Índex per INDESIGN #86 - TBC a INDESIGN

As this issue of Indesign goes off to print, the city of Melbourne is coming alive with a fully-fledged, take-over-the-city style design event. The vibe is electric, the work is inspired and it’s a timely reminder of the great things we can do, when we are back together producing new work. Sydney, too, is about to get its own design festival-like event, with the return of Saturday Indesign on Saturday 21 May. Can you believe, this is its 20th anniversary? Sydney has always been a great city for hosting Saturday Indesign, with the spread of showrooms across the inner ‘burbs, and the sheer creative energy and joy the city puts into making it a day worth remembering. You can register to attend Saturday Indesign for free, and also enquire about…

Ask Nathan Yong who or what he most admires and his response is a simple yet thoughtful one. “Courage,” says the Singaporean spatial, furniture and object designer. “I admire people who have the conviction of their own belief and are not afraid to stand by it.” Although he is too modest to say, it’s a trait he himself possesses and one that has served him well since deciding to study industrial design at Temasek Polytechnic. Yong was amongst the newly opened institution’s second batch of students, undertaking what was the first product design course in Singapore. Upon graduating in 1991, he was faced with the reality that few industries were engaging product designers in a country not regarded as a manufacturing powerhouse. He knew he had to do something about…

Afterpay Melbourne, by The Studio* Collaborative Occupying levels five through eight with a total of 5000 square metres, The Studio* Collaborative fit-out for Afterpay is layered as a chic and streamlined foundation with an overlay of warm and textural loose-fit components. It is also a commercial interior of surprising moments and leisurely paced experience. Accommodating 650 people with an expectancy of a post-COVID-19 60 per cent ratio return to office, the Melbourne CBD site is significant, as is the building itself. Previously occupying the Melbourne Stock Exchange, the GPT$272 million development has breathed new life into the heritage buildings, with the former stock exchange floor now slated for a restaurant. “With four buildings in the mix, Gothic and heritage, the development connects the buildings through a beautiful ground-floor retail precinct…

The Hyundai Seoul, South Korea, by Burdifilek “South Koreans don’t have an issue with rolling the dice at all, which really we love, as North American designers.” With the help of Canada-based global design firm Burdifilek, Hyundai Seoul has established itself as a global retail landmark – and not simply because of its status as the largest department store in South Korea. The country is known for its appreciation of design and in Seoul, particularly, architecture and design is inherently wrapped up with fashion. The obtruding glass of Frank Gehry’s flagship for Louis Vuitton in collaboration with Peter Marino makes a sculptural mark on the streets of Cheongdam-dong, while not far away, diffused light trickles from Acne Studios’ lightbox-like flagship by Sophie Hicks. Christian Dior’s flagship by Portzamparc rises spectacularly…

Strategically positioned above the existing Richmond showroom to provide an even more comprehensive service to their customers, Autex Acoustics’ recently completed Australian headquarters is more than just an office space. A testament to the brand’s remarkable growth in Australia, the state-of-the-art facility brings Autex’s sizable team of marketers, sales professionals and designers under one roof. “In the 30 years we’ve been in Australia, our business has gone from strength to strength, and now we have a range of warehouses and three manufacturing facilities across the country,” explains Kirk Schmidt, Autex Acoustics’ general manager for Australia. “As a result of this organic growth, we had a range of offices in different parts of the country, like the ones adjacent to the manufacturing sites in Heidelberg and Bayswater. The Richmond facility is…

The global pandemic has shaken up people’s experience of work in profound, never-before-seen ways. There has been a global shift in thinking around all things to do with ‘work’ and ‘place’, and as a workplace strategist and designer for almost 20 years, I finally feel vindicated – there is now a renewed and deep appreciation of the spaces and places in which people work. There is also a new appreciation for how good design can make an important contribution to people’s lives, particularly their wellbeing. In many ways workplace design is finally having its moment in the sun. Trends have come and gone during my career in workplace design – and what was considered quite radical at the time (offices being internal rather than on the perimeter in the late…

Afterpay, Melbourne Page 80 Interior Design The Studio* Collaborative Project Manager Facilitate Builder MPA Services Engineer Aston Consulting Fire Engineer Arup Acoustic Engineer Acoustic Logic Electrical, Hydraulic, Mechanical Engineer Aston Consulting Graphics THERE Audio/Visual Pont The Studio* Collaborative thestudiocollaborative.com Furniture ‘Infiniti’ Pure Loop Binuance chair, ‘Saba Italia’ New York armchair, Pio E Titto Tosso ‘Ikon’ table, Design Nation. ‘Quadrant’ Soft and High sofas, bean bag, slim table, Koskela. ‘Sancal’ Pion Stool, Estudio Sancal ‘Click’ armchair, KE-ZU. ‘Mariolina’ chair, Mandelli Pagliarulo ‘Nolita’ chair and stool, James Richardson Furniture. Seaton McKeon ‘PaperClip’ stool, ‘LEN’ Bauhaus seating system and ottoman grid, Thinking Works ‘Incognito’ table and custom table, Stylecraft. Herman Miller ‘Setu’ chair, Living Edge. ‘Seb’ stool, Jardan. Adam Goodrum ‘Scape Islands and ‘Volley’ chair, Tait. Custom table, Agostino & Brown. Finishes Flooring,…

The Tom and Chris candleholders by Savage Design are a pair of siblings cut from the same cloth, but with different personalities. Taking inspiration from the precision parts made by Savage Design and its 100 year-plus heritage, these candleholders stand as artefacts of engineered beauty in their own right. Add the candle’s flame and they come to life. Tom Candleholder (Blackened Brass) 2 available to win. W 75mm D 75mm H 75mm Chris Candleholder (Blackened Brass) 1 available to win. W 50mm D 50mm H 120mm RRP $770 each indesignlive.com/subscribe Entries are open to Australian residents only who subscribe to Indesign magazine and Indesignlive.com eNewsletter and complete the game of skill during the competition period. There are 3 prizes available to win valued at $2310 ($770 each) and cannot be…

Angela Ferguson Co-Founder, The Future X Collective, Managing and Creative Director, Futurespace Angela is one of Australia’s leading experts on workplace strategy and workplace design. For more than 20 years she has worked with a diverse range of corporate clients across Australia, Asia and New Zealand to strategise and create workspaces that align with an organisation’s business strategy, culture, brand, technology blueprint and wellness initiatives. She brings an intelligence to workspace design that is unique and has a global focus – designing workspaces that consider how the business is situated amongst its competitors; the challenges it may be facing from outside forces; efficient property strategies and; how the experience of work can be optimised for individuals and teams. She is currently undertaking a PhD at RMIT University in Melbourne entitled…

What’s in a name? Well, quite a bit if you are Cumulus Studio. The word cumulus in Latin means ‘heap’ and ‘accumulate’, which is exactly what Todd Henderson and Peter Walker, directors and principals of the studio, aim to achieve through their work in their practice. By collaboration and connectivity, bouncing perspectives off each other, they look for the bigger picture, reach for the clouds and yes, accumulate all those ideas to make their projects distinctive and the studio as successful as it is. “One of the very first discussions that Todd and I had together was to try and work out how we wanted to run an office. You can have your own thoughts in a bubble and be sort of isolated but as soon as you put those…

RMIT Our Place, Melbourne, by ARM Architecture “Universities are now at a scale … where they need to be far more geared towards a different professional environment,” says Professor Martyn Hook. The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) has always been a forward-thinking organisation, practising what it preaches and leading the way when it comes to architecture, both taught and built. The Melbourne campus boasts cutting-edge building design from architecture luminaries such as Edmond and Corrigan, Lyons and Sean Godsell Architects, to name but a few. However, with the new administration offices located at 222 Lonsdale Street in Melbourne’s CBD, once again RMIT is setting new standards in design that not only make a serious creative statement but provide a workplace to enhance the daily life of staff. The commission…

ABN Group Headquarters, Perth, by Woods Bagot When Woods Bagot was handed this brief to create a new headquarters for ABN Group’s 800-odd staff, the response was not only to create an engaging workspace, but also a place that felt like home for those visiting. And given the entire ground floor was devoted to displaying the company’s products, from kitchens and bathrooms through to carpet and lighting, it was paramount to create a ‘welcoming’ feel rather than a corporate-style reception. “It was important to be able to see and touch everything, experience how everything works, whether it was seeing water coming from a tap or from one of the showers,” says interior designer Melanie Porrins, who worked closely with her team at Woods Bagot and with a number of ABN’s…

Neurodiversity is a loaded term. It loosely refers to variations in mental function and how they affect our social interactions, ability to learn, concentration and moods. Coined in 1997 as a challenge to the dominant view of ‘normal’, it proposed that mental disability is a societal barrier rather than a pathology. This proved controversial within the disability rights movement, where some argue that the term downplays the medical intervention necessary for serious neurological conditions. Nonetheless, the concept of neurodiversity has raised awareness around people with ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, dyslexia, dyspraxia and other neurological diagnoses. Inclusive workplaces recognise and embrace the unique and in-demand abilities these people can bring, such as out-of-the-box thinking, high-level focus and problem solving. Awareness around neurodiversity also draws attention to the mental nuances of the…

For almost two years many of us stayed home, worked at kitchen tables and focused on our health while in the world’s CBDs brightly lit offices remained empty. In the aftermath of those surreal times, approaches to commercial lighting design are changing to reflect a growing focus on humanising the workplace and harmonising the functionality of space. Rows of desks under artificial light are a commercial interiors story no one wants to tell anymore. The keywords for space now are flexible, adaptable, welcoming and intuitive. Designers and occupants look for diversity in illumination, while a heightened awareness of the climate cost of energy use boosts the case for intelligent technology that responds to need, rather than spilling unnecessary brightness into uninhabited space. “Without doubt the global pandemic has caused designers,…

British designer Ilse Crawford needs little in the way of introduction. In 1989, at the age of 27, she was the launch editor of Elle Decoration. She then went on to found the Man and Well-Being department at the Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands in 2000, before setting up her own design and interiors studio, Studioilse, the following year. Since then, Crawford and her team have been behind a rich portfolio of celebrated spaces such as Soho House New York, Babington House in the UK, Ett Hem in Stockholm, and the Cathay Pacific lounges. Alongside a seemingly effortless understanding of human comfort, Crawford has the rare ability to create spaces that evoke the sense of stepping into another world. When asked about her childhood, Crawford recalls growing up as…

There are some moments of disruption so profound, society cannot simply pick up the same tools and go back to how it was before. For many employees, working from home during the pandemic has brought new balance and valued flexibility. Meanwhile, for managers and CEOs new perspectives have arisen on the costs and benefits of their commercial tenancies. What was once a disruption is now becoming an opportunity for new, nimble, adaptable approaches to the workplace. A workplace in which wellbeing has been elevated from a premium extra to a foundation for building collaborative, connective workplace cultures which facilitate serendipitous encounters. The experience of space WSP in its analysis of the future workplace (How Will Covid-19 Change Demand For Office Space?), suggests the office is becoming an anchor point, rather…

Esplanade Workplace, Sydney, by Turner Studio Finding great amenities in the middle of town isn’t too difficult, be it a café or verdant square to have one’s lunch. But for many who live and work in a more suburban environment, such as Esplanade, at Norwest Business Park, a 45-minute drive from Sydney’s CBD, these amenities have arrived. Esplanade, a mixed-use office and residential development by Turner, has been instrumental in changing this scene, both culturally and physically. “I still recall visiting my grandparents who lived in this area. Then it was used for cattle grazing, and later on for light industrial uses as well as logistic centres,” says architect Nick Turner, principal of Turner. Located on 1.2 hectares of land, which once included an ice rink, this undulating terrain now…

Shepparton Art Museum, Shepparton, by Denton Corker Marshall Mention Victoria’s regional centres and instantly the likes of Bendigo and Geelong come to mind. They have a grandeur and status attached to them – owing in no small part to their regional galleries. These cultural centres are destinations in their own right, each housing impressive permanent collections of art and craft: a lifeblood of culture, and connection with the outer world for these regional communities. When it came time for Shepparton to gain its own art museum, there was a great amount of aspiration attached to this building: a destination for Australians travelling through regional Victoria; a place of cultural significance and celebration for the local Indigenous community; and a source of connection and congregation for the wider Shepparton community as…