highlights salvaged local timber, regenerative kangaroo leather and retained elements such as the existing concrete floor which was polished while maintaining its ‘flaws’ and history.

The small shop underwent rigorous spatial planning to maximise opportunities for gathering and functionality. The joinery flows around the edges of the space accommodating the service area, seating and storage. Custom loose furniture provides ongoing flexibility to the space. The operable façade service window and external seating activates the streetscape of the café as a vibrant hub.

What were the biggest challenges you faced during the design and construction phases, and how did you overcome them?

Renovation and refurbishment projects always entail an amount of unknowns during the construction phase. With a focus on careful material useage and reuse where appropriate, elements of the project were somewhat unknown and the design needed to pivot around them.

The polished concrete floor, once exposed, revealed service channels and gouging that needed to be designed into the finish. Once incorporated and accepted into the project, the lively nature of the “flaws” in the polished concrete are central to the atmosphere of the space.

How did you ensure that the project met the client’s needs and expectations?

Blak Cede is an Aboriginal women-led social and cultural enterprise that cultivates traditional native produce from their nearby community garden.

Culturally centred material choices, including locally milled bush-fire charred Red Mahogany, kangaroo hide leather seating, woven pendants and the fish trap, build a relationship between the past and the present as a fundamental design aspect.

Fire, as a source of cooking, is a reference point throughout the café within the charred timber lining, burnt timber edging to joinery/furniture, and décor selections.

The opening façade and outdoor seating of Blak Cede Gunyah encourages joyful occupation of the street while a quieter, cosier interior experience cares for Elders, families and small groups. The dual-facing service counter caters to both areas, with the retail space acting as a buffer between them.

Were there any unique or innovative techniques or materials used in this project?

As the embodiment of a design practice, Blak Cede Gunayh is the translation of cultural priorities through listening and collaborative design resolutions. Inspiration and precedent are found within conversations, people and place, rather than a reference palette of popular/fashionable design decisions.

This process provides a pathway to meaningfully engage with Country and weaving it into the project. This was only possible through the generous sharing of knowledge and careful translation of this into the built space.

In this project, the design goal was only to be innovative in the reflection of the ancient culture of the place and the aspirations of Blak Cede into the future.

How does this project fit into your broader portfolio and design philosophy?

As an architecture practice, this practice of listening can be applied cross-culturally, cross-disciplinary, and between building typologies. For Papesch Architecture, this philosophy applies to all projects we contribute to, regardless of the scale.

The collaborative success of this project, and the processes that allowed it to happen have also led to several other projects we have underway in Nowra.

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