Taylor Knights designs solar-powered Melbourne coffee roastery with 'reveal rather than replace' ethos

Architecture studio Taylor Knights has completed the interior of Contraband Coffee's second Melbourne branch, located in Brunswick East. The design prioritizes sustainability, with the cafe and roastery entirely solar-powered and featuring an all-electric roaster and electric delivery vans. The studio, which also designed the company's first site in Preston, aimed to reflect the brand's eco-friendly ethos through a restrained material palette of concrete and timber, guided by the principle to 'reveal rather than replace'. The former industrial warehouse was adapted with new glazed openings on the northern facade to enhance natural light and connect to a new courtyard designed with landscape architects TCL. Existing concrete ceiling beams and slab flooring were retained, while locally sourced timber was used for the service counter and a glass-and-timber curtain wall that separates the cafe from the roasting area. The courtyard features communal seating and concrete planters, and the front parking area was repurposed with benches using aluminium frames from Taylor Knights' 2021 installation 'Pond[er]' at the National Gallery of Victoria. A mural by artist Chris Costa decorates the entrance wall. Director Peter Knights emphasized that environmental responsibility can be expressed through careful reuse of existing buildings and materials. Photography is by Jack Lovel.