The proposed cafe / restaurant site at Nightcliff has it all. It occupies an ‘A Grade’ dress circle and visually prominent site with outstanding views and connection to both land and sea (location location location). The design for the site should be of equal quality and provide a facility which enhances the locations attributes.

The challenge is to resist a “kiosk” solution and to move to a sophisticated building which works with the views, landscaped setting, dramatic cliff top location and the sea.

DKJ projects.architecture’s design is simple and sophisticated. The building provides a transition between land, cliff top and sea. Entry is over a landscaped reflection pond which leads patrons to the cliff and sea views.
The surrounding cliffs are brought into the building with stone wall cladding behind the Bar and Servery. The structure’s openness is designed for Darwin’s tropical climate, with the ability ‘bunker down’ using folding drop down screens. The building will be constructed using fully galvanised steel framing, to counteract the locations extreme corrosive environment and also future proof the structure by potentially allowing the building to be relocated away from the cliff edge, in the event of cliff face erosion.

Dining is on two terraces. The Terrace running along the cliff edge has folding glass walls and screens. The other Terrace sails out over the cliff to link land and sea while having unrivalled ocean and cliff views. This space can be closed and is air conditioned for use during the wet season. The cliffs are illuminated at night. The Terraces frame a clean white box which houses the kitchen and related facilities. The formal landscape integrates the building with it surrounding and the adjacent pool complex.