Description:

Three Boys is a brewery with a history long before craft beer was the ‘in thing’ in Aotearoa. The fit-out of the brewery is first and foremost functional. Mix that with the old warehouse it is situated in and you start to get that old school factory feel that drives the creative look and feel of the place. This is not a situation where the fit-out is ever complete but an ever-responsive adaptation to the space.

The brewing comes first, but this is done in order to create connections with people. People who when they walk in the door for a refill don’t feel awkward because it’s too hip, fancy, or slick. It’s an old industrial warehouse space with a wash of refinement brushed across it. Plain materials, reused elements, things that last, things that do their job.

The fit-out helps to pull some of the bigger front of house elements together and create a strong link to the productive warehouse. A new large industrial glass wall, a front counter area, and a mezzanine fit-out have been added to assist this. The brief was to help bring all the elements within this functioning business together and make it cohesive.

The Three Boys Brewery fit-out harks back to an era when materials were strong and long-lasting. The message from the owners as you enter the space is - we value authentic, good quality, traditional making in both our building and our beer.

On entry you can see through to where the beer is being brewed through a large glazed wall - this connects the front of house to the brewery with hinged doors which are able to be swung back to show off the mechanisms of the brewery, or make space for the band on a Saturday night.

The glass panes in the dividing wall are glazed into a custom made painted steel frame. The panes are purposefully mismatched, georgian wire for some, greys for others - as if replaced over the years as breakages occurred. The fine steel joinery is welded up from scratch by those who manufactured the beer tanks. The latches are industrial, made to do the job year after year.

The colour palette is made up of shades of greens and greys. As the sun filters through the existing warehouse glazing it brings these subtle differences to life. Shadows are cast through the dividing wall fenestrations at different times of the day making for a forever changing mood connecting you to the exterior environment.

The front counter takes the look of the dividing wall as inspiration - with rectangular forms and a range of reflective surfaces. It functions by hinging open to allow for beer posters to be displayed. The countertop is made of simple stained plywood. Behind the bar green tiles add texture, a layer of refinement and contrast to the stainless taps needed for pouring out the beer.