Innehållsförteckning för Issue 84 September 2023 från Artichoke

Issue 84 September – November 2023 After a decade living abroad, I'm humbled to sit in Cassie Hansen's chair to support Australian interior design via my forthcoming issues. I might be new here, but it was instantly apparent I'll have too much to cover in my alloted pages. This issue starts with interiors that positively impact users through empathetic design decisions. Inside the respectfully revived AGNSW library (page 18), Tonkin Zulaikha Greer offers the community richly textured spaces. While effortless to navigate, the design begs visitors to get lost in a good book – the lack of a phone cloakroom is the only oversight. Branch Studio's welfare spaces at Marcellin College (page 52) and Sibling Architecture's work at Box Hill North Primary (page 44), though wildly different at first glance,…

Life in the Antipodes ensures most travellers are well acquainted with the soothingly placeless, timeless design that shapes many transit hubs. Think split-flap display boards, banks of moulded seating, and large-scale architecture that can readily cede focus to the assorted administrative, retail and hospitality interactions that take place within it. These design cues and the intangible feeling of being on holiday were the starting point for design practice Ewert Leaf's retail fitout for July, a Melbourne-based specialist in luggage and other travel goods. Founded in 2018, the brand has gained a cult following for its suitcases, thanks to its minimalist design, aerospace-grade polycarbonate shell and hard-working wheels engineered to withstand the cobbled streets of any hilltop Mediterranean village you care to name. “The whole idea of July as a brand…

Branch Studio Architects had two distinct design objectives for this project at Marcellin College, and they overlap in some surprising and delightful ways. The first objective, demanded by the brief, was to manage the students’ psychological wellbeing. After strict pandemic lockdowns, mental health issues surged in Melbourne, Victoria. The Kids Helpline saw a 184% increase in calls. Responding to this, Marcellin College chose to prioritize a mental health program and facility upgrades by creating the Placidus Student Welfare Spaces. The fitout revives the formerly dark and underutilized basement level of the existing Resource Centre at the Catholic secondary boys’ school in Melbourne's eastern suburbs. The second objective, going beyond the received brief, was to embed the story of the school's Marist Brothers’ foundation into the new centre's built forms. This…

Sometimes, an interior designer's job is akin to a magician's. Seemingly out of thin air, the designer conjures a whole new realm of experience and delight. While this magic is partly smoke and mirrors, it takes well-honed design skills for the illusion to become reality. For luxury skin treatment clinic Lime Street, Jason Byrne Design was challenged with transforming a nondescript commercial space in Sydney's Barangaroo district. Focusing tightly on palette, material and form to curate the spatial experience, Byrne successfully delivers big on theatrics without compromising the clinic's operational necessities. Opening a business during a global pandemic is a brave move. The client knew that to succeed in that climate, the clinic must offer a unique interior experience as well as assuring good hygiene. Located in a generic, modern…

Within the space of two years, Melbourne-based Joanne Odisho has developed her own distinctive design language, won several graduate awards and established a practice with a clear vision. In March 2023, Artichoke granted Odisho the Emerging Maker prize at Craft's Fresh! Awards, which celebrate the next wave of Victorian craft and design talent. Odisho began her design career by completing a diploma in interior design at RMIT before going on to study furniture design. Her decision to focus on furniture rather than interiors was driven by a desire to feel creatively liberated. “After completing my studies in interior design, I came to realize that I enjoyed the workings of a space as a whole, but became more fond of the objects within them,” Odisho says. That fondness for individual objects…

In the ever-evolving world of design, the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and chatbots has brought both excitement and apprehension. These technologies have the potential to revolutionize the interior design industry, impacting various aspects of the design process. In particular, in an era when knowledge is easily accessible and design tools are becoming increasingly advanced, the role of accreditation requires careful consideration. In this article, we explore the positive and negative impacts of AI and chatbots on the need for accreditation in interior design, recognizing the importance of maintaining professional standards and expertise. AI-powered technologies offer numerous advantages that can enhance the interior design profession. Designers now have unparalleled and immediate access to a wealth of knowledge, resources and learning materials. They can stay up-todate with the latest design trends,…

The Commons by Design Office Set across two levels in a vibrant inner-city Sydney precinct, The Commons Surry Hills is a workspace that encourages connection while fostering creativity. The Commons’ suite of spaces facilitates and enhances modern co-working patterns for its creative community, providing diverse areas for work, rest and play. The design centres on the vertical relationships between volumes, embracing the building's raw bones and taking advantage of its unique shopfront and high concrete ceilings with a new mezzanine. Tiered seating, elevated street-facing hot desks and a sunken lounge share dynamic spatial interplay, connecting to the ground floor cafe through a focal staircase. Private offices line the perimeter and link up with meeting rooms and collaboration spaces, while a cafe, cinema, and tea room add a hotel-like sensibility. This…

Three years young, Sabu Studio is an emerging furniture and lighting design practice with an honest and intimate relationship to materials and processes. Located in Melbourne's Coburg North, Sabu designer and maker Samuel Burns has always been “drawn to transposing ideas from the natural world into objects and interior spaces.” Burns’ pieces represent a delicate balance between craftsmanship, respect for materials and humble dedication to process. Many of his pieces – be they benches, chairs, stools or lamps – have tactile appeal, with several designs incorporating moving elements to promote user agency. One such piece is Burns’ multifunctional Honours project, the Outside In table, which embodies ideas that he went on to explore in subsequent Sabu Studio work. Burns studied natural references such as rivers and rocks to create the…

“Why us?” It might not be the first thing a designer will ask a client when engaged, but the more self-reflective practitioner may indeed ponder this question. In the words of Monique Woodward of Wowowa Architecture, a practice with little or no retail experience prior to embarking on the design of the renewed flagship store for backpack and bag company Crumpler, it was perhaps the “genius of the Crumpler team to see something in our work” that put Wowowa in the driver's seat of this tasty commission. This insight would lead to a project grounded in a potent collaborative chemistry between designer and business that would go on to be expressed in raw materials, in-house fabrication and vivid colour. The result – free for all to visit – is bold…

Cieran Murphy is a Brisbane-based architectural photographer specializing in residential and medium-scale commercial projects. Cieran captures the essences of buildings through a keen eye for detail and a passion for design. AGNSW Library and Members Lounge (page 18) Ella Leoncio studied at the University of Melbourne and is now a principal at Chamberlain Architects. She is also a freelance design writer and the author of the blog Pages from my Moleskine. Box Hill North Primary School (page 44) Peter Clarke is an architectural and interiors photographer. Over 20 years, Peter has gained extensive knowledge and experience documenting the built environment, as well as natural and man-made landscapes. Placidus Student Welfare Spaces (cover, page 52) Tobias Horrocks is an architect and the founder of Fold Theory, where he designs with cardboard to…

Ryan Genesin knows a thing or two about creating immersive spaces that people enjoy spending time in. The South Australian interior designer is responsible for some of Adelaide's loveliest hospitality fitouts, and his deft way with materials and custom detailing has been instrumental in reimagining the city's design landscape. In his recently completed interior design for Dolly, a wine bar, Genesin achieves an elegant balance with his mastery of organic materiality and curation of bespoke furniture and lighting. There really isn't any better place to be in Adelaide's inner-south suburbs on a Friday night than Dolly. The ambience is relaxed, and the corner location – at street level in a new apartment development on trendy Unley Road – gives it a sense of visibility while still appearing tucked away. “Our…

Combining elements from the surrounding residential context with a fresh, playful architectural language, Sibling Architecture's Box Hill North Primary School (Junior Learning Hub) is a comforting and welcoming learning space for the school's youngest students. When Sibling Architecture embarked on the design of this project, it used the suburban context as the conceptual starting point. The eight-classroom facility is designed for students in prep, year one and year two. For many students, these classrooms will be the first place in which they spend significant time away from home. By incorporating local, vernacular elements into the design, Sibling sought to make the school experience feel familiar – like an extension of home. The surrounding streetscape is dominated by hip-roofed, single-storey houses in brick veneer. The formal and material interpretation of this…

It is early evening, still light, and the salty south-westerly beats on while Vin Populi in Fremantle's West End hums to the tunes of Dean Martin and a cheery weekend crowd. In a semi-private dining space at the rear, a soon-to-be-cleared table is strewn with napkins and just-emptied wine glasses – the aftermath of revelry. On the centenarian wall behind this tousled tableau, a small, etched plate reads “Naughty Corner.” The extant metal plate is one of Vin Populi's playful yet reverent nods to its predecessor Roma Cucina, the Abrugiato family-run institution that first opened as Roma Restaurant in 1954. For decades, Roma saw generations of Perth and Freo folk – and David Bowie – through its doors for traditional Italian fare, including its signature roast chicken with spaghetti. Locals…