A project of eight years in the making, Hopper Joint opened in early 2024 positioning itself on creating a spirited environment for all who walk through the door. In an interview with Architecture & Design, Perera opens up about how this project was a direct homage to Sri Lanka.
A former piano bar, the site required a major refurbishment and restoration throughout. Brahman Perera parlayed his Sri Lankan heritage into designing a space that felt honest and indicative of his familial customs, but also the contemporary culture of how people eat and socialise in the diverse city of Melbourne.
Hopper Joint reimagines the tropical modernist style synonymous with Geoffrey Bawa, combined with a more personal aesthetic that Perera is known for.
A&D: I feel like Hopper Joint might be one of your most personal projects – an homage to your Sri Lankan heritage - would you agree?
BP: Certainly, the project’s initial idea came to me and my husband eight years ago when we were visiting Sri Lanka. As a second generation Australian, my family has maintained a strong resonance with their ancestral homeland.
And as a country, Sri Lanka’s location as a central point in the historic trade route of the oceanic silk road has created a proliferation over the centuries of varying cuisines around the world crystalising in the tropical cuisines we now know today. I wanted to parlay my heritage into a space that felt very indicative of my familial customs, but also looking at it and contextualising it through a new lens, through the contemporary and diverse culture of Melbourne dining.
What did you enjoy most while working on this project?
This was not a typical lineal project of concepts, documentation and construction. Hopper Joint was a process of addition and subtractions, trial and error. While there may have been inevitable delays, it was also important to embrace the natural progression the project took.
Through trial and error, delights were discovered: when we commenced construction, we wanted to remove the suspended ceiling and were thrilled to discover the original timber beams in near perfect condition. So, I suppose the project in its entirety is what I enjoyed, its commencement and progression and watching its final form ascend to what it is today.
Can you describe the initial vision for this project and how it evolved over time?
I didn’t want to have too many preconceived ideas on how Hopper Joint would eventuate, I always knew it would form itself around whatever site we would have. I was always inspired by the tropical modernist style synonymous with Geoffrey Bawa, and I also wanted to challenge the conforming Western-centric dining norms with the deceptively simple doctrine: eat with your hands.
The ritual of hand-washing is not banished to the backend bathrooms, rather, I positioned it front and center with a graphic, monolithic sink greeting patrons as they arrive. In a similar sentiment, the open kitchen is designed to place the art of hopper making at the forefront of the patrons viewing pleasure.
The nature of this project is its honesty to its cultural backbone, and due to its inherent personal nature to me, it meant that no detail was left unconsidered. I wasn’t interested in lending the space to the pendulum of trends, but instead wanted it to stand back and embrace a pastiche that is emblematic of contemporary Sri Lankan culture throughout the world.
The space features custom made rattan chairs, hand blown amber glassware and embroidered marigold linen serviettes all produced and imported from Sri Lanka. Unique and whimsical plaster hand ‘lights’ act as a homage to the classical Bharatanayam dancing that I grew up around (made by Sydney based artist Max Rixon).
Low and slow rotating rattan fans, deep blood-red cork floors, antique Indian crystal amber chandeliers, and teak timber shutters evoke the essence of Colombo or the classic colonial bungalows found high up in the Tea Country of southern Sri Lanka.
What were the biggest challenges you faced during the design and construction phases, and how did you overcome them?
Intensely personal projects like this are never clear cut, but our aim was to not be tunnel-visioned and have an element of flexibility throughout.
There is a magic that can happen when you embrace challenges and mistakes. Delays occurred for the projects’ construction, but in the end, it allowed us the reprieve to collaborating with artists and designers to add important artworks and features that may have been dismissed if we had been pushing towards a strict deadline.
What are you most proud of on this project?
I am proud of every single person who worked on this project. I am proud of my husband Jason, who has an amazing acumen for hospitality and business, so it was a good collaboration as we each bring different strengths to the business.
Any relationship, whether it be client or husband, does have to rely on integrity, honesty and adaptability. What has been lovely has been to see our relationship develop for the better in pursuing something so personal to the both of us.
My mum worked in the restaurant almost every night for a couple of months when it first opened, greeting guests, offering Bindis, and it was certainly a full-circle moment, seeing my family so embracing of this new space that was to be like their second home.
The ancient philosopher, Epicurus, once wrote ‘We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink,’ and that sentiment couldn’t be more accurate for the design of this space.
