Seear-Budd Ross is a New Zealand architecture studio based in Wellington, founded by Thomas Seear-Budd and James Ross in 2019. Within its first 12 months of business, the architects and small business owners have had more than an expected amount of uncertainly when starting a business, being a global health crisis and a period of total lockdown in New Zealand that lasted just over 4 weeks.
On today’s episode of Dialling In With Habitus, we chat to Thomas and James about lessons in business and architecture learnt during the time spent working for an established and well-known architecture firm, we speak about intricacies in extracting a client brief to ensure the architectural response meets the atmospheric needs as well as the functional ones, and we speak about the impacts of a country-wide lockdown and how Thomas and James have grown not only as architects but as small business owners.
Download and listen to Dialling In With Habitus below, on Apple Podcasts, or on Spotify.
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Inside Out House was designed in response to the client’s dreams: dreams of being out of the city, away from congestion, in the midst of nature and having the means and imagination to explore. Located on the outskirts of Bangalore, India, Inside Out House has been designed by Gaurav Roy Choudhury Architects to sit at the intersection between dreams and reality. The clients, a young couple and their one child, live in a residence that responds to their wishes and desires but also facilitates their everyday life. “Inside Out House locates itself between the romantic and the brutal,” say the architects.
The house has been built right up to the site’s boundaries in an effort to atmospherically separate the world inside with the world outside. The exterior structure, though boxy and large, does not alienate itself from the neighbourhood nor the residents from their community. White walls with a brick detailed, though visually impenetrable give the illusion of openness, affording the residents the privacy desired without isolating their neighbours.
The only recession in the Brutalist building is made for the driveway, follow it along and you find yourself at the entry. One enters directly into a large living area that masses to left (east), with an internal garden running alongside it to the right (west). Also on the ground floor are wet and dry kitchens, a dining room, one bedroom and ensuite, a rec room and a pooja. The second floor comprises more bedrooms and ensuites, and a second family room.
Roof gardens above the garage and the living room combine with the large garden below to create large open spaces. The flat roof above the second floor is open and accessible, offering the clients yet more opportunities to be outside and in nature.
Inside, the spaces purposely fold and dissolve into one another, the hard boundaries of the external walls are completely non-existent inside. Colour runs throughout the house, both in the bold yellow walls and the verdant greenery. Mezzanines and alternate floors are visually connected through atriums and double-height voids. The brick breezeway allow filtered light into the house and are visually striking in the light patterns they produce. Moreover, the brick adds a sense of tactility to the polished concrete floors and white painted concrete walls.
Inside Out House meets the client’s brief for a residence that offered escape from the chaos and congestion of inner-city living. But it does more than that, it creates an other-worldly yet completely realistic atmosphere for the clients to live in a playful home punctuated by greenery and colour.
Gaurav Roy Choudhury Architects
Photography by Niveditaa Gupta
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The only recession in the Brutalist building is made for the driveway, follow it along and you find yourself at the entry. One enters directly into a large living area that masses to left (east), with an internal garden running alongside it to the right (west). Also on the ground floor are wet and dry kitchens, a dining room, one bedroom and ensuite, a rec room and a pooja. The second floor comprises more bedrooms and ensuites, and a second family room.
Roof gardens above the garage and the living room combine with the large garden below to create large open spaces. The flat roof above the second floor is open and accessible, offering the clients yet more opportunities to be outside and in nature.
Inside, the spaces purposely fold and dissolve into one another, the hard boundaries of the external walls are completely non-existent inside. Colour runs throughout the house, both in the bold yellow walls and the verdant greenery. Mezzanines and alternate floors are visually connected through atriums and double-height voids. The brick breezeway allow filtered light into the house and are visually striking in the light patterns they produce. Moreover, the brick adds a sense of tactility to the polished concrete floors and white painted concrete walls.
Inside Out House meets the client’s brief for a residence that offered escape from the chaos and congestion of inner-city living. But it does more than that, it creates an other-worldly yet completely realistic atmosphere for the clients to live in a playful home punctuated by greenery and colour.
Gaurav Roy Choudhury Architects
Photography by Niveditaa Gupta
We think you might also like Fade to Green by Hyla Architects
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Some projects begin with specific requirements; others might begin with a program; or perhaps, a form. This project, in New Zealand by Pac Studio, began with a colour: yellow.
“When we design, we often try to tone the project to our clients’ personality as well as their pragmatic needs and budget,” explains the Auckland-based design practice. In this case, the personalities of Pac Studio’s clients’ – a creative couple with two young children – were best described by three smile-provoking words: fun, warm and friendly.
Of course, there was more to the brief for Yolk House than a case of the warm-fuzzies and a penchant for colour. The family’s house – a bungalow-style abode – was troubled by poor planning, an unfortunate disconnect from its landscape, and an ill-conceived c.1980s addition that only exacerbated the problem. Pac Studio was tasked to reconfigure the existing house; remove the 1980s homage to bungalow detailing; and expand the house with a contemporary extension, which would capture the western light in a large, open living space.
Pac Studio’s response was to create a split-level addition – with a twist – rectifying the plagued planning, and reconnecting the house and garden. The aforementioned twist, in case you were wondering, is realised in the form of strand board flooring, finished in bright yellow, high gloss acrylic. “The yellow floor reflects a warm light throughout the interior, creating the feeling of sunshine even on the dreariest winter day,” say the architects, “The result is a home that perpetually feels fun, warm and friendly.”
The clients had chosen Pac Studio, having seen the studio’s previous renovation work. Though, these days, the multi-disciplinary design practice’s body of work is more diverse, in its early days, Pac Studio worked on many renovation projects and still has a soft spot for rejuvenating older buildings. “Renovations allow you as a designer to riff of the existing bones and playfully reinterpret the crafted nature of old homes.”
The clients shared Pac Studio’s design sensibilities and, from the outset, wanted the project to have a sense of playfulness and quirk. The material palette used for Yolk House came from a desire to create unusual experiences with cost-effective materials. Mill-finished aluminium cladding was chosen for the exterior as it allowed for fast and efficient construction but also, says Pac Studio, “because it created soft reflections of the garden and the ever-changing sky in its surface.”
With its unpretentious materiality, iridescent exterior and gleaming yellow floor, Yolk House is as quintessentially Kiwi as architecture can get.
Pac Studio
pacstudio.nz
Photography by David St George and David Straight
We think you might also like Sustainable House by Gardiner Architects
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Of course, there was more to the brief for Yolk House than a case of the warm-fuzzies and a penchant for colour. The family’s house – a bungalow-style abode – was troubled by poor planning, an unfortunate disconnect from its landscape, and an ill-conceived c.1980s addition that only exacerbated the problem. Pac Studio was tasked to reconfigure the existing house; remove the 1980s homage to bungalow detailing; and expand the house with a contemporary extension, which would capture the western light in a large, open living space.
Pac Studio’s response was to create a split-level addition – with a twist – rectifying the plagued planning, and reconnecting the house and garden. The aforementioned twist, in case you were wondering, is realised in the form of strand board flooring, finished in bright yellow, high gloss acrylic. “The yellow floor reflects a warm light throughout the interior, creating the feeling of sunshine even on the dreariest winter day,” say the architects, “The result is a home that perpetually feels fun, warm and friendly.”
The clients had chosen Pac Studio, having seen the studio’s previous renovation work. Though, these days, the multi-disciplinary design practice’s body of work is more diverse, in its early days, Pac Studio worked on many renovation projects and still has a soft spot for rejuvenating older buildings. “Renovations allow you as a designer to riff of the existing bones and playfully reinterpret the crafted nature of old homes.”
The clients shared Pac Studio’s design sensibilities and, from the outset, wanted the project to have a sense of playfulness and quirk. The material palette used for Yolk House came from a desire to create unusual experiences with cost-effective materials. Mill-finished aluminium cladding was chosen for the exterior as it allowed for fast and efficient construction but also, says Pac Studio, “because it created soft reflections of the garden and the ever-changing sky in its surface.”
With its unpretentious materiality, iridescent exterior and gleaming yellow floor, Yolk House is as quintessentially Kiwi as architecture can get.
Pac Studio
pacstudio.nz
Photography by David St George and David Straight
We think you might also like Sustainable House by Gardiner Architects
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Raf Simons is a name synonymous with iconic, globally renowned fashion houses across Europe and America. Since launching his self-titled label in 1995 he has gone on to direct the likes of Jil Sander, Dior, Calvin Klein and, as of April 2020, Prada. Yet the Belgian fashion designer and creative director originally studied industrial design.
Perhaps his early study is what inspired his wide-ranging interests in modern art, design, music, graphics and architecture. And perhaps his broad interests are what inspired his unique sense of style that over the years has continually spoken to and attracted the attention of Design Hunters across the globe.
It would come as no surprise then that Raf Simmons regularly engages in interdisciplinary design collaborations. In January 2014, the first Kvadrat/Raf Simons collection made its public debut sparking a long, fruitful and fashionable relationship between the famous designer and iconic textile company that continues to this day.
Over the years Raf has been fascinated by the limitations on the weaving and colouration process for furniture textiles and upholstery that due to the different uses and requirements on the fabric, do not extend to fashion industry textile process. “Because of the dense weave that is needed for furniture, the colouration becomes even more interesting, with almost a painterly impact,” he says.
The most recent release of Kvadrat/Raf Simons upholstery continues the bold exploration in colour for which the collection has become known. At once sophisticated and playful, Raf explores differently textured designs such as long fibred mohairs reminiscent of sheepskin, short pile velour, and soft irregular bouclés.
Whatever one’s interior design needs are, the textiles are designed as contemporary yet timeless pieces; tones weaves and textures that won’t date as we enter future decades. There are bold, neutral and muted colour themes as well as patterns that range from the obvious to the understated.
Kvadrat/Raf Simons kvadratmaharam.com
Photography by Casper Sejersen We think you might also like the Doodles collection by Faye Toogood and cc-tapis
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The owners of this five-room HDB flat in Singapore came to Third Avenue Studio with a clear vision and an open mind. “They definitely knew what they wanted from the get-go so it wasn’t hard for us to design their home. But at the same time, they were willing to take in our suggestions and were very open to our ideas, which was great,” says designer Janine Ting. Seeing as how the young couple loved retro furniture (they sourced most of their furniture from Second Charm and Retro Colony), the design team decided on a retro style interior design that would speak to their personalities and tastes.
“The husband loves the colour yellow, while the wife loves green, so we incorporated these into the overall scheme,” explains Janine. The bold palette sets the tone for a cheery, retro-inspired sanctuary that brims with character without being kitsch. Herringbone-patterned wood flooring and wood furniture bring warmth to the space, while custom features inject personality.
“During our first meeting, we learned that the husband loved collecting vinyl records. While this was not their main requirement, we decided to create a display rack feature to showcase his collection,” says Janine. Close by, a vinyl player sits on a repurposed console that was once the husband’s mum’s old sewing machine.
The couple were open to Third Avenue Studio’s suggestion of an open-plan layout, and a generously-sized integrated kitchen island-dining table. The counter is a durable Dekton surface, while the combination of dark vinyl flooring and striking blue subway tiles visually demarcates this zone from the living area. To give the couple some flexibility in dining, the designers also recommended a coffee table from Spaceman (in the living room) that could transform into a dining table when desired.
Space efficiency is also well-considered. In the master bedroom, the wardrobe is inset into the adjacent common bedroom so that space in the former is not compromised. A deep teal wall lends a soothing atmosphere to this place of rest.
Maintaining design continuity, the common bathroom (left) and master bathroom (right) enjoy an uplifting ambience with cheery yellow tiles laid differently in each for subtle differentiation. In the common bath, too, a wooden, mid-century aesthetic, vanity from Second Charm brings in the retro style interior design.
Having kept an open mind while trusting in the proposed ideas that the designers brought to the table, the young couple now live comfortably, in a modern home that warmly reflects who they are.
Third Avenue Studio
thirdave.sg
We think you might also like this Singaporean apartment by TE-EL
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“During our first meeting, we learned that the husband loved collecting vinyl records. While this was not their main requirement, we decided to create a display rack feature to showcase his collection,” says Janine. Close by, a vinyl player sits on a repurposed console that was once the husband’s mum’s old sewing machine.
The couple were open to Third Avenue Studio’s suggestion of an open-plan layout, and a generously-sized integrated kitchen island-dining table. The counter is a durable Dekton surface, while the combination of dark vinyl flooring and striking blue subway tiles visually demarcates this zone from the living area. To give the couple some flexibility in dining, the designers also recommended a coffee table from Spaceman (in the living room) that could transform into a dining table when desired.
Space efficiency is also well-considered. In the master bedroom, the wardrobe is inset into the adjacent common bedroom so that space in the former is not compromised. A deep teal wall lends a soothing atmosphere to this place of rest.
Maintaining design continuity, the common bathroom (left) and master bathroom (right) enjoy an uplifting ambience with cheery yellow tiles laid differently in each for subtle differentiation. In the common bath, too, a wooden, mid-century aesthetic, vanity from Second Charm brings in the retro style interior design.
Having kept an open mind while trusting in the proposed ideas that the designers brought to the table, the young couple now live comfortably, in a modern home that warmly reflects who they are.
Third Avenue Studio
thirdave.sg
We think you might also like this Singaporean apartment by TE-EL
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Many know and love Ritzwell for the pillars it began with in 1992, pillars that are still central to the Japanese brand’s DNA today. Fundamentally, Ritzwell’s mission was and remains to create ultra comfortable furniture that exudes aesthetically elegant design. For almost three decades now the design team has met this brief by using high quality materials, exhibiting a meticulous attention to detail (for function as well as form), and drawing from historic Japanese design principles that reference their culture and iconic design aesthetics.
In place of a physical launch at Salone del Mobile this year, Ritzwell has unveiled four new designs digitally, accessing architects, interior designers and Design Hunters with unrivalled immediacy across the globe.
True to form and practice, the Rivage Lounge Chair, MT Bench and Mo Bridge Desk and Stool balance modern design principles and classic Japanese design sensibilities that echo those of Scandinavia. All the while comfort, form and function remain of the utmost importance.
The Rivage Lounge Chair is designed by Atelier D.Q. and evokes mid-century design characteristics alongside a modern, minimalist form. A solid steel frame ensures durability while distinct bow-shaped armrests carved from timber offer comfort. The armrests are available in solid Walnut or solid Oak with a natural, black or white stain finish. As standard, the frame comes in a black powder coated finish. Alternatively an acrylic urethane finish is available in six colours. Fabric or leather upholstery is available pertaining to preference and purpose.
Similarly to the Rivage Lounge Chair, the MT Bench offers a combination of traditional and strikingly contemporary design. At the hands of industrial designer Shinsaku Miyamoto, the slim lines of the slender steel frame are carried through to the flat yet detailed interwoven leather on the seat. However a soft cushion lies underneath so that comfort is not sacrificed. The hard leather is available in black, burgundy, taupe grey, dark brown or vinatge brown while the timber can be specified in solid Walnut or solid Oak.
The desk and stool within the Mo Bridge line, also designed by Shinsaku Miyamoto share the same elegant and sophisticated good looks. The Mo Bridge Desk has tapered, solid timber legs atop which sit a bevelled edges solid timber desk. The timber is available as either solid Walnut or solid Oak in a natural or black or white stain, finished with a decorative yet practical desk pad in thick leather. The stool shares the same tapered timber legs of the desk and mirrors the interwoven leather details of the MT Bench. The stool is available in two sizes (one slightly more elongated than the other), and the same five colour ways as the MT Bench: black, burgundy, taupe grey, vintage brown or dark brown.
Stylecraft stylecraft.com.au
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With the potential to earn 5 formal CPD points, from the comfort of your own home or office, this completely free and digital event is a must for anyone looking to keep up to date with the latest news and information in the industry. Make sure you sign up before Thursday to be a part of it.
The Indesign team has coordinated a line up of visionary industry leaders who will be sharing insights from their many years of experience. CPD-Live offers not just the opportunity to hear from these speakers but also ask your own questions. It’s an opportunity to interact and network, across verticals, online and for free.
The CPD-Live program is approved by the Australian Institute of Architects Refuel CPD Program, of which Indesign is a network provider. Each session meets the AACA competency standards and you’re able you can earn 1 AIA Refuel CPD Point per individual session for a total of 5 if you attend all of them.
Register now for this Thursday and be a part of CDP-Live!
See below for full program details and outcomes
Full CPD-Live Program and Details
Understanding Section J NCC 2019 for Windows and Doors
25 June, 9.00am – 10.00am AEST
“There has been a lot of uncertainty in regards to the Section J update in NCC 2019, this CPD should allow the attendees to start to feel more confident about designing a compliant building.” – Ross Baynham, National Specification Manager, Alspec
Session Synopsis:
This CPD is designed to understand the requirements of Section J NCC 2019 and its implications on Window and Door selections. What are the impacts of different products on overall Façade performance and how they can affect building design.Key Learning Outcomes:
From attending this session participants will learn:- The new requirements for External Facades in NCC 2019
- Understanding the performance of windows and walls
- The impacts of different products on overall facade performance
- The impacts of NCC 2019 on building design
Watermark Compliance Considerations – From A Drainage Perspective
25 June, 10.15 – 11.15am AEST
“On the 1st of June 2020, the ABCB released an update to the 2018 version of WaterMark Technical Specification WMTS-040:2020. This is one of the most significant changes to the specification in recent years – we’ll cover what materials are certified now and what are not” – Troy Creighton, Managing Director, Stormtech
Session Synopsis:
There are major factors that should be considered with bathroom drainage, building compliance and building insurance with WaterMark Certification – Troy explains the implications and also details all of the drainage considerations you should consider in your projects.Key Learning Outcomes:
From attending this session participants will learn about drainage considerations including:- Code requirements
- Practicalities
- Problems
- Design solutions
- Environmental aspects
Wood & Wellbeing
25 June, 11.30am – 12.30pm AEST
Session Synopsis:
How does Wellness & Health impact our working & living lives? With many new buildings under construction, how many of these can be described or certified healthy? Do we know how healthy buildings can lead to positive impacts on both immediate environments both internal and external? If so what are the implications? We need to understand how working spaces will be used and how connected they are to the natural & built environments. Can biophilic design achieve wellness and positive built environment outcomes? Can we achieve a sweet spot of living and working with increased health and wellness? How does timber and the use of timber in built environments achieve these positive outcomes? Are there existing examples of these to educate current design intents? How does the modern and post-COVID design paradigms allow us to eliminate a dichotomy of health & wellness with built environments?Key Learning Outcomes:
- Understand what wellbeing is and why it matters
- Understand what is meant by ‘Healthy Buildings’ and ‘Healthy Materials’
- Explore the connection between wood and wellbeing
- Look to the future of wood & wellbeing
Specifying Hardwoods with Confidence
25 June, 1.00pm – 2.00pm AEST
We’re looking forward to sharing the latest technical developments from around the world that will provide architects with all they need to make an informed choice when specifying timber in their projects” – Rod Wiles, Director, American Hardwood Export Council Oceania.
Session Synopsis:
The aim of this presentation is to give architects and designers an understanding of where American hardwoods come from, what they are, what their environmental credentials and impact are and how to use them and specify them realistically.Key Learning Outcomes:
- Assess and integrate construction systems and materials consistent with the project brief
- Evaluate design options against values of physical, environmental and cultural contexts
- Apply creative imagination and aesthetic judgement to produce coherent design
- Investigate and integrate appropriate material selection for the project design
Hydration In The Workplace Specification Considerations 2020
25 June, 2.15 – 3.15pm AEST
Session Synopsis:
This session is intended to provide Designers with a comprehensive overview of the areas that effect the specification of plumbed in boiling and chilled drinking water appliances in the workplace. This seminar will focus on four key areas: Client Needs, Product Selection & types, Water Filtration, Installation More Details Hereabc 
Andy Carson is a Sydney-based architect working from a shared office space in Bronte. He and his small team hadn’t been there long before they relocated once again, though this time, separately to each of their homes. Working amongst partners and young children – or children of any age – has been a challenge for us all. But for Andy, time spent in a shared and cross-disciplinary office meant he was somewhat already practiced in maintaining concentration in lively environments. As such he has been better positioned to enjoy and appreciate the extra time alongside loved ones.
His active projects are within the bounds of the NSW state border so site visits haven’t stopped, and lengthened construction hours have meant they’ve been able to space out the amount of tradespeople on site without causing delays. However Andy notes that once relationships are established the workflow flows and clients are generally happy to use the technologies to keep it up. The concern in Andy’s eyes is the impact to find and foster new working relationships if travel is restricted or there are apprehensions around meeting in person.
Today on Dialling IN With Habitus we speak to Andy about little changes with meaningful impacts, including the welcome realisation that without the likelihood of a meeting in the near future some clients seem to be more willing to pick up the phone for quick questions or small clarifications.
Download and listen to Dialling In With Habitus below, on Apple Podcasts, or on Spotify.
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Someone referred to the recently published Iconic Modern Australian Houses 1950-2000 as a survey book and it took me by surprise, in that I had never considered it in that light before. A survey looks down from above, from a position of great height and knowledge, whereas I built this book from the ground up, with a starting point of mild ignorance. Initially through an emotional and physical understanding of the work of Bruce Rickard (we live in his 1967 Marshall House) an intellectual appreciation developed. Subsequently, through a gradual process of research, many in-depth interviews and house visits, I came to understand the landscape of Australian architecture from the 1950s onwards. This book is my education on the topic.
As a former magazine editor, I wanted it to have a singular visual identity and, while it certainly added an element of difficulty, it was important that we photograph all the houses as they existed in the 21st century. There is no doubt a book of archive material would have felt very different – broader, more linked to the time it was built and indeed perhaps more of a survey. This book represents houses that have survived, mostly intact, which is no small feat as the value of the land they sit on has been the downfall of many contemporaneous houses.
And indeed the land and its relationship to the houses is an important aspect in the book with the topology of the Australian landscape woven through the pages. Gabriel Poole’s lightweight Gartner House on its steep site in Queensland, Ian McKay’s tent-like structure in Lobster Bay NSW, and Richard Leplastrier’s famous canvas-walled Palm House in Bilgola contrasted with the hunkering down of Barrie Marshall’s concrete Phillip Island House which buries itself in the landscape. “In its context it lurks like a stealth bomber, hidden and subversive”, say Haig Beck and Jackie Copper, in one of my favourite quotes.
But probably the most important aspect of this book is that it shines a light on the architectural gems we have here in Australia, the concepts that embrace climate, manipulate form and materiality in such a great variety of ways and show that with our vast landscape, with its different changing geographies, there is no such thing as one size fits all.
At first, the eye takes in the landscape of ancient gums and pines, the creek and the ridge beyond. Then follows the appreciation of the rusticity of the house itself, achieved through its weathered timbers, bush poles and corrugated iron, and the way in which it references farm buildings in the area while retaining its own distinctive character. As [architect Daryl] Jackson comments, ‘It is a vernacular vocabulary, but in an urbanistic form.’ With discussion and greater contemplation comes a new level of understanding.
How the concept of the expanded Australian ‘lean-to’ developed from the appreciation of the simple pioneer cottage already on the land, and how, as Jackson says, ‘the spatial revolution, perhaps modernism’s crowning achievement, remains a keystone to my compositional tactics. Cubism in particular.’ What you experience at first sight is undoubtedly confirmed, but often in ways you had not quite anticipated, which surely is the purpose of all good art.
To escape at weekends, the Jacksons bought a farm block on the Mornington Peninsula. Jackson’s understanding of the landscape, and the power it commands, rendered him realistic about the task in hand. ‘The house had to contend with the landscape, with the pioneer timber slab-and-mud lean-to shed, and a 120-year-old cottage, with a marvellous white pre-Captain Cook eucalypt, on a hillside dropping away to a creek.’
As a starting point, his scheme evolved from what was already there – working into what existed in the European tradition, but in a quintessentially Australian context and form. ‘Building new to sustain the old became a leitmotiv in his work,’ writes Patrick McCaughey to describe his approach in the broader commercial context, but it is also true in this personal, domestic project.
Jackson first stabilised and restored the cottage of stone slab, sticks and mud, which was virtually falling over after 30 years of cattle trampling through it. This sparked the idea for the house, ‘of abstracting from the lean-to shape, the humble back porch or filled-in verandah to become the whole dwelling’, he says. Combined with his ability to arrive at what he describes as ‘primary situations’, such as finding the essence of the house via the landform, this gave him a strong sense of place from which to create. Jackson is tuned into scale and the relationship of the structure to the landscape, how it integrates into the composition of the garden on one level and addresses the ridge and the valley at a larger level. He calls it a ‘topographic composition’.
Jackson’s building is linked to the land in two ways. He explains: ‘A trellis sunshade becomes a fence separating garden and orchard from bush. The line it creates makes an important horizontal link between the house and stable.’ The entrance to the house is via a broad timber bridge creating an anticipatory journey to ‘the heart of the house’.
Structurally, its openness is immediately evident. A series of platforms linked by open-tread staircases and the two-storey, glassed-in atrium reveal his preoccupation with geometry. ‘My interest in Cubism is based on ideas of taking apart and transforming, of reconstructing and opposing, with elements being redefined and renewed by the changing set of relationships,’ says Jackson. He admired the work of Picasso in this period with his ability to fundamentally alter the literal, representative nature of art by abstracting from life to produce a shift in perception and alter the accepted order of things.
Yet the feeling of the house is by no means sharp and fractured. Jackson manages to sidestep the angular through his choice of materials, by the way in which the house has been fabricated, and through his ability to balance his passion for Cubism with another ‘ism’. ‘The key point about expressionism is the inner vision, portrayed as content. It uses the world of feelings and emotions as much as any rationale or functional stance,’ says Jackson. ‘These two threads are the constant, endemic to my work throughout my life.’
The importance of Daryl Jackson’s practice both in Australia and internationally cannot be underestimated. He has more than 100 awards to his name, is a RAIA gold medallist, holds an Order of Australia, an honorary doctorate at Ballarat University and, among his academic commitments as a professorial associate at Melbourne and Deakin universities, found time for many years to be a director of Essendon Football Club.
Images and text from Iconic by Karen McCartney.
Photography by Michael Wee.
Murdoch Books
murdochbooks.com.au
abc
Jackson House by Daryl Jackson, Mornington Peninsula
At first, the eye takes in the landscape of ancient gums and pines, the creek and the ridge beyond. Then follows the appreciation of the rusticity of the house itself, achieved through its weathered timbers, bush poles and corrugated iron, and the way in which it references farm buildings in the area while retaining its own distinctive character. As [architect Daryl] Jackson comments, ‘It is a vernacular vocabulary, but in an urbanistic form.’ With discussion and greater contemplation comes a new level of understanding.
How the concept of the expanded Australian ‘lean-to’ developed from the appreciation of the simple pioneer cottage already on the land, and how, as Jackson says, ‘the spatial revolution, perhaps modernism’s crowning achievement, remains a keystone to my compositional tactics. Cubism in particular.’ What you experience at first sight is undoubtedly confirmed, but often in ways you had not quite anticipated, which surely is the purpose of all good art.
To escape at weekends, the Jacksons bought a farm block on the Mornington Peninsula. Jackson’s understanding of the landscape, and the power it commands, rendered him realistic about the task in hand. ‘The house had to contend with the landscape, with the pioneer timber slab-and-mud lean-to shed, and a 120-year-old cottage, with a marvellous white pre-Captain Cook eucalypt, on a hillside dropping away to a creek.’
As a starting point, his scheme evolved from what was already there – working into what existed in the European tradition, but in a quintessentially Australian context and form. ‘Building new to sustain the old became a leitmotiv in his work,’ writes Patrick McCaughey to describe his approach in the broader commercial context, but it is also true in this personal, domestic project.
Jackson first stabilised and restored the cottage of stone slab, sticks and mud, which was virtually falling over after 30 years of cattle trampling through it. This sparked the idea for the house, ‘of abstracting from the lean-to shape, the humble back porch or filled-in verandah to become the whole dwelling’, he says. Combined with his ability to arrive at what he describes as ‘primary situations’, such as finding the essence of the house via the landform, this gave him a strong sense of place from which to create. Jackson is tuned into scale and the relationship of the structure to the landscape, how it integrates into the composition of the garden on one level and addresses the ridge and the valley at a larger level. He calls it a ‘topographic composition’.
Jackson’s building is linked to the land in two ways. He explains: ‘A trellis sunshade becomes a fence separating garden and orchard from bush. The line it creates makes an important horizontal link between the house and stable.’ The entrance to the house is via a broad timber bridge creating an anticipatory journey to ‘the heart of the house’.
Structurally, its openness is immediately evident. A series of platforms linked by open-tread staircases and the two-storey, glassed-in atrium reveal his preoccupation with geometry. ‘My interest in Cubism is based on ideas of taking apart and transforming, of reconstructing and opposing, with elements being redefined and renewed by the changing set of relationships,’ says Jackson. He admired the work of Picasso in this period with his ability to fundamentally alter the literal, representative nature of art by abstracting from life to produce a shift in perception and alter the accepted order of things.
Yet the feeling of the house is by no means sharp and fractured. Jackson manages to sidestep the angular through his choice of materials, by the way in which the house has been fabricated, and through his ability to balance his passion for Cubism with another ‘ism’. ‘The key point about expressionism is the inner vision, portrayed as content. It uses the world of feelings and emotions as much as any rationale or functional stance,’ says Jackson. ‘These two threads are the constant, endemic to my work throughout my life.’
The importance of Daryl Jackson’s practice both in Australia and internationally cannot be underestimated. He has more than 100 awards to his name, is a RAIA gold medallist, holds an Order of Australia, an honorary doctorate at Ballarat University and, among his academic commitments as a professorial associate at Melbourne and Deakin universities, found time for many years to be a director of Essendon Football Club.
Images and text from Iconic by Karen McCartney.
Photography by Michael Wee.
Murdoch Books
murdochbooks.com.au
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Just to save you the trouble of looking it up – as I, a Sydney-sider, had to do – Edgar’s Creek is a small 17 kilometre tributary which joins Merri Creek at the Melbourne suburb of North Coburg. One thing about the waterways of Melbourne is that they don’t just gently meander about the place, they seem to carve their way through the landscape leaving steep escarpments on either side.
Such is the case with this Edgar’s Creek House, leading the architects to celebrate the dramatic landscape, bringing house and site together. It is not just a matter of ‘touching the earth lightly’, but more a tango as form, plan and materials respond to the fall of the slope and the shifting light and fugitive tones of the Ironbark trees that populate the steep hillside.
Putting aside the established trees, it must have been tempting to step the house down the site. Instead, the architects respond to the descending landscape not in elevation, but in plan, with a series of loosely connected pavilions in a gentle caravanserai across the site – responding to the creek below. This generates a kind of experiential narrative as one moves from inside to outside, from shadow to light, from private to communal, from introspection to outward contemplation.
Apart from easy physical access and visual connection, the house sustains a relationship with the outside through its materiality – the pavilions are clad in raw Ironbark, the southern elevation is a rammed earth wall protecting the bedrooms from the winter cold and resonating with the sandstone escarpment below, flooring is re-cycled Tasmanian Oak, the brise soleil link is Grey Ironbark with Ironbark sliding doors, wet areas are finished in Australian Ironbark while the floor of the sunken living room is stone. There is an overall mood of simplicity, supported by the industrial tapware that is all raw brass and custom-bent copper pipe with polished concrete sinks and basins.
The three pavilions are functionally specific – sleeping, bathing, living – with each framing a central courtyard. All three are linked by the brise soleil which runs down the western elevation. It is an interstitial space with its own internal garden, mediating inside and outside, providing protection from the western sun while also ventilating the interior spaces.
By breaking down the mass into three loosely linked pavilions, the architects are playing with the notion of refuge and prospect. Internally, there is a variety of experience and the sense that moving through the house is a journey, punctuated by surprise. The external prospect consists of a variety of edited views that sustain connection to the landscape, but also maintain the cosy ambience of a sanctuary.
While Edgar’s Creek House is a loose assembly of three pavilions, it is nonetheless also thermally efficient. Double-glazed tilt-and-turn windows and lift-and-slide doors ensure that the house can be efficiently sealed, complementing the house’s passive solar orientation, which filters the western sun, and the rammed earth south-facing wall.
The architects point out that Edgar’s Creek House is designed to be fossil fuel free. There is a 5,000 litre underground rainwater tank, an electric heat pump for hot water and provision for both hydronic heating and rooftop solar panels and battery storage. In addition, there has been an effort to use only recycled, recyclable locally sourced materials.
Un-ostentatious as it is, there is also an elegance to this house, matching its ingenuity. For example, the way in which the kitchen-dining area steps down into a sunken L-shaped living area, defined around its perimeter by a timber banquette. The transition between the two spaces pivots around a two-way fireplace – the journey culminating in a grand, operable corner window. Or, the refinement of the timberwork without recourse to finishes.
Edgar’s Creek House is a house of its place, but a house that also creates its own place: a sanctuary in harmony with its environment.
Breathe Architecture
breathearchitecture.com.au
Photography by Tom Ross
Dissection Information
Earth Structures Peninsula Natural Sandstone and Rammed Earth wall
Urban Salvage Reclaimed Tasmanian Oak Flooring
Eco Outdoor Endicott Fillietti, Stone Flooring
Australian Grey Ironbark and spotted gum decking and battens
Binq Timber doors and windows
Briggs Timber Veneer
Recycled Messmate benchtop
Mark Tuckey Egg Cup timber side table
Vintage, architect's own outdoor chairs
Clients own dining table and chairs
Ambiance Lighting Surface mounted Downlights and Outdoor spike lights
LedLux outdoor wall lighting
Fisher and Paykel appliances
Brodware and Par taps Rumbled brass tapware
Copper kitchen sink
Custom concrete bathtub
We think you might also like Halo House by Breathe Architecture
abc
The architects respond to the descending landscape with a series of loosely connected pavilions in a gentle caravanserai across the site.
Putting aside the established trees, it must have been tempting to step the house down the site. Instead, the architects respond to the descending landscape not in elevation, but in plan, with a series of loosely connected pavilions in a gentle caravanserai across the site – responding to the creek below. This generates a kind of experiential narrative as one moves from inside to outside, from shadow to light, from private to communal, from introspection to outward contemplation.
Apart from easy physical access and visual connection, the house sustains a relationship with the outside through its materiality – the pavilions are clad in raw Ironbark, the southern elevation is a rammed earth wall protecting the bedrooms from the winter cold and resonating with the sandstone escarpment below, flooring is re-cycled Tasmanian Oak, the brise soleil link is Grey Ironbark with Ironbark sliding doors, wet areas are finished in Australian Ironbark while the floor of the sunken living room is stone. There is an overall mood of simplicity, supported by the industrial tapware that is all raw brass and custom-bent copper pipe with polished concrete sinks and basins.
The three pavilions are functionally specific – sleeping, bathing, living – with each framing a central courtyard.
The three pavilions are functionally specific – sleeping, bathing, living – with each framing a central courtyard. All three are linked by the brise soleil which runs down the western elevation. It is an interstitial space with its own internal garden, mediating inside and outside, providing protection from the western sun while also ventilating the interior spaces.
By breaking down the mass into three loosely linked pavilions, the architects are playing with the notion of refuge and prospect. Internally, there is a variety of experience and the sense that moving through the house is a journey, punctuated by surprise. The external prospect consists of a variety of edited views that sustain connection to the landscape, but also maintain the cosy ambience of a sanctuary.
While Edgar’s Creek House is a loose assembly of three pavilions, it is nonetheless also thermally efficient. Double-glazed tilt-and-turn windows and lift-and-slide doors ensure that the house can be efficiently sealed, complementing the house’s passive solar orientation, which filters the western sun, and the rammed earth south-facing wall.
The architects point out that Edgar’s Creek House is designed to be fossil fuel free. There is a 5,000 litre underground rainwater tank, an electric heat pump for hot water and provision for both hydronic heating and rooftop solar panels and battery storage. In addition, there has been an effort to use only recycled, recyclable locally sourced materials.
Un-ostentatious as it is, there is also an elegance to this house, matching its ingenuity. For example, the way in which the kitchen-dining area steps down into a sunken L-shaped living area, defined around its perimeter by a timber banquette. The transition between the two spaces pivots around a two-way fireplace – the journey culminating in a grand, operable corner window. Or, the refinement of the timberwork without recourse to finishes.
Edgar’s Creek House is a house of its place, but a house that also creates its own place: a sanctuary in harmony with its environment.
Breathe Architecture
breathearchitecture.com.au
Photography by Tom Ross
Dissection Information
Earth Structures Peninsula Natural Sandstone and Rammed Earth wall
Urban Salvage Reclaimed Tasmanian Oak Flooring
Eco Outdoor Endicott Fillietti, Stone Flooring
Australian Grey Ironbark and spotted gum decking and battens
Binq Timber doors and windows
Briggs Timber Veneer
Recycled Messmate benchtop
Mark Tuckey Egg Cup timber side table
Vintage, architect's own outdoor chairs
Clients own dining table and chairs
Ambiance Lighting Surface mounted Downlights and Outdoor spike lights
LedLux outdoor wall lighting
Fisher and Paykel appliances
Brodware and Par taps Rumbled brass tapware
Copper kitchen sink
Custom concrete bathtub
We think you might also like Halo House by Breathe Architecture
abc 
The 2020 INDE.Awards jury was impressed with the “breathtaking and exciting” creativity and innovation of the submissions. With a panel of internationally recognised architects and designers the judging process was intense and jurors brought to the fore their professional expertise in judging the many hundreds of entries that were submitted from around the Indo-Pacific.
With a record breaking 472 this year the Inde.Awards we saw a ten per cent increase from 2019. We received submissions from all across the region and with the diversity and impressive quality of the entries it has raised the design bar to yet another level. Indesign Media Asia Pacific CEO and Juror, Raj Nandan, praised the innovative and progressive nature of entries to the INDE.Awards this year. “The 2020 Official Shortlist is a reminder of the breadth of talent and expertise of the architecture and design professionals that exists in our region. The diversity and outstanding creativity of projects received this year was truly exceptional,” he said, adding that, “ We applaud all who entered the Awards, congratulate those who have been shortlisted and look forward to celebrating our 2020 Winners alongside our peers, supporters and stakeholders at the INDE.Awards celebration on the 14th August.” With projects submitted from a total of 14 countries the diversity was unparalleled. Architects and designers participating in this years INDE.Awards came from Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.“The projects were fantastic this year. The diversity of talent and range of expertise was a joy to review. I am also impressed with the caliber of projects from such places as Thailand. There was some very elegant work!”
– INDE.Awards Juror, Shashi Caan
As entries to the 2020 INDE.Awards represented the diversity of the Indo-Pacific region so too did our esteemed jury who came from all corners of the world bringing a global insight and expertise to the judging process. We would like to thank the sixteen members of this year’s INDE.Awards jury. Winners of the 2020 INDE.Awards will be announced on August 14th and we look forward to sharing this very special occasion with everyone. In the meantime, congratulations to the shortlisters!“There were some very inspiring entries. The focus, particularly in The Building category, on distilling the essence of the brief into high quality, reductive design solutions that were carefully considered from a sustainable point of view, was, at times, breath-taking and exciting.”
– INDE.Awards Judge, Leone Lorrimer
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[gallery size="medium" ids="102365,102361,102367,102371,102368,102362,102363,102369,102360,102370,102364,102366"] Albert Park Office and Depot, Harrison and White with Archier, Australia Anti Chamber, Chain10 Architecture & Interior Design Institute, Taiwan Australian Unity, Bates Smart, Australia CBA Axle, South Eveleigh, Woods Bagot, Australia Hallmarc Offices Collins Street, Hallmarc with Malcolm Elliott Architecture, Australia IDIN Architects Office, IDIN Architects, Thailand Munupi Art Centre Workshop, Kaunitz Yeung Architecture with Di Emme Creative Solutions, Australia Norton Rose Fulbright Sydney, Carr, Australia South Terrace Mezzanine House, Philip Stejskal Architecture, Australia The Launch Pad, The Studio* Collaborative, Australia The Work Project – Asia Square, Hassell, Singapore Treasury Wine Estates Melbourne, Carr, AustraliaThe Shopping Space | Proudly partnered by Zip Water
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Matt Blatt is infamous amongst members of the architecture and design industry. Since foundation in 1981 by Adam Drexler many have taken issue with its business model selling replica furniture to knowing and unknown consumers alike. Herman Miller even sued the company in 2011 - unsuccessfully in case you missed it.
Despite the controversy the national retailer was going strong with 12 brick-and-mortar stores across Australia, an e-commerce site and a strong advertising and marketing presence. Until recently that is, alongside Myer, Target and David Jones, Matt Blatt is officially one of the retail industry’s biggest COVID-19 casualties.
Drexler is also the director of Badam Trading Co., the company that owned Matt Blatt, and chose in late March to close all 12 of the Matt Blatt retail stores.
“We felt that with all shops closed, and no income, no sales, it would be a hard slog to recover,” said Adam Drexler to Inside Retail in an article written by Heather McIlvaine and published online 8 April. “I personally believe that things won’t return to normal. There will be a big recession for many years, and that’s when a lot of companies will struggle.”
Matt Blatt is undergoing liquidation by David Solomons of Sydney firm dVT Group. Solomons was appointed liquidator by Drexler 22 May.
It is understood that at the time of collapse $11million was owed to creditors, $4million to another company under the Badam Trading Co. umbrella, $1million to the tax office and $600,000 to staff.
Although revenue was up by 8.5 percent in FY18 compared to FY17, the cost of wages, rent and freight has reportedly resulted in a year-on-year decrease in before-tax profit by a balking 82.3 per cent.
Habitus sourced information for this article from Inside Retail, The Guardian Australia, and the Sydney Morning Herald.abc - 1
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