Indice dei contenuti per Issue 98 in Urbis

During these wet months and in this little piece of the Pacific, green is yet again poised to become the most omnipresent colour. From verdant vegetation through to the deeper jade-like opacity of some of our oceans and waterways, its freshness is inescapable. The idea for this issue was, in part, to approach the colour from its most literal uses at home: as the neutral tone du jour on many walls and furnishings, as the obvious way to connect landscaping or rural settings with interiors, and, in some instances, as a playful bang of colour. We also wanted to look at some of the many associations the colour has: that of new talent, of lushness and of environmental consciousness. For many years, the eco-friendly banner in the world of design…

ALTHOUGH THE MATERIALS AND ABSTRACT FORMS OF THIS MEDITATION SPACE SEEM ENTIRELY UNNATURAL IN ITS LOCATION, A CLOSER LOOK REVEALS A DELICATE AND DEEPER SYMBIOSIS. ALTHOUGH THE MATERIALS AND ABSTRACT FORMS of this 70m2 meditation space on the outskirts of Madrid seem entirely unnatural in its location, a closer look reveals a delicate and deeper symbiosis. To begin with, its external structure is dominated by steel that has been left to rust. It’s muddy in colour, patchy with flecks of the decaying metal hanging from its beams. According to its architect, the Spanish academic José Luis Penelas, the choice of material is in keeping with its location: an old forest traversed by a Roman road that used to connect two ancient settlements. “The design ages with nature, changing through the…

Tiki Taane Mahuta 6–20 June / South Island A show that depicts two generations of New Zealanders and the tragedy, hope and history which binds them. A multimedia show, it includes live music by Tiki Taane and Shapeshifter’s Sam Trevethick, theatre, aerial performance, contemporary dance, kapa haka and hip-hop. takirua.co.nz/tiki-taane Pacific Dance Festival 15–24 June / Auckland After a hugely successful debut last year, the Festival returns to the Mangere Arts Centre. Created to celebrate Pacific culture, the Festival spans two weeks and includes two presentations of Wahine Toa: four amazing works that illustrate the strength and diversity of Pasifika women. pacificdance.co.nz When Sun & Moon Collide 20 June – 6 July / Auckland A play by leading playwright and Arts Laureate Briar Grace-Smith alongside director Rawiri Paratene. It focuses…

1 Painting I love this painting. It’s of the view on the way to Whakapura in the Far North, where my family used to have a bach. 2 Howard Hodgkin painting When my husband, Ed’s parents died he received an inheritance and instead of buying a flash car we bought this painting. Drive an old Land Rover; have a beautiful painting. 3 Lily the dog She is an old lady now, but she’s lived in NZ with us and came with me to London when she was a puppy. She’s an Australian terrier, which I guess makes her an international dog! 4 Sofa This is from my furniture collection and is covered in 1950s Colefax and Fowler printed linen. My poppa was a furniture maker. This is one of the…

“…illustrations that hone in on the gnarled roots of a hundred-year-old kauri tree, a solitary stand of pine trees and shafts of sunlight on the forest floor, filtered through layers of trees thick with tui and kaka.” A LOVE LETTER TO NATURE, written with a 0.1 fine black pen. That’s the ethos behind Hannah Webster’s meticulously hand-drawn illustrations of the green bits of New Zealand. The Wellington illustrator and textile designer uses our native forests to explore her relationship with the world around her. “I’m interested in how people experience space,” says the 25-year-old, who likens being in a forest to swimming. “It’s that feeling of being immersed and sheltered in an underwater space, where the canopy echoes the surface of the water and there’s no discernible boundary to prevent…

This photograph is by Mexico-based photographer Adam Wiseman, taken at Las Ventanas al Paraiso Hotel in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur. The image was taken with a DJI Mavic Pro drone and, according to Wiseman: “The location was spectacular: the mix of an organic coastline with symmetrical architecture; the contrasts between sand and sea; the textures of the same. All of this intensity can only be appreciated from the air.” Wiseman, who has been photographing Mexico for several years, explains his passion for the country: “I love shooting in here because it is so varied and unpredictable. You can go off the beaten track easily and if you don't, you will still be surprised. Even the most banal setting is compelling.” adamphotogallery.com…

MATT HUNT Matt is a Tauranga-based video cameraman and still photographer who travels the country on assignments. He photographed Urbis Designday on page 42. You photographed hundreds of people at this year’s Designday… any who stayed in your mind? There are always lots of interesting people that attend the event which makes my job enjoyable. ECC created a room with mirrors which captivated a lot of people over the two days. One guy decided to take his shirt off which along with the setting created a striking image! What was the general mood at the event or what was your highlight? There is always a buzz at Designday and this year delivered some visual treats! The Lexus designers’ area with their winning designs was a highlight for me with some…

LAMMA ISLAND (yes, pronounced a bit like the South American, funny-coiffed mammal) is about as close to the New Zealand beach experience as one can get in Hong Kong. It is perhaps no surprise then that Auckland-born creative consultant Kate Jones has made her home there. Jones is the powerhouse behind Hong Kong creative consultancy At Liberty and also runs an online store called get.give, which sells a collection of beautiful everyday objects for gifting. In her spare time, Jones co-runs rug company Kahoko, which sources rugs from local weavers in Kenya, with all the proceeds going back to the community. Her Lamma Island home is a place to unwind from work and travel. The island can only be accessed by a 25-minute ferry ride from central Hong Kong, has…

IT WASN’T TOO SOON AFTER ESTABLISHING his eponymous studio that interior designer David Flack landed a dream job. His clients, empty nesters with three adult children and grandchildren, needed a new abode to accommodate their growing family and they were willing to give him free design reign. Located on three acres of native bushland just outside Melbourne in the historically significant city of Bendigo – a boomtown during the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s – the generously sized site gave Flack Studio’s director plenty of room to play. However, the landscape was treated with the utmost respect during construction and not a single tree was removed, ensconcing the four-bedroom house in its idyllic country setting. Achieving the couple’s brief for a big, comfortable home that’s high-end, yet doesn’t feel…

These rooms bring together elements of Art Deco, 1950s’ automobiles, and a brave colour palette that is derived from the swinging ‘70s. DIMORESTUDIO.EU Mix it up with a changeable lid (the pointy end can face up or down). Totem coffee table, handmade in Italy from lacquered white clay. KARENCHEKERDJIAN.COM…

“FIND THE PLACE WHERE YOU can truly be yourself and then work like a maniac till you achieve your goals” has been an essential mantra for New Zealand-born, London-based interiors, furniture and homeware designer Cassandra Ellis. The fresh-faced and elegant Ellis combines that no-nonsense straight talking of so many a New Zealander with British style and refinement. Her apartment building was once the studio of photographer Bob Carlos Clarke, made famous for his risqué black-and-white portraits of latex-clad women. Clarke also took the pictures for White Heat (by Marco Pierre White), a classic cookbook which helped launch the image of the chef as rock star. Given this pedigree, the building has retained a mix of luxury, glamour and rock ‘n’ roll attitude and Ellis has stories of stumbling on semi-naked…

1 Brush collection “I’m a total geek about cleaning. I believe even your brushes should be beautiful and kept on display. Some of these are handmade from Germany, such as the lamb’s wool duster; the brush and shovel is Menu; the hanging system is Iris Hantverk.” 2 Coat rack from Menu “I love the gold; it’s so simple and completely changes the room. Two dressing gowns are hanging on it: one was a gift from my friend Lucy from the Himalayas, the other is a recycled sari.” 3 Stone sculptures “These little guys make me so happy. I call them my flatmates. They are Native American wooden sculptures that I bought in New Mexico. Above them is a work by Teebs, an LA artist whose work I like to collect.”…

AUSTRALIAN ARCHITECTURE FIRM SJB’s distinctly sophisticated aesthetic is deliciously high-end, without being ostentatious. In recently restoring an interwar building in Sydney’s inner-city suburb of Redfern, they applied their signature style to great effect, while still maintaining the structure’s original character. When the practice’s Director of Architecture, Sydney, Adam Haddow purchased the building’s new penthouse apartment, he knew it was an investment that had design integrity and any alterations that needed to be made would be minor. His ensuing scheme didn’t start to come together until halfway through the design process. “My partner and I realised what we actually wanted was a garden and this made us change the way we looked at the apartment,” Haddow says. Incorporating a generous amount of green space into the plan would be a challenge,…

What was your background prior to establishing Flack Studio? I studied interior design at Melbourne’s Swinburne University of Technology and spent my formal training years working at Hecker Phelan Guthrie (now Hecker Guthrie) and then Kerry Phelan Design Office before I set up my own studio in 2014. Why did you decide to branch out on your own? I was about to move to London, but started doing small commercial projects in Melbourne and ended up getting a lot of referrals. It grew organically from there and now Flack Studio is a team of eight. Do you approach your residential work in the same way as your commercial work? Our residential work is definitely more pared back than our commercial work, which is more about pushing big ideas and challenging…