Located in Fitzroy’s Brunswick Street, the Melbourne Experience Centre is conceived as an immersive showcase of Fisher & Paykel’s offering and an expression of the New Zealand brand’s dedication to place and environment. Occupying a characterful heritage building, redundant services and ceilings are removed to express original walls and trusses. Spatially, the Centre’s offering is defined by three overarching zones, each subtly differentiated by their timber joinery detailing and demarcating distinct modes of domestic inhabitation, be it social, minimal or professional.

Prioritising low carbon and locally sourced materials, the space is unified by a datum of spotted gum and the continuous flow of the red brick palladiana floor. The distinctive floor is one of a series of earthen elements; immersive terracotta tiles and basins in the bathrooms, and the rammed earth entry plinth with its concealed induction plates to warm the New Zealand tea upon arrival. The assemblage of these materials conveys a natural and elemental atmosphere that transports us from the experience of appliance showrooms into the world of food, produce and culture – a world which Fisher & Paykel’s technology works to enhance.

Photography: Gavin Green