Nestled into the tops of the surrounding tree canopies in Exhibition st, perched on top of the long established European Bier Cafe, the design for Aer Bar uses its warm finishes and mature landscaping to create a purpose built inviting rooftop space in the midst of the urban rush of Melbourne’s CBD. Melbourne was crying out for a rooftop venue that could be fully functional all year round, encompassing the open spatial quality of a rooftop along with the cosy warmth of a wintery escape.

A mixture of open air space, covered bar area, leafy surroundings coupled with a raised pitch cathedral ceiling with openable skylights peering into the clear skies above, make for an inviting summer rooftop venue. The retractable awnings close across the rusted steel framed space, the slimline panel heaters and two fireplaces light up, and the clear cafe blinds close to create a cosy timber lined bar still functional in the depths of winter.

The bamboo timber floor cutting into the bluestone tiled deck softens the entry, whilst the iron planter towers and the landscaped facades reflect the greenery along Exhibition st. Recycled wrought iron gates fixed to the stone topped bar front along with backlit reclaimed timber box shelves mix with the fireplaces and timber seating and tables to maintain the warm feel of the hotel.

The raised ceiling lifting up over the bar creates surprisingly open standing area with the visible Melbourne sky visible through clear openable skylights above.

Creating a warm and inviting space all year round set in a leafy backdrop meant using sustainable materials and products would be pivotal to the inviting feel for an open space within an urban canopy. Perrett Ewert Leaf went to scrap yards and sourced recycled wrought iron gates and doors to create the rusted iron feature bar face, which was set off the bar face enough to create intricate shadows from both sunlight and feature lighting at night. They custom built planter towers from stainless steel reinforcement rods, along with custom reclaimed timber boxes for back of bar display, and handmade feature wall tiles. 

The project was given the green light to commence construction in the last week of December 2012, and had to be open by the 1st March 2013. Essentially a 6 week build time for a significant addition with existing structure and difficult access was a hurdle, so clear communication between builder and design team meant that we met the very short timeframe.

Pulse Audio Visual upgraded the existing audio processor at The European Bier Café to an Audac MTX48 multi-zone audio matrix with the knowledge that a rooftop beer garden would be added to the venue in the near future.

The matrix system is responsible for distributing audio to the four levels of the venue and allows many of the internal audio sources (including DJs and bands) to be distibuted to Aer. Keypads are located in each of the bars allowing for simple zone control.

Next on the list is to enable the Audac MTX App, allowing a manager to control the entire venue from their iPhone or iPad, making system management even simpler and more convenient.

A combination of JBL in-ceiling speakers, Audac surface-mount speakers and Posh Speaker Systems in-ceiling subwoofers were used for the rooftop speaker setup. Audac in-ceiling speakers were installed in the toilets. All of the speakers and subs are powered by a Crown CDI series amplifier.

Two 51” Samsung plasma TVs were installed into custom-designed enclosures which were built by the builders and installed into the wall structures of the fireplace cavities. The screens were connected to the existing visual matrix system, allowing them to display all connected venue visual sources.