Who We Are

Eon Design is a creative partnership between Rob and Karen Pisaniello. Founded in Melbourne in 2001, we have completed 100+ restaurants, bars, cafes, eateries and food + drink retail projects. We met studying architecture at the University of Adelaide and have both worked in the hospitality industry.

Our combined passion for food, gathering, community and design, together with the influence of our Italian heritage where cooking and eating is central to family life, led us to designing restaurants, cafes and bars - spaces where our work demonstrates real and tangible solutions.

What sets us apart is our ability to go above and beyond design, details, finishes and materiality, right to the heart of your business in a way that resonates with your customers. Our spaces invoke emotion, connection and loyalty. They are places that customers belong to, places where people want to spend time with each other. And places that become thriving, profitable businesses with social and economic benefits for the whole community.

Who you are

Over the years we’ve had the privilege of working with people and businesses who are fearless, creative, hardworking, trusting and strive to do better with each new project. They work hard to see their vision come to life.

Like our valued clients, you’re an experienced restaurateur, cafe operator or food retailer - working on the ground, interacting day-in-day-out with your customers. You understand the needs, wants and habits of your customers and the value of exceptional customer experience.

You share our values about food and gathering. You’re willing to take a leap of faith to start something that can create real change to a place and the people who live and work there - meaningful places where people meet, connect and socialise. Big or small, your business will be a change-maker in your city.

At the heart of your vision is the desire to have happy customers - to see people enjoy your food, your service, your place - places that become woven into the fabric of a community. We can help you make that happen.

Our Services + Capabilities

Eon Design is a full-service architecture studio. We provide complete architectural services from concept ideation through to construction documentation, contract administration and services during construction.

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Professional Registrations & Memberships

Eon Design is a registered architectural partnership with the Architects Registration Board of Victoria and The Architectural Practice Board of South Australia, a member of the Association of Consulting Architects, and a signatory to Architects Declare.

We all love spending time with our family and friends, eating in great company and connecting with our neighbourhood. This is when food is at its best.

Our Core Values

We activate spaces and places

First and foremost, our designs are people focused. Every Eon Design space creates opportunities to interact, socialise, relax and enjoy. We analyse each project as part of its wider context and carefully consider how it will contribute to its local community. We believe activated spaces such as public dining contribute significantly to the liveliness and livability of a community making it inviting, safe and social.

We adapt and use as much of the building as possible

We see value in re-purposing old buildings. By revealing structure, retaining historic features and reinterpreting forgotten spaces in a contemporary way, we breathe new life into old buildings for years to come. In these layered spaces, a minimal design approach can really shine. Holding onto to past memories can be important for a community so we always think about past and present when we design for the future.

We keep things simple

The built environment has a significant impact on people and our planet so we seek to reduce negative impacts wherever possible. Simplicity and utility are key to our designs and our process - we don’t believe you need to create places of luxury and excess to achieve what we feel is important.

Our Process

We have worked with many successful hospitality and food retail businesses in our 20 years of practice, and have distilled our process down to four simple steps.

Customer Identity

Your business isn’t for everybody so we’ll work with you to identify your ideal clients, their design preferences and habits.

Location + Offering

What are you serving? What is the character of the neighbourhood your business is in? What are your competitors doing? We’ll run through an analysis of what you offer your customers to figure out the ideal starting point for your design.

Operational Processes

We’ll map out what happens from the moment your customer walks through the door, enjoys their meal, pays the bill and then leaves.

Design + Implementation

We’ll bring all of this together in a contemporary, innovative, beautiful and comfortable design that people will be excited to come back to.