An Old-School Pizzeria Turned Artists’ Studio In Sydney
Studio Visit
Buon Gusto Studios is a restaurant turned creative workspace in Darlington, Sydney.
The former pizzeria building has been restored and renovated by Eliza Gosse and Studio Shand.
‘On a sustainability front and to respect to the building (inclusive of everyone who enjoyed a slice of pizza under its arches) we retained as much as we could!’ says Benjamin Jay Shand.
The couple fell in love with the original brick arches right away.
Artist Eliza Gosse and architect Benjamin Jay Shand are the husband-and-wife team behind Buon Gusto Studios.
Benjamin says the old restaurant was an ideal spot to set up a new office for his multidisciplinary architecture, object and art practice.
Studio Shand designed new kitchenettes; painted and patched walls; and reconfigured the attic storeroom into a beautiful light-filled studio.
Their workspace stands in what was originally the commercial kitchen.
The walls are filled with art and inspiration.
Inside Eliza’s studio.
The incredible original saloon doors.
The light-filled space.
Eliza recently showcased a collection of works from her residency at Halcyon House, NSW.
The eclectic space is an embodiment of the creatives who work here.
‘On casual afternoons with the sun out, all the artists are sitting around on the terrace drawing, chatting or having a Campari.’
Artist Eliza Gosse and architect Benjamin Jay Shand (of multidisciplinary architecture, object and art office Studio Shand) always had a ‘distant dream’ of building their own creative studio from the ground up.
‘Separately in our careers, Benj and I have struggled to find spaces in Sydney for our creative practices, as most artists do,’ Eliza says.
Then, a few years ago, the couple saw an old-school Italian restaurant called Buon Gusto come up for sale in Darlington. It might seem like an unlikely location for an artist and an architect to set up shop, but Eliza says it was ‘completely perfect for us’.
‘It had windows in every room, was charming, and run down enough that Benj as an architect had his interest piqued,’ she adds.
Eliza also started out studying architecture before realising her real love was in painting homes, rather than designing them. Now, her work champions the beauty of retro buildings from across the ‘50s, ‘60s, and beyond using a distinctively warm colour palette.
So between the couple’s shared passion for art, and architecture, and the Buon Gusto building’s brick walls, archways, and coloured glass saloon doors, it was a match made in heaven.
Studio Shand took a deliberately light touch turning the ‘very tired’ restaurant into a functional studio, embracing the origins of the classic Italian pizzeria. They even restored the restaurant signage on the exterior and the Buon Gusto legacy lives on in the space’s new name: Buon Gusto Studios.
‘Colour, texture, and tone are derived from the original restaurant’s interior and era, forging a connection between its past and present use,’ Benjamin adds.
The upstairs was already divided into ‘private dining rooms’ — punctuated with hand-painted Sicilian murals and large windows with arched awnings — which have been converted into studios for a collective of creatives from across Sydney’s inner city.
In addition to Eliza and Studio Shand, resident artists here include Morgan Stokes, Katie Harvey, Bronte Leighton-Dore, writers Madeleine Gottlieb and Will Goodfellow, alongside interior design firm Studio Manifold.
‘Filling the spaces was all word of mouth,’ Eliza says. ‘We reached out to artists around us and met with many. Our aim was to create balance between creative pursuits, and to bring together a group we felt would get along. We’ve now all been in the space for over six months and the dynamic is wonderful.’
Everyone has their own space and schedule, but when the sun is shining, they often meet on the rooftop terrace for aperitivo hour!