Table of contents for Urbis Feb/Mar 2018 in Urbis

Some homes express the personalities of the people who inhabit them better than others do and this issue is an exploration of that elusive and often hard to define ‘personal touch’. Take, for instance, the wild and intensely playful Amsterdam apartment (page 116) designed by Studio Job as their own home where colours and sculptures compete for attention. This explosion of creativity is a faithful reflection of the style these enfants terribles have crafted from the early stages of their careers. Our cover story about an owner-designed home in Auckland’s Mount Eden (page 60) shows how a residence from the late 1800s has been modernised while retaining some of the best elements of its architectural past. That enviable, grand abode was also re-imagined with family living in mind. On the…

T’S NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE to describe Tulum without sounding like an overenthusiastic tour guide. The small Mexican pueblo (town) is just 90 minutes south of Cancún and, in recent years, has become the Yucatán Peninsula’s newest, most popular hot spot. Ancient Mayan ruins pepper the coastline along with luscious tropical jungles and beaches replete with pristine white sands and crystal-clear water. Little wonder tourists are flocking there in droves and new hotels and getaways are popping up everywhere. The best developments in the area tend to work with Tulum’s natural environment and offer an experience that’s equal parts laid-back bohemia and aspirational retreat. Rather than subtract or detract from a context rich in culture and history, they add another layer of intrigue and accessibility. Yet it’s not without controversy and many…

LEXUS CONCEPT BECOMES REALITY Flagship LC500 coupé blends bold design with brutal performance. Last issue we heralded the Aston Martin DB11 as our best driver’s car of 2017 because it doubles as a superb sports car and GT car. Luckily for us, our first wheels of 2018 follow a similar brief. The Lexus LC500’s roots can be traced back to a stunning 2012 concept that quickly spawned the low-volume, V10-engined LFA. So, today’s flagship Lexus coupé has a supercar in its DNA. What’s more, the LC500 is built at the same Lexus plant that crafted the LFA supercar and by the same Takumi craftsmen. High quality and a need for touring comfort make it heavy, though; the final assemblage of steel, aluminium and carbon fibre just scrapes in under two…

WORKING IN ADVERTISING, Ralph van Dijk knows how to create twists on everyday ideas. And the same can also be said of Ralph’s collection of furniture, objects and artworks, which includes mid-century and contemporary classics as well as images and pieces with intriguing spins or stories. Ralph and his wife, Kate, and their three teenaged children, Sylvie, Coco and the fast-rising music star Ruel, live in Balgowlah Heights in Sydney. Born to Dutch parents, Ralph grew up in Christchurch. He lived in London for 18 years – where he met Kate – and moved to Sydney in 2006, opening a new office of Eardrum, his advertising agency specialising in audio and radio. The family lives in an A-frame house designed by Sydney architect Graeme Over in the late 1950s; it…

WHERE THE GIRLS IN THE GRAY family once sat on the front verandah darning, knitting and chewing the breeze (back in the 1860s), now, Rachyl and Tony Abraham, and their three children – Charlotte (15), Gabriella (13) and Daniel (10) – enjoy weekend breakfasts at a specially designed window bar that overlooks leafy suburbia through to the Waitakeres. Although needlework has been relegated to the annals of history, and the view from this hilltop eyrie has changed, the house itself, built in 1862, remains just as special as it was. “A lovely old neighbour told us many stories about the Grays,” says Rachyl. “He said they had a view of the quarry and of Coldicutt, the original stone house on Mt Eden Road.” Those were the days when all grand…

AFTER TWO YEARS in their first ‘together home’ in downtown The Hague, the architect and graphic designer couple of Jelle and Theo-Bert was ready for something new. Their priorities were simple: more space, a fun neighbourhood and proximity to the beach. As luck would have it, the first house they looked at was, unanimously, ‘the one’. “We walked in and looked at each other. We loved the enormous living room, en suite, the substantial yard and the location: perfectly situated between downtown and the ocean. It wouldn’t get any better than this,” says Theo-Bert. “The character of the home was appealing too,” adds Jelle. “This was a home that was lived in. Everything was proof of previous tenants. The white wooden floor was really a subfloor, the ornaments were not…

ALANA DIMOU Alana is a food, travel and lifestyle photographer from Sydney, Australia. She photographed a home in Sydney for us (page 52) and the quirky travel image on our last page. How was the shoot at Ralph van Dijk’s house? Incredible. Every room of the house has dramatic views of the ocean, the shelves and walls are dripping with art and meaningful objects. It was a real pleasure to visit. What else has been keeping your busy lately? A few different fun things, notably shooting a cookbook of modern Japanese food and honing my questionable skills making small ceramics in my new studio space. Do you have a favourite spot in Sydney that you can divulge to our readers? I know the term ‘unpretentious food’ is thrown around too…

KAREN INDERBITZEN-WALLER and her wife Delphine Planqueel (better known as Avril) bring a touch of eccentricity and high-end glamour to the New Zealand fashion scene. The pair has worked as stylists and photographers for some of New Zealand’s biggest names including Karen Walker, NOM*d, Helen Cherry and Harman Grubiša. Their work as a photography double act has been successful enough to merit appearing in what is arguably the world’s best fashion magazine:Vogue Italia. Their personal double act was cemented in 2009, when they got married in a civil union at Las Vegas, a former strip club and trendy, sporadic music venue on Auckland’s K road. As well as being art, fashion and photography obsessed, Karen and Avril also have a knack for translating their personal style to their homes. Their…

1 La Pavoni coffee machine “We bought it in Italy before we got married so it’s 23 years old and hasn’t missed a beat. There are faster ways to make coffee but this manual machine slows us down. The 10-minute coffee-making ceremony ensures we stop and savour it together.” 2 F587 chairs, Artifort Designed by Geoffrey Harcourt in 1967. “They were a fitting birthday present since we both just turned 50. I like the scale; they make a statement but are still streamlined. They swivel so you can be sociable or spin around to the view and read the paper.” 3 Macaw by Darwin Sinke & van Tongeren “Ferry van Tongeren is a good friend and his taxidermy is next level. During the preparation process, he started photographing his subjects.…

At first glance, this might appear to be an abstract image but, on closer inspection, several pairs of eyes look back at you. “This image was taken in Hong Kong’s goldfish markets on Tung Choi Street, where bagged creatures are sold for feng shui and convenient pet ownership,” says photographer Alana Dimou. “I want my travel photos to illustrate the scale of the city, as well as its nuances – this narrow wall of weird, plastic reflections, tiny ripples and distorted fish evokes the latter.” alanadimou.com…

From early on in your career you have been branded as ‘rebellious’ – why do you think this is? While attending the Design Academy Eindhoven, I didn’t necessarily agree with what my teachers felt was right or wrong in design. I have always been one to ask as many questions as possible and I directed myself towards experimentation, allowing for a lot of mistakes, to explore creativity as widely as possible. That wish to experiment was considered rebellious and it got me expelled. I suppose my drive to break new ground and challenge expectations is seen by many as being defiant. I agree a lot of your design output feels experimental or bold in terms of materiality or manufacture. Is it a struggle or a joy to be constantly pushing…

In the second part of this series, we focus on Vinegar Lane, a development on a site that used to be known – if not by name, by scent – as DYC, a cider and vinegar distillery in the heart of Ponsonby in Auckland. What makes this latest iteration interesting is that the half-a-hectare site has been subdivided into just over 30 plots and bought, designed and built independently with minimal central design controls. David Irwin from Isthmus, the company responsible for its master-planning, says that this type of development favours “smaller players, which would be more equitable, would allow more ownership”. He explains that the concept is popular in Amsterdam but it is also a very ‘Kiwi’ idea since it is the way many of our neighbourhoods used to…

Imagined movement and a sense of personality are implicit in these designs.…

1 Serge The mini-fox, mini-pinscher mix comes from a deer farm in Whanganui. He’s the first dog I’ve had as an adult and he’s named after French musician Serge Gainsbourg. He can do lots of tricks and he gets lots of attention in the street; he knows he’s handsome! 2 Framed scarf This is a silk scarf by Raf Simons in collaboration with LA artist Brian Calvin. I went to the show, chose that scarf, then had it framed at Homestead Picture Framers. 3 Lamp The Kartell Mushroom lamp from 1975, which is the same year that Karen was born. This house was built in 1974. I love Kartell, especially the early, 1970s’ pieces. 4 Pool loungers The loungers were originally from one of Auckland’s public swimming pools: either Point…

MAYBE THEY WERE BORED. Or perhaps they’d had too much sun. And not enough sleep. But when George Wilkins and Will McCallum were asked to come up with an end-of-year project for their University of Otago design paper, their minds immediately went to helicopters. “We started mucking around with the laser printer and came up with kitset wooden helicopters, which somehow worked,” says McCallum (now 27). The pair ended up selling them as a fund-raiser for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter. As befits their laid-back style, they ‘fell’ into making wooden swings for friends. The classic comment of “You should sell those” led to their doing so. If their business, George & Willy, has been something of a happenstance, then their pared-back, handmade objects are anything but. Ranging from clothing racks…