All photography by Scott Burrows

Celebrity chef Ben O’Donoghue engaged Marc&Co to design his second restaurant, called Billykart. Author David Malouf was born and grew up next door.

Malouf is well known for describing in loving detail, the rooms, gardens and spaces under Brisbane houses. He describes each house as having its own lore, a complex history of habits, memories, and superstitions that shape the way we see things.

Inspired by Malouf’s evocative descriptions, the design was imagined as a mechanic’s back yard. Located between other houses on stilts, the mechanic would fix billykarts. At night, people would come to dine under fairy lights, between houses, amongst the spare parts of billykarts.

The dining area is book ended by 2 fig trees and is overlooked by 4 ‘houses’. The entry via the bar is designed as an undercroft, with exposed hardwood, the kitchen is imagined as a verandah enclosed in ‘super’ lattice, the bakery is lined in weatherboards with giant coloured glass louvres, and pegboard wall is like a workshop along the side of a house.

The space is deliberately evocative and slightly voyeuristic.