EXPRESS GLASS: PORTFOLIO: 360° RESTAURANT

Until they build a fine dining platform atop the Harbour Bridge, Sydney Tower will remain the premium venue for gastronomes with a penchant for panorama. And so it is we preview '360 Degrees', Sydney's latest five star eating house, ensconced in the big gold thing in the sky.

"The job spanned two months on and off, and involved a team of three glaziers" says Reece Van Vliet, EG Major Projects. "One of the challenges was access - everything had to go up in the public lifts, which meant 5.00am starts so that we had the day's materials on site by 8.00am. Added to this was heavy security checks, as the job began soon after the London bombings. The curved shelving behind the bar is spectacular and allows the cityscape to be seen but the tortoiseshell bar is a visual feast."
 

Michael McCann, Dreamtime Australia Design: "As with past projects where we have designed unusual and challenging applications for glass - in this case, especially with the tortoiseshell clad glass bar and the glass shelving - Express Glass has shown itself time and time again to be both inventive, willing and totally professional. Working with Reece Van Vliet was a pleasure, he is a real asset."

Something to think about before slamming a beer down on the bar: Express supplied glass to sydney based Diemme Creative Solutions, who created the tortoise-shell look from crushed mussel shells imported from bali. This was then glued onto resin, cut back, buffed, cut back again, buffed and, finally, fitted by express. Panels are joined with resin instead of silicon, to make the bar look like one piece. Enjoy!