Focal points

Junction Moama, a restaurant and dining space located on South Australia’s Murray River, prides itself on using local produce to create superb food, wine, cocktails and craft beer, and providing a stylish venue for friends and family to gather to enjoy these specialties.

In doing so, it has created a sophisticated atmosphere that can only be further complemented by the addition of two EcoSmart fire features throughout the space.

“The EcoSmart burners provide the warm and ambient environment that hospitality projects are always looking to have,” says Victor Cheung from Altis Architecture, who was commissioned to re-design Junction Moama. “One fire is located in the fire pit within the birdcage terrace, and the other forms part of the water and fire feature in the garden area.

“These two areas have got a totally different feel to them, so we were working with two briefs and two design ideas.”

This two-pronged approach to re-designing Junction Moama was extremely appropriate for the multi-purpose venue, which can be split to cater for several different kinds of functions, small or large.

“The whole area is able to be opened up or broken down do to specific customer or function needs,” explains Victor.

“The design brief for the installation at the birdcage was to create a fire pit within the giant birdcage for patrons to gather around, especially during the winter period. It was designed to create a focal point at the southern part of the Moama bowling club. The fire pit and the hanging chandelier were placed at the centre of the birdcage to provide an ambient environment for the patrons to enjoy.

Utilising the drawing effect that fire seems to have on people, Victor has crafted several design focal points with EcoSmart burners within Junction Moama.

Like the fire pit created for the birdcage space, Victor’s design intention of the water / fire feature was to create visual interest in the space, plus form another place that people will naturally congregate around.

“The concept of the design was to create a transformation from “wet” water to “dry” fire,” he explains. “We placed the fire near the patrons to give the sense of warmness with the water feature as a backdrop.”

After initially specifying two gas fires for Junction Moama, safety concerns and Australian regulations took this option off the table – luckily, EcoSmart Fire offered a perfect solution to the issue, with clean burning ethanol fuel, quality construction and innovative design that has been rigorously tested to adhere to worldwide safety standards.

“With the look we were trying to create, especially in the birdcage, we required a flame that was going to make an impact in a big way without posing a safety problem to patrons of Junction Moama,” says Victor. “So the decision to choose EcoSmart was driven by the size and appearance of the fireplace we wanted to achieve.”