‘Forty Licks’ is a subterranean restaurant in the heart of Sydney City that applies a prosthetic approach to historic buildings enabling radical transformation whilst preserving heritage fabric.

The prosthetic framework employs hand welded stainless steel mesh and custom clamps that allow its removal at any time. The new framework inverts the untouchable nature of the site, retains a visual connection to the existing period columns, beams and walls and provides support for a new three dimensional design.

The design inspiration for the restaurant involved piecing together disparate elements of the Vietnamese landscapes, juxtaposing the natural environment of the rice paddies and mountains, to the gritty and chaotic cityscape. These two themes provided the foundations of the design and the vision for the seating arrangement and material selection.

In order to satisfy the number of patrons specified in the original brief, it was imperative to utilise all areas of the site. This resulted in the creation of tiered platforms to elevate the seating arrangement onto an existing concrete plinth, mimicking the formations of Vietnamese rice paddies, along with informal standing and seated bar areas. These distinct zones are reconnected through the fine interweaving of rattan, a native climbing palm, organically wrapped within the new mesh framing. This emulates the uncontrollable power cable network consuming the Vietnamese city streetscape.

An artwork by Richard Goodwin, titled ‘Prosthetic Apartment E’, was hung, embodying the vision for the space. The artwork is fabricated in stainless steel and rattan cane that are woven together to create a form which speaks to Asian fluidity of design.

Forty Licks’ subterranean wonderland is designed to remove patrons from the mundane commercial landscape above, allowing for a completely immersive dining experience. Its approach to heritage design promotes radical transformation while preserving the existing fabric.

Builder: Clad Constructions
Artwork: Richard Goodwin