Innehållsförteckning för Habitus #48 - Nourish Kitchen & Bathroom från Habitus

A new decade has dawned and with it has come a fresh perspective and not-so-serious attitude to the design of bathroom products. Designers are taking a lighter, more playful and sometimes nostalgic approach, creating bathtubs and basins with architectural and sculptural forms inspired by traditional baths, troughs and vessels, and made all the more surprising in ethereal and energising hues. These stand-out pieces can stand alone in a bathroom, or they can be mixed and matched and customised to create an original and positively personal space. The bathroom is a place we hit refresh in the morning and wash away the day at night. As colour can have a powerful effect on our mood and emotions, a bathroom awash with colour can energise and inspire. Designers are embracing more eclectic…

“A.I. could study the way we live and adjust the space in which we live to make our day-to-day more comfortable, easy, and ultimately more sustainable for our planet.” Artificial Intelligence has already made significant inroads into our daily lives, notably in the form of digital voice assistants like Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa that respond to our requests though patterns of learned behaviour. It was only a matter of time before the tech giants in this space made a play for kitchens and bathrooms, the most functional of our domestic environments. In the these areas, multinational heavyweights like Sony, Bosch and Kohler are leveraging their technical know-how to create domestic products that promise to save us time, aid the elderly and incapacitated, and create radically new bathing and gastronomic…

Island counters bring much to kitchens in enhancing usability, circulation and connectivity. For interior designer Li Meiyi of Three-d Conceptwerke, it is the anchor of her own apartment. The kitchen island sits at the nexus of the communal areas, poised at the open kitchen’s entrance as a short counter with a built-in table aligned toward the living and play areas. This gesture extends the kitchen’s social possibilities. The rounded edge invites gathering and its width facilitates dialogue across the table. Incidentally, the island also forms a natural running and biking path for Li’s young son. A centrally located sink enables whoever is doing the dishes to participate in mealtime conversations or watch the children playing outside. Tucking away the refrigerator and stove frames a less utilitarian view into the kitchen.…

Enjoying panoramic views of the Georges River from its fine perch, River House is the epitome of an entertainer’s dream – with not one, but three, kitchens. Anything but superfluous, each kitchen, designed by Sebastian Kaintoch and Christian Campoy of KA Design Studio in close collaboration with Poliform, is elegantly finished and distinct in its purpose. Home to a young family for whom entertaining is second nature, the nucleus of River House is its kitchen – that is to say, its main kitchen. Breathtaking river views fade into the background while an alluring interplay of marble and black timber steals the thunder of the house’s main living and dining areas (featured above). A kitchen designed to be seen and not soiled, its utility is neatly concealed behind the closed doors…

A bathroom space should evoke a sense of tranquillity and calm. This is true at least from the perspective of New Zealand-based interior designer Katie Lockhart. “I like to be able to relax in a bathroom,” says Katie, sharing an inclination with which most can surely relate. “Good natural light and a simple palette of materials contribute to this overall feel.” Channelling a mid-century affinity with the mosaic tiles and the material simplicity of Japanese washrooms, Tiled Bathroom by Katie Lockhart Studio offers a tranquil place of respite for the bustling family residence that revolves around it. At the crux of this bathroom design is the tile that covers almost every surface. “Once we had decided on using this particular tile by Heath Ceramics,” – the soothing hue of which…

For more than ten years the residents of Clovelly House lived in this Federation bungalow situated on a headland offering views down to Clovelly Beach and the uninterrupted blue beyond. The couple first bought the residence, adorned by an 80s-era second storey addition, in the knowledge that some things would need to change. However, with two young children priorities were elsewhere. It wasn’t until more recently that they engaged Smart Design Studio to bring the house into the modern era. Neither husband nor wife knew especially where to look to find an architect, but it was the latter who recalled passing a fascinating corner building in Surry Hills every day on her way to work. She admired how respectfully old and new had been integrated. This was [at the time]…

Halfway between Kuala Lumpur International Airport and the city, either from the freeway or the train, you will see on your left the dynamically twisting Menara Telekom tower on the horizon. It dates from 2002 and, like many other buildings by Hijjas Kasturi Associates (HKA), it has helped define what modern Malaysian architecture aspires to be. The reason these buildings remain must-see architectural icons is because of how they express so clearly the values which drove them. At a time when so much Malaysian architecture tried to express national identity through vernacular revival pastiche, Hijjas pursued a “universal architecture” imbued with the essence of local tradition. Elegant in form and refined in detail, these buildings integrate with their urban context and are exemplars of sustainable tropical architecture. In the Region,…

Many designers express a commitment to simplicity, but few discuss it with the devotion of Henry Timi. “I constantly preach pure forms,” he says. “I think it’s intriguing to achieve beauty and to run after the charm of aesthetic perfection.” Henry launched his eponymous Milan-based practice in 2009 to explore his minimalist vision through beautifully handcrafted furniture and objects. His products range from tables and chairs to minimalistic kitchen systems and bathroom vanities. “I just think of pure products,” he says. “Purity as the beauty.” Henry grew up with a fascination of built forms. “Since childhood, I loved to understand and preserve the charm of built things,” he says. “I always observed the world with interested eyes, inspired by nature.” A respect for local craftsmanship ensures all HENRYTIMI designs are…

Australian kitchen design created during the past decade is nothing short of outstanding. From tiny to enormous, extravagant to modest, and everything in between, the very best projects exemplify prevailing trends, set new benchmarks, and appeared on more Pinterest boards than anyone could imagine. Their sheer number is testament to the country’s healthy design industry and the staggering variety just makes each one all the more impressive. But what exactly makes these designs worth revisiting? Unsurprisingly, there’s no one reason, because it’s virtually impossible to narrow the success of contemporary kitchen design down to a specific formula. Sure, there are commonalities across projects – innovative responses to climate, a bold use of materiality, intelligent spatial planning – however the true value in looking to the past is to find inspiration…

Home to an architect, her husband and their two young children, Tama House Kitchen feels open and free-flowing despite a long and narrow plot in Sydney’s east. “With a young family I find the kitchen is the centre of our world,” says architect Carla Middleton. Much of the family’s day, she says, is spent around the kitchen island bench or at the adjacent dining table. Although it was important that the kitchen had space to gather, it wasn’t to hinder a natural progression down to the living area and backyard. The all-important coffee zone, the sole request of Carla’s husband, proved tricky to place. Although she had initially imagined it at the rear of the kitchen – where a small pantry now resides – it was ultimately positioned under the…

“The South Coast of New South Wales is, in my view,” says architect Peter Stutchbury, “the romantic coast. It is still largely nature-orientated compared to the north coast, and Guerilla Bay still has that raw or untouched quality.” Guerilla Bay – or Bay Guarella to use its indigenous name – is a wind-weathered world of its own fringed by woodland coastal forest of stunted Ironbark and Scribbly Gum. The client wanted a retreat from her busy professional life. “She wanted a simple house which would nurture her soul; a house that would connect her to where she is; she wanted privacy; and to be able to shut the front door when she went back to Canberra and not worry about the house,” says Peter. The client also wanted a house…

Robert A.M. Stern once said: “the dialogue between client and architect is about as intimate as any conversation you can have.” To that, John Pawson responded by saying, “Likewise the dialogue between a client and a finished piece of architecture is about as intimate as any conversation you can have.” These observations cannot be truer of the relationships that shape the Windsor Park House in Singapore. “Every part of the house has been thought through many, many times,” says Millet Architects’ Chiew Hong Tan of the process she has had with her clients, Marc W. and Ee Lyn L., together with interior designer Vanessa Ong of April Atelier. These have been long conversations about everything from hopes, memories, and aspirations to cost and family dynamics, that slowly, rigorously, over the…

Cushla McFadden might be better known by the name TomMarkHenry, the unlikely pseudonym she and business partner Jade Nottage chose for their interior design practise established in 2014. It’s a combination of paternal names in their respective families. “They were both really influential to us, Jade’s grandfather and my dad,” says Cushla. Moreover, its abstract nature aligns well with the company’s positioning: an architectural approach to interior design projects. Cushla met Jade while studying for her Interior Architecture degree at the University of New South Wales. But they didn’t start their business until after Cushla had returned to Australia following a stint in New York working for a U.S. architecture firm across high-end residential and commercial projects. “When I got back from New York, TomMarkHenry naturally evolved from there,” says…

Answer: the Mobile Hyper Kitchen. Back in the mid-1990s, Michael Trudgeon and Crowd Productions looked at what it might mean to see your tiny home as a campsite. The result was a mobile kitchen – compact and tech-savvy, “more technologically flexible and convenient than the traditional fixed kitchen,” said Michael at the time. The idea was to exploit new technology and combine it with compactness. “It went from being an architectural and urban planning framing of the problem – new housing typologies – to what variation would you need, how are cities being filled with more diverse populations, the whole Jane Jacobs idea about trying to design spaces that are not overly complicated, but can accommodate different sorts of occupants,” he said. Now, after years of development – slotted in…

What wouldn’t we do for family? In 1945 Westye F. Bakke revolutionised frozen food storage at below zero temperatures, hence he named the resulting company, Sub-Zero. The whole world stood to gain from his engineering skills but he was ultimately serving his son, a diabetic who needed to store his insulin at specific temperatures. Over the course of the following decade Sub-Zero continued to pioneer the refrigeration category with built-in units flush with cabinetry and units customised for recessed fronts. By the 90s, when the trend was for refrigeration to completely disappear, the company introduced fully integrated products. At the dawn of the new millennium, Sub-Zero acquired Wolf Appliance, Inc., the premier maker of commercial ranges, ovens, cooktops and grills, establishing Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances as the perfect counterparts. Like…

Gidon Bing Ceramics have been steadily making its way onto Australian shores, infiltrating hearts and homes with the brand’s celebrated utilitarian approach and simple aesthetic. A cult following that is verging on widespread recognition, chances are you’ve seen the citrus juicer (a personal favourite), the twin wall insulated ceramic tea and coffee cups (a crowd favourite), and bone crackle bowls and platters around the traps more than once or twice. From his base in Auckland, Gidon Bing (the man behind the brand) is the principal of his eponymous creative design studio working across homewares, product design, sculpture and, increasingly, interiors and architecture. With academic origins in the fields of history and archaeology, it seems fitting that his design work is deeply concerned with human experience: for himself as creator/maker and…

At Imperfect Residence, the bathroom sits like a beacon of light at the end of a dark corridor. It’s the pinnacle in a “series of meditative moments,” says Nelson Chow, founder and principal of Hong Kong-based design firm NC Design & Architecture (NCDA), the design firm behind this home – and it brings a new level of meaning to the idea of the bathroom as sanctuary. Here, bathing and grooming are a reverential experience; no wonder NCDA called this space ‘the Altar.’ Setting the tone is a round of marble, inlaid on the floor in front of the basin. “When you wash your hands here there’s a sense of ritual and purification. You’re preparing yourself to do certain things,” says Nelson. The same veined, green marble finds its way onto…

In cultures across Asia, there are only a few valid reasons to move out of your parents’ home. The most acceptable one is getting married and building your own family. Moving to a faraway place for a job or for pursuing higher education is also fine. Reasons other than these would typically be considered as less than ideal, or as an outright abandonment of one’s filial duty – after all, why wouldn’t you take care of them and the place they raised you in? It’s the ultimate act of filial piety. Adult children, of course, need their own spaces. And so, the ideal, multi-generational homes in the region are the ones that give everyone their own breathing room. House for a Daughter by Vietnamese practice Khuon Studio is a stellar…

Bay Guarella House ARCHITECT Peter Stutchbury Architecture PROJECT TEAM Peter Stutchbury, Ava Shirely BUILDER Smith and Primmer PETER STUTCHBURY ARCHITECTURE (61 2) 9979 5030 peterstutchbury.com.au FINISHES Paired hardwood post-and-beam with steel plates. Blackbutt hardwood. Compressed fibre cement cladding. Hoop-pine plywood linings. Galvanised steel. Stainless steel mesh. House for a Daughter ARCHITECT Khuôn Studio INTERIOR DESIGNER Khuôn Studio LANDSCAPE DESIGNER Khuôn Studio BUILDER 86 Construction Company KHUÔN STUDIO (84 9) 0644 3389 FINISHES Terrazzo tiles and decorative wall tiles from M&A Tiles. White paint for walls from Dulux. Breeze blocks custom designed by Khuôn Studio and made by local builder. FURNITURE Chairs from ZAGO Designer Furniture & Home Décor. Bed designed by Khuôn Studio and custom made by local furniture maker. LIGHTING Atria pendant lights from Phu Gia Khang Lighting. FIXED…