The Pope Joan Bar project was initiated to complement the successfully established Pope Joan Café and complete the laneway space connection between the two buildings. The busy road and neighbouring steelworks provide an unlikely industrial context, amplified by the existing graffitied steel roller door and dilapidated brick façade. Our strategy was to leave the façade untouched and create a playful interior space that could provide a variety of informal socialising opportunities. These include a front bench at the street interface, an ambiguous sculptural blockwork wall and timber terraces that spill out and connect to the rear laneway space.