With a focus on the interplay of light and layered transparency, Money Bar rejects the typical aesthetics associated with the world of finance and instead responds to the retail frontage and surrounding context as its main inspiration. In designing the financial planning workplace, Chris Connell Design brings a refreshing approachability to the otherwise expected severity of this type of offering.

Set amongst the ever-eclectic mishmash of retail, hospitality, and commercial frontages that line Melbourne’s Chapel Street, Money Bar sits quietly, almost waiting to be caught out and yet managing to expertly blend in. As the base for a financial consultancy agency, Chris Connell Design’s interior captures both the confidence you’d like to see in a company handling your hard-earned cash and a contemporary pared-back cool.

In its own unassuming way, the space could easily take form as a calming day spa or a restaurant that presents dishes in a cleanly minimal style. Instead, the rigour of the everyday operations of the firm is interpreted through a crisp approach, providing a sense of protection and reassurance at the same time.

By deliberately stripping out anything ornate, the concealed detailing echoes innovation, exuding a sense that only the best artisans brought the elements together. Instead of leaving anything up to the imagination, clean junctions, repetition, and recessed joinery all hide the messiness of the everyday, allowing the business at hand to be taken care of. In its clarity, Money Bar creates a feeling of reassurance that any decision made between its walls has been well conceived.