Inhaltsverzeichnis für August - September 2019 in Urbis

KING LIVING This renowned Australian furniture brand launched – among other stunning items like the Strata II Sofa (pictured above) and the Luna Chair – a new collaboration with local design wunderkind Tom Fereday. The 33-year-old rising star unveiled his much-lauded studio in 2012 and began creating furniture and lighting designs, often for brands such as Louis Vuitton, Zenith and Studiokyss. The industrial designer and King Living have spent the last two years seeking to integrate electricity into a desk. The idea is that each leg can be used independently as a hidden power point that can house a lamp, a wireless charging station and, eventually, other pieces; hence, the need for an unsightly web of cabling behind otherwise beautifully designed furniture is eliminated. At Denfair, Fereday revealed the ETO…

THE CLIENTS OF AUSTRALIAN ARCHITECT Ian Moore (an equine geneticist, a patent attorney and their two young sons) had always wanted to live in a warehouse. So, when they recently purchased one in the Sydney suburb of Redfern, it was a bit of a dream come true. From the outside, the two-storeyed brick building has that industrial aesthetic currently very popular and all the gritty appeal associated with inner-city living. The brief called for a four-bedroomed house with a home office for use as an equine genetics laboratory and a workshop area big enough to house a collection of classic Porsche sports cars. It’s quite possibly the most surprising list of programmatic requirements Moore has ever received for a residential project. And, in relishing this rare opportunity, he delivered a…

Like its New Zealand counterpart, the Costa Rican coastline has moments where dense bushland meets sandy stretches of shore. For a couple of surfers-slash-environmentalists, building a home on such a site near the Pacific Coast’s Playa Hermosa Beach offered the best of both worlds. The Portland-based clients approached architect Tom Kundig, who had previously designed several houses near their home town of Sun Valley in Idaho. The well-known architect is owner and design principal at Olson Kundig, a Seattle-based firm founded on the idea that buildings can serve as bridges between nature, culture and people. After explaining to their architect that they wanted to live in a “tree house”, the clients took Kundig on a tour of their richly forested Costa Rican property. From the piece of land that has…

EVENTS TIM ROSS: THE MID CENTURY PROJECT (EDITOR’S PICK) 24 August–6 October / Christchurch A sophisticated mixture of comedy, music and architecture/design critique by comedian and design enthusiast Tim Ross. Ross – recently awarded the National President’s Prize by the Australian Institute of Architects – will explore the beautiful CoCA building and modernist architecture by way of photographs, videos and poster art of Christchurch’s buildings and beyond. coca.org.nz SEMI PERMANENT 15–17 August / Auckland Influential creatives from around the world – Chris Novak, head of the Xbox design studio at Microsoft, Ian Spalter, head of design at Instagram, and media artist Refik Anadol, to name a few – will be presenting at this design event. In between talks, see Light Leaks, a darkened room filled with hundreds of ‘structured light…

REFINED ROAD WARRIOR: Range Rover Evoque P250 The Evoque remains as fashionable today as it was when it became the style-led, compact benchmark back in 2011. The big news for this all-new version of the baby Range Rover is how successfully the designers have enhanced a uniquely appealing shape, adding extra road presence but no extra bulk. Gently modernised in its every detail, the Evoque retains the original’s instantly recognisable design cues: exaggerated arches, a rising waistline and a fast, sloping roofline. Meanwhile, interior space is expanded, thanks to a modest wheelbase stretch, while tech features and premium materials either make a debut or have filtered down from relatives costing at least half as much again. Special First Edition models certainly ramp up the refinement and capability. Our P250, with…

The first time Jacques Bec and Artur Miranda visited their house in Porto, they discovered what they consider a sign of good fortune. “Everyone dreams of finding a four-leaf clover and there were millions in the garden,” remembers Miranda. “It was like Alice in Wonderland.” The duo, who run the locally based interior design firm Oitoemponto, had had the property on their radar for some time. Built in the late ’50s, it is located just a few blocks from the ocean; they would often drive by on their way to the beach. “We were always intrigued by it,” states Bec, “because it was almost hidden.” They liked the fact that it was a single-storeyed structure, even if it was not particularly in their style. “It had pink walls covered with…

“The project aspires to the early nonconformist spirit of modernism, which explores new ways of living, and experimental forms of construction that are blended with artisanal crafts and elegant details…”– Michael White WHITLAM PLACE IS AN EXAMPLE OF that rarity of new multi-residential buildings that eschews the cookie-cutter appearance of many developments in favour of genuinely inspired design. The four-levelled structure is defined by a solid form that rests atop a lightweight podium, articulated by a series of inverted concrete arches. It is situated within the ‘golden triangle’ of Smith, Gertrude and Brunswick Streets, in Melbourne’s vibrant Fitzroy, and the architects, Freadman White in collaboration with Anon Studio, took their cue from the area’s civic buildings, as well as from the architectural legacy of Australian modernist Robyn Boyd. “The project…

When boutique hotel SO/Auckland opened its doors late last year, it was the playful rooftop bar and Michelin-starred chef’s restaurant that bedazzled from on high. But the lure of what was to come in the former Reserve Bank’s gold vaults also beckoned by way of a marble stair leading to an exclusive underground sanctuary. Today, guests to Auckland’s newest luxury spa, the SO/SPA, can enjoy a fitness facility, pool area and spa, either for one-off visits or as members of the recently launched SO/SPA Collective. The Spa Menu is suitably creative, as you would expect from this edgy hotel, including an experiential volcanic stone massage, iconic Tibetan beats and an Aroha goddess ritual. After a Gaia Earth mineral-rich mud wrap and a Mama’s kombucha, guests float out of the spa…

HEADPHONES: EVOLVED Bose Frames comprise a complete audio system concealed inside a pair of glasses. These ‘audio glasses’ allow you to listen to music, take phone calls, receive GPS directions and interact with digital personal assistants without the need for headphones or earbuds. They’re cleverly designed to ensure the audio content you’re listening to is kept private. Bose has a 50-year history of audio innovation and design – and these frames are a world first. The glasses weigh just 45g and the arms contain all the tech – speakers, microphone, motion sensors, batteries and Bluetooth circuitry. As a result, the arms are slightly bulky but that’s a fair compromise for all that functionality. You can listen to the glasses for around four hours before they need charging but, of course,…

THE ARCHITECTURE OR DESIGN OF A HOUSE is often discussed by condensing its merits (or downfalls) into sets of fairly standard parameters: Was the house built well? Do the materials fit their context? Does its interior flow? Do its exterior and interior communicate well with each other? Is there a driving idea or aesthetic and was it communicated well and consistently throughout its many alcoves? Is it fit for purpose? Does it sit within, or push, current trends? For this Auckland house – designed by Rogan Nash Architects for one of its directors, Eva Nash, and her family – there are satisfactory answers to all of these questions. Its L shape, northern orientation and internal colour palette recognise and relish the presence of an old, imposing pōhutukawa on the site.…

Ask anyone who lived in Sydney’s Camperdown more than 15 years ago to describe what it was like back then and, chances are, they’ll recall how good it smelt. The densely populated inner-city suburb was home to the Biscuit Factory, where all manner of cookies and sweet treats were baked prior to its closure in 2004. Today, the building is an exemplar of the city’s many long-standing adaptive reuse projects, successfully developed as residential apartments for a booming real estate market. For designer Matt Woods’ recent clients, purchasing one of these small units was a wise investment. And, after living in it for 10 years, the time was right for a renovation. As the Sydney-based designer and founder of Killing Matt Woods explains, “They both work in design-related disciplines and…

“One might not think of light as a matter of fact, but I do. And it is, as I said, as plain and open and direct an art as you will ever find.” So said American minimalist Dan Flavin. He was a creator of fluorescent light fixtures, more sculptures than anything else, and his words were made for a world of galleries illuminated by artificial tubes. Miguel Ángel Aragonés’ home – similar, in the way that it unfurls, to a gallery – is exemplary of this dictum. There is nothing explicitly complicated about Aragonés’ all-white residence in Mexico City. By day, parapets and slight deviations from the orthogonal cut into an otherwise restrained interior, pared-back to the point of extreme elegance and glossy to varying, beautiful degrees. On the ground…