Along Jetty Road, where salt air, sunburnt footpaths and holiday energy blur into one another, Gelato Messina Glenelg by Sans-Arc announces itself without hesitation. The reference points are loose but legible. There are echoes of flashing arcade lights, vendor carts vying for attention and the charged anticipation of choosing a flavour on a hot day.
“More than a gelato shop, it transports visitors to another place,” says Matiya, Director, Sans-Arc. “It’s immersive and bold – reminiscent of gelato shops of your (European) dreams and travels to southern Italy.” Photography of Sicily, captured by Thomas Hvala, is integrated amongst illuminated lightboxes, as physical reminders. “The unusual mix of materials is intentional,” Matiya adds. “It’s about creating wonder and excitement, as fun and out-there as the product itself.”
Throughout, each material selection reflects an eccentricity as well as a need for each to be robust and low maintenance. Illuminated panels, reflective surfaces and graphic elements create a layering and depth to the space, with porthole glass windows to the kitchen that runs along the rear.
The inclusion of the indestructible stadium seating also add layers of playfulness and, while they feel somewhat out of place in such a setting, they also fulfil the brief perfectly. Together with the openness of the planning, the priority was for the space to cater for a variety of different customers and their differing paces.
Durable, spirited and – at times – illogical, each of the inserted custom materials, joinery, artwork and furniture elements also reinforce the idea that the interior is designed for enjoyment rather than refinement (despite also being executed with precision).
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“Many of the choices are intentionally unexpected,” says Matiya. “They bring humour without undermining the coherence of the space, encouraging a reminder to take life a little less seriously.”
Much like travel or the idea of spending time at the beach, the space offers a recharge and reset experience. “What we have found through (now five) collaborations with the owners, is that we didn’t necessarily want people settling in for too long,” Matiya notes. “Gelato is meant to be enjoyed in motion, and the interior architecture needed to facilitate that.”
The result is an interior that feels energised and energising – and whether filled with many people or only a few, the way that the space is experienced doesn’t alter. With a balance of fixed seating and openness to the streetscape, the interior and its liveliness is also intended to reflect the bustle of the activity beyond.
Like the gelato itself, the experience of Gelato Messina Glenelg is immediate, embracing the theatre of choosing, the pleasure of colour and the joy of excess. “The space needed to sell the product emotionally,” adds Matiya – and through nostalgia and the idea of being immersed within the south of Italy as the pull, it seems to fulfil the brief.
