Tip Top
It makes sense that Melbourne’s Burwood Brickworks, dubbed “the world’s most sustainable shopping centre”, should be crowned with an urban rooftop farm championing farm to table eating.
Acre Eatery utilises a 2500-square-metre space for hydroponic glasshouses, quail coops and worm farms with over 1000-square-metres of garden beds – all delivering fresh produce, directly to the restaurant table. It also follows that visionary environmental activist Joost Bakker served as creative consultant for the ambitious project.
The site is part of the Living Building Challenge, the world’s most rigorous sustainable performance certification for buildings. Naturally, all components of Acre Eatery had to pass muster in what ZWEI Interiors Architecture describes as “an arduous and detailed process.”
The relaxed sophistication of the final result perhaps belies this effort. The materials palette includes salvaged Oregon timber, recycled bricks and bamboo – coming together to enrich the restaurant farm setting, itself advocating for the sustainable food movement.
