Tabla de contenidos para December 2020 en Design Anthology, Australia Edition

For architect Dayne Trower, what started as a means to understand the geography of a site turned into an art practice that uses the familiar imagery of architectural models. Trower’s art practice began during his architecture studies ten years ago, when he would exhibit model artworks that explored deconstructed representations of a site. Now, after years of working together on various projects, he and his wife, architect Simona Falvo, have established Trower Falvo Architects, which allows them to work collaboratively on both the architecture and art practices. Their fledgling firm incorporates Trower’s early art practice as an integral part of their projects to better understand, test and challenge their ideas, but the results can be exhibited and read independently to the architecture. Rather than creating true-to-form vignettes, the duo leave…

‘We love a project that presents an opportunity to reinstate lost charm, not just into the interior, but also into the neighbourhood,’ says Paul Hecker, co-founder of Melbourne-based multidisciplinary design practice Hecker Guthrie. Located in Carlton North, an inner suburb of Melbourne known for its wide streets and proximity to some of the city’s best gardens and parks, this two-storey, four-bedroom home offered exactly that. The clients, a couple with children, approached Hecker Guthrie to renovate their new purchase, which sits on a 500-square-metre plot. The brief called for retaining the home’s original facade but designing a contemporary addition, which Hecker Guthrie undertook in collaboration with Brayshaw Architects, and then reinstating a sense of heritage into the home with a palette rich in materiality and textures. The entire renovation process…

Surrounded on three sides by the Parramatta River and offering some of Sydney’s best waterfront views, the suburb of Drummoyne is where a young family decided to create their dream home.The homeowners already had years of experience developing high-end properties for others, but this marked the first time they had built something for themselves. After discovering the work of SJS Interior Design on Instagram, the couple — who have three young daughters — reached out to the studio’s founder Sarah Jayne Marriott. ‘Our style and design aesthetic resonated with them,’ Marriott says. ‘From the beginning, they were open and responsive to our conceptual ideas, trusting us to take on their vision to create something bespoke and beautiful.’ The four-bedroom home is organised over three levels:on the basement level are a…

There’s no denying that the greening of our environments has been on designers’radars for the last decade, and though an abundance of plants around the home or office is now common, incorporating entire green systems is still relatively new. French botanist Patrick Blanc certainly made the world aware when he introduced his distinctive green walls in Paris as far back as the 1980s, and closer to home (and more recently), Sydney-based Junglefy has been at the forefront of the green revolution for well over a decade, working with leading architects and designers to introduce a more jungle-like environment everywhere from workplaces, apartments, lobbies and retail environments to car parks. Hospitals, educational and institutional buildings, and commercial developments have already benefited from Junglefy’s services. For example, the company worked with Blanc…

Auckland’s most design-driven and ecoconscious hotel raises the stakes in what has long been a lacklustre accommodation offering in New Zealand’s biggest city. Cheshire Architects, the Auckland-based practice responsible for some of the country’s most awarded residential and hospitality architecture, is behind the development, and the firm’s co-director Nat Cheshire describes The Hotel Britomart as ‘an object as art piece’, an urban retreat with a profound sense of place. A pair of slim buildings, clad in 150,000 handmade bricks and perforated with irregularly sized windows, rises to a modest ten storeys and houses 99 rooms and five suites. The structure is a striking statement in a city more inclined to shiny glass towers and is the newest addition to Britomart, the city’s oldest harbourside area. The historic nine-block precinct at…

When Fearon Hay Architects were asked to imagine a scheme for this site at the southern end of Omaha Beach, an hour north of Auckland, most of the other waterfront plots were already occupied. To take full measure of the view, these existing structures are generally double-storey with elevated living areas that look out to the ocean and horizon. But this piece of land has a different aspect: a triangular shape with the coastline hooking around, it looks down the beach rather than out to the open seas. Wedged between a stretch of golden sand and a bush-covered headland, it called for a unique design that stood out from its neighbours. The clients, a couple with grown children, wanted a weekend place that could expand when the family came to…

Form and function are the foundations of design, but there is also a more sensitive aspect: feeling. How people feel about a house — the emotive experience of architecture — is what creates memories and meaning. Las Palmas, in the Byron Bay hinterland, is a synergy of form, function and feeling. Occupying a prime position on a few hectares of rolling hills, Las Palmas is home to Sally and Matt McGarry and their three young boys. Sally grew up in Fenner House in Canberra, designed by Robin Boyd in 1952, and wanted to imbue her new family home with the emotions she associates with the sun-filled mid-century house. ‘I have memories of playing in the yard and climbing trees, garden parties and various activities in different rooms,’ she says. The…

For somewhere once described as the worst place to start a colony, Perth is looking pretty impressive these days. On regular visits over the past five years, I’ve watched the inner city go from tumbleweed town to blossoming cultural hub. This renaissance is thanks in no small part to the now-ended mining boom, the economic upturn of which provided the impetus for some major inner-city projects. The first was the ambitious rejuvenation of downtown’s historic Cathedral Square precinct. The trio of interconnected 19th-century government offices now known as the State Buildings had been vacant for almost 20 years before a local property developer called on Kerry Hill Architects to transform it into a casually elegant inner-city dining destination, completed in 2015. Staying at the luxury 48-room COMO The Treasury hotel,…

After a somewhat nomadic childhood, New Zealand interior designer Katie Lockhart has become an expert in creating a sense of home. Her father’s work took their family around the globe, and Lockhart absorbed influences from Poland to Seattle, while her parents’ interest in antiques and architecture instilled in her an appreciation for craft. She describes going to antique shops with her parents on weekends and watching the process as her father restored a new find that would then live with them. After graduating with a degree in textile design from the Victoria University of Wellington, Lockhart landed her first job with renowned fashion designer Karen Walker, who hired the young graduate as her first design assistant. But even now, it’s evident that Lockhart’s memories of the time are wrapped around…

Australia has to be one of the most exotic and colourful landscapes in the world. Here bush meets beach, and the natural world of the continent ranges from brilliant turquoise waters on the coast to arid deserts in the central interior, to rugged mountains in the high country and secret islands dotted along the coastline. In some parts of the landmass, the countryside is completely isolated and unspoilt. When you let nature in, it has a way of reconnecting you to what is truly important and silencing what is not.…

Salt in the air, waves within earshot, green plains sloping down to cliffside crags and 35 resplendent hectares of Victorian coastland make up the ruggedly idyllic setting of Peninsula House by Carr. Working on such an expansive plot, the Melbourne-based studio’s initial challenge was to establish structure and a sense of place. ‘Our first question was how to get from the front gate all the way to the house,’ recalls studio founder and principal Sue Carr. After mapping and considering the property from all angles, Carr and her team conceived an undulating pathway to the home, designed to celebrate movements in the terrain. The pavilion itself is a confident sculptural expression, oriented to maximise ocean vistas and positioned in line with the natural fall of the land. A robust, monochromatic…

For Melbourne-based Seed Project Group, foundation is everything — both literally and figuratively. The boutique construction company has built its reputation on a foundation of industry experience, an innovative approach and personalised customer service. The management team prides itself on working closely with clients and architects to gain a deep understanding of their individual needs, and focuses on solutions at every stage of the process. This ensures that clients feel comfortable, confident and supported throughout, and that every project is realised to its architectural potential and to the client’s expectations. Specialising in high-end single dwellings, townhouses and heritage extensions and renovations (such as the recently completely Lantern House, pictured), the group is committed to building beautiful, high-quality homes, approaching each new development with their values of integrity and excellence. It…