The Project

The humble timber dowel has been elevated from a purely practical use to a position of innovation and style among interior designers and architects. Round and Half Round timber dowels were chosen as the interior wall cladding material for the new Laksa King restaurant in Mount Waverley. Urbourne Architecture’s lead architect Yuyu Huang chose Porta timber dowels to help maintain the style used in other Laksa King restaurants, that also used timber, alongside concrete and greenery to create what Yuyu describes as a  ”comfortable and simple hospitality environment, to draw attentions back to the food that is served."

40mm round and 40mm half round dowels in Tasmanian Oak were installed by Crown Shopfitters, a customer who chooses Porta’s timber dowels for a variety of retail installations. According to Alison Leung, General Manager, Crown Shopfitters, Porta’s Tasmanian Oak dowels are “a strong product that are easy to work with”. Tasmanian Oak is an ideal hardwood timber for internal lining and decorative designs. It is a dense and resilient timber, ideal for restaurants where wear and tear occur daily with up to 15 yrs indoor durability rating. It is one of the best timbers for staining, in this project the timber dowels were covered in a lime wash.

Porta have worked with Crown Shopfitters for some time and proud to share Alison's view that "Porta are a good company to work with, an established company with a good product”.

 

The Specification

Round and Half Round Dowels were selected for the wall cladding. The dowels were nailed to backing panels and covered in Feast Watson white lime finish. 

"The natural tone and materiality of timber suggest softness in the spatial context of the restaurant, complimented by a warm ambient lighting strategy. The use of Porta's half dowels as wall cladding reduced material and installation costs significantly". Yuyu Huang, Architect, Urbourne Architecture

A water based finish was selected because of its rapid drying time and also provided their desired matte finish.

"Porta are a good company to work with, an established company with a good product." Alison Leung, General Manager, Crown Shopfitters

PRODUCT SPEC: Porta Round Dowels and Porta Half Round Dowels in Tasmanian Oak

Product Code: DOW40TOSL & HR4020TOSL

Photography: Jack Lovel