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FORCE OF NATURE WHERE THE NATURAL AND BUILT FORM CO-EXIST AS ONE
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ZAZA ISSUE #49
#SomethingWorthKeeping
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WAKE UP WORLD
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CO N T E N T S est on film
playlist lo-fi lounge
at home with Miranda Brooks
finding connection
second nature
the library
total surrender
natural instinct
my space Martyn Thompson
high desert
treading lightly
quiet achiever
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E D I TO R ' S L E T T E R
Most of my earliest memories revolve around being outside in the fresh air – part of growing up as a ‘farm kid’. It’s something not lost on me today, and so beyond the scientific evidence, I wanted this issue to recognise how our homes support our intrinsic connection to nature. On the cover, the recently revised River House by Melbourne-based Susi Leeton Architecture + Interiors emulates the slow-flowing river below it in every aspect of its design and intuitive garden by Myles Baldwin Design. Building on this, we explore the collaborative synergy between eight Australian architects and landscape architects in our special feature, Finding Connection. I speak with British landscape designer Miranda Brooks on her family’s move from Brooklyn to the bucolic beauty of the Cotswolds in a transformed farmhouse and gardens. Homesick for the seasons of her childhood, Miranda reflects on the creativity afforded by stillness. We understand biophilic architecture and design across continents through conversations with Jacobsen Arquitetura, PPAA and K-Studio, respectively, based in Brazil, Mexico and Greece. Mexican architecture also takes focus through the work of JSa Arquitectura and Robert Hutchison Architecture in their three selfsufficient, small-footprint structures located in the mountains west of Mexico City. We enter an entirely different terrain in Mexico’s high desert with HW Studio Arquitectos to see how Casa Enso embraces its surroundings while offering protection against them. We’ve thrown out the seasonal rulebook in our Detail pages which promote fluidity between our indoor and outdoor spaces. As with the entire issue, these pages emphasise how design at every level, has the ability to enhance our relationship with the natural environment – to improve our collective wellbeing and that of the planet.
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CO N T R I B U TO R S
E R I C P E TS C H E K Eric is a design enthusiast who spun his training in interior architecture into a career taking photographs of the spaces he enjoys occupying. He brings his design training to bear in the composition of his images and in post-production, where he strives to make the design intent as salient as possible. He photographed Steven Harris Architects’ Bridge Hampton House in this issue, emphasising the project's dialogue with the coastal setting. @cb
LISA COHEN Lisa Cohen has photographed all things design and lifestyle for more than 20 years. Her career began as a shoot stylist/art director on interior magazines in London where, having hired photographers to help execute her creative concepts, she found that the right photographer transformed a good idea into a great one. Lisa captured the impact of light and landscape in our cover story, the River House by Susi Leeton Architecture + Interiors. @lisacohenphoto
PIET ALBERT GOETHALS Piet-Albert Goethals is a Belgian photographer who started his career photographing Nordic landscapes and metal concerts. Within his photography practice, which focuses on interiors, architecture and fashion, Piet-Albert always applies patience and sensitivity to his subject matter and pays close attention to composition and framing. His approach is revealed in Hans Verstuyft’s latest project, a contemporary take on a traditional farmhouse. @piet.albert.goethals
FRANÇOIS HALARD Living and working between Arles, Paris and New York, François Halard travels around the world and emotionally captures the places that inspire him. For many years he has photographed the studios and residences of the greatest artists and architects of the twentieth century. François has a number of photographic books to his name, and has exhibited his work at some of the most prestigious galleries worldwide. François photographed his close friend, landscape designer Miranda Brooks' Catswood farmhouse in the Cotswolds in this issue. @Françoishalard ISSUE #49
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Fo u n d A s s o c i a t e s ISSUE #49
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CREDITS
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CONTRIBUTORS
Editor
Words
Sophie Lewis
Karen McCartney, Yvette Caprioglio, Bronwyn Marshall, Megan Rawson, Holly Beadle, Sophie Lewis
Style & Copy Editor
Yvette Caprioglio
Photography
Visual Concept Designer
At Home with Miranda Brooks
Jack Seedsman
François Halard
Design, Sales & Marketing Coordinator
Emmy Ford
Finding Connection
Derek Swalwell, Christopher Frederick Jones, Prue Ruscoe, Earl Carter
Features Writer
Holly Beadle
Second Nature
Lisa Cohen
Product Editor
Brigitte Craig
The Library
Rich Stapleton
Editorial, Social Media & Video Coordinator
Natural Instinct
Lidia Boniwell Editorial & Multi-Media Assistant
India Curtain
Claus Brechenmacher & Reiner Baumann Photography, César Belio, Fernando Guerra, Maíra Acayaba & Rafael Kamogawa Total Surrender
Eric Petschek
Partnerships Editor
Megan Rawson
My Space | Martyn Thompson
Advertising & Partnerships
Mandy Loftus-Hills | mandy@estliving.com Astrid Saint-John | astrid@estliving.com Deb Robertson | deb@estliving.com
Eryca Green, Martyn Thompson High Desert
César Béjar Treading Lightly
Editorial Advisor
Karen McCartney
César Béjar, Laia Rius Solá, Rafael Gamo
Managing Director
Quiet Achiever
Piet-Albert Goethals
Miffy Coady
3daysofdesign ON THE COVER
Rasmus Hjortshøj, Courtesy Louis Poulsen, Carl Hansen & Søn, Fritz Hansen, Fredericia, Hay, Karakter, VIPP, &Tradition.
Design
The Detail
Susi Leeton Architecture + Interiors
Salva López, Ambroise Tezenas, Joe Fletcher, Rich Stapleton, Anson Smart
Photography
BACK COVER
Lisa Cohen
Eric Petschek
Location
Melbourne, Australia
CONTACT editorial@estliving.com advertising@estliving.com
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est living acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we work, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung of the East Kulin Nation. We pay respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.
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H O M E
W I T H
MIRANDA BROOKS
Trading her Brooklyn family home for the Cotswolds, landscape designer and US Vogue contributing editor Miranda Brooks takes us through her farmhouse and gardens. LOCATION Cotswolds, UK DESIGN Bastien Halard LANDSCAPE DESIGN Miranda Brooks INTERVIEW Sophie Lewis PHOTOGRAPHY François Halard
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Miranda created her productive vegetable and cutting garden during ISSUE #49 the pandemic lockdown in 2020.
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Just before 2020, you decided to “change your lives” after “years of dreaming, planning, and lots of work”. This decision meant moving from Brooklyn to the 17thcentury Catswood Farm in the Cotswolds with your husband Bastien Halard, a designer, and daughters Poppy and Violette Grey. What led you to this decision, and why was Catswood Farm the right choice? We spent many years looking at houses and farms, from the Catskills to Maryland and all over England. The children, having ponies that lived at my ex-husband's farm, cemented the idea of England, plus my increasing-with-the-years homesickness for the seasons I grew up with. A friend told me the farmer who lived at Catswood Farm had passed away, so I wrote a letter to the family but never got an answer. Two years later, I was back in England, saying we were giving up on the idea when a friend encouraged us to drive past. We drove up to the house and knocked on the door. The next day, we were standing in a field – we never went in – and they said, ‘Do you want it?’ Then we saw inside; there was so much work to do. But it was hard initially. We thought, ‘Maybe we’ve made a mistake?’ ‘This is just going to be too hard a change'. I thought I was just sort of sailing off into what had been my dream. It was also to do with the fact that we were on a building site in the wettest winter in England! When you happened upon the farmhouse and its outbuildings, it was derelict. What was your first impression – did you both immediately see the potential? We were both in love with the farm's courtyards and their potential. There was so much to do to simplify all the buildings, and it had no garden. It allowed for dreaming, though we were pretty shocked when we saw the inside. The walls were green. It was so damp due to the underground springs surrounding the home. There also weren’t the practical things, like a bathroom upstairs. It wasn’t our dream house. Given what Bastein and I do, it probably chose us. Everything we’ve dreamt about, we’re doing. There are also lists and projects we want to do. How has it felt returning to New York City, where your studio is also based, since moving to Catswood Farm? New York does feel different. There are so many people – and it feels quite odd to be with so many people and not talk to them all because, you know, when you have a life in the country, you talk to everybody.
I spent almost 25 years in New York, but a strong thread of being homesick really influenced my garden designs. So I’ve always tried to recreate something – a feeling – you don’t usually find in America. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else other than Catswood in the middle of June. It’s too nice to leave. First of all, there's so much watering that we have to do [laughs] that you can't really be away. The roses are out, and the strawberries are ripe; all of the things you wait all year for. Your husband Bastien led the transformation of the farmhouse, and there was no shortage of challenges. With these challenges in mind, how did you balance the agricultural history and spirit of the home with your vision for how you’d like to live here as a family? Bastien tried many different schemes, and his hands were fairly tied by the planners. He built a wonderful vaulted kitchen, a new staircase and bathrooms. The house has a good meandering flow to its spaces. Bastien feels Catswood helped him to figure out what his design language is and how he wants to say it. In turn, he has helped Catswood find its sense of self. It felt very utilitarian for a long time, and now it’s much softer and prettier. Even though it’s very simple, the details are beautiful. You have described the interiors as having a “strong but soft character”, featuring many beautiful custom elements such as the freehand fresco in the library and pieces from the 17th century to the mid-20th century. What particular design details tell the story of your home best? The fresco was one of the first things we did. The children helped. It was inspired by an amazing chapel in Haddon Hall, in Derbyshire, with beautiful, slightly naive drawings of plants on the walls. I love the doors Bastien designed. He said that the house had so little architectural merit, giving attention to the details, the things you touch, would bring out its character. All the doors have a lovely chalky paint and delicate, chiselled detail. Bastien also designed all of the sofas. The one in the kitchen is huge – he’s the one that uses it most. Sometimes I walk into the kitchen, and he’s having a nap, and there are two dogs and two cats on top of him, all in a row, and they’re all asleep. It’s adorable.
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Miranda and Bastein’s home is a 17th-century former working dairy farm with agricultural outbuildings located in the English ISSUE #49 country of Gloucestershire.
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The home features furniture and objets d’art from the 17th century through to the mid-20th century, alongside Bastein’s custom designs, such as the sofas throughout. A circa 1950s French wooden side table, mid-century Italian slipper chairs and an ottoman covered by a 17th-century Flemish tapestry characterise the living room.
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The kitchen lies within a newly created structure clad in shuttered concrete. It features high, limewashed ceilings with antique Jacobean chandeliers and a sofa designed by Bastein, upholstered in the couple’s soon-to-be-launched fabric collection. A photograph by Francois Halard lies in the ISSUE #49 corner (who also photographed Miranda and Bastien’s home).
“We were both in love with the farm's courtyards and their potential. There was so much to do to simplify all the buildings, and there wasn’t a garden. It allowed for a lot of dreaming…” – Miranda Brooks
Beyond reimagining the farmhouse, you’ve repurposed outbuildings, such as the shared studio for yourself and Bastien. What has it been like to work from this new space? We have yet to get very far with the outbuildings. Many will stay agricultural, like the barn and the duck house. A steam room and bathhouse to cheer up English winters are still to come! But we have finished our studio and print room, where Bastien and I have collaborated on an outdoor fabric collection. I've had ideas for a long time about things – things I make for clients because I can't find them. Being at Catswood, maybe because we’re lonely [laughs], there’s more time for ideas – more creative energy. I’ve always felt that while New York is an extraordinary, energising city – it’s where you get things done. Ideas come from stiller places, and I live in a much stiller place. You have said your bathroom/library is one of your favourite places to be. What does this space say about how you live in your home? Growing up on a farm, I was a big reader. When I was a child, I loved the escapism of reading and always used to find somewhere totally hidden outside to read – so no one would find me to give me a job to do [laughs]. I like to read at night in the bath, so my bathroom is always more like a library/sitting room. I'm happy if someone wants to come and chat to me there. It’s also the only time I get to myself unless I’m on an aeroplane. Your move coincided with covid lockdown – how did this influence the design of your gardens – particularly your vegetable and cutting garden? That year, England had the most incredible spring. Always travelling to different projects, I got what I wanted – the season changes, mists, frosts and things you don’t get so much in America.
I don’t want to say the pandemic was a good thing. Still, it allowed us to work on the gardens and meant the vegetable garden went in a few years before I thought I would get to do it; some deep-seated ‘Grow for Britain’ urge overtook me, and I had potatoes and broad beans growing everywhere. You decided to segment your home’s gardens around colour. Why did you choose to approach your own landscaping in this way? Towards the hill, the gardens follow the chakras. I meditate, and while the work on the house was going on, and we were still in NY, following the chakras just crept into my garden planning. It has given me many good challenges, as I only occasionally plant blue things. Catswood has given me a chance to experiment. Considering it's just a farmhouse, I’ve got a ridiculous amount of cutting, and I’m growing so much. I'm doing what works best but trying different things every year. There’s a freedom to change things, and parts are still a work in progress. “Stella’s garden” is a beautiful tribute to a special friend. Why is it important to create these meaningful moments in our landscaped spaces? I have never made a memorial garden and didn't know what a healing thing it would be. I started the digging very soon after Stella died; the garden was slowly developed, and having it means we say her name most days - and remember and love her. In your own words, you thanked your daughters for “giving up NY for a cow farm and the joys of a lot of mucking about”. Reflecting on this, what do you love most about your new life at Catswood farm? Seeing every season, type of weather, time of day, the beauty of God's universe, and the love for it. 29
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Miranda and Bastein’s shared studio and print room is located in a transformed outbuilding featuring a table the architect designed with an antique marble top and French vintage stools.
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Miranda’s bathroom/library is her favourite space in her home, where she spends most nights reading. It features Georgian panelling, both a vintage Berber rug and an antique rug from Joshua Lumley.
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Miranda and her daughters Poppy and Violette Grey riding at Catswood ISSUE with Farm #49 Cuckoo the Whippet.
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Photography Derek Swalwell
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FINDING CONNECTION
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EIGHT ARCHITECTS, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS AND DESIGNERS EXPLORE HOW THEIR SHARED DESIGN LANGUAGE PUSHES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NATURE AND THE BUILT FORM.
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Pictured: Witta Circle by Shaun Lockyer Architects and Conlon Group Location: Kabi Kabi and Jinibara Country / Sunshine Coast, Australia ISSUE #49
Photography Christopher Frederick Jones
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SHAUN LOCKYER ARCHITECTS
X CONLON GROUP Queensland, Australia
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT MARC CONLON CONLON GROUP What was the first project you worked on with architect Shaun Lockyer? Amaroo residence on Sunshine Beach. It was an existing landscape on the beachfront and was more about stripping back the built form and reconnecting with the dune. Our response was to reclaim and become part of the dune, reinstating the landscape up to the house with native dunal species. It was the start of our blurring of the lines – a real architectural collaboration. What makes your collaboration with Shaun Lockyer Architects so effective? Passion and enthusiasm; a different way of thinking rather than for the sake of; not directly challenging but asking the question and simplifying the process. There is synergy in how we both present to clients and our lasting personal connections with them. When you’re working with like-minded people, there starts to be a sense of fluidity in how you work – an opportunity to excel. We know that the little things we do and have developed over the years come together to benefit both. We now know what we are capable of, and it's exciting to push these possibilities.
Typically, how do you respond to the architecture to ensure your design is intuitive to the established design language and there is harmony between the built environment and surrounding landscape? Our deep understanding of a project’s natural environment allows us to capture a sense of place and integrate the living surroundings with architecture. It’s those hard-thought-out decisions that appear simple in the end and have us all wondering why it wasn’t done like that before that are the real special design moments. What do you admire most about Shaun Lockyer Architects’ work? They are a pleasure to work with and have the highest level of procedure and delivery control that we have seen. They elevate our potential, and their work speaks for itself. We are excited about the projects to come.
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ARCHITECT SHAUN LOCKYER SHAUN LOCKYER ARCHITECTS Describe the synergy between your architecture studio and landscape architect Mark Conlon: Landscape is integral to our work, not an addition to it, so consideration for how the architecture and landscape interact is required from the concept stage. Conlon Group have been a part of many of our most well-known projects. Their understanding of the delicate balance between our disciplines is key to the cohesive outcomes in our projects. Architecture is about finding ways to provide sanctuary from the world while offering heightened engagement with the natural environment. Sharing these values allows us to prioritise the natural over the man-made, which we feel is a core principle in our work.
The progressive dominance of the natural over the built is appealing to me and, ultimately, a much more harmonious and romantic aspiration than a big building without a connection to the landscape, which is all too often the case. Not being limited to plants in the natural ground has opened up design to so many more diverse opportunities, which we hope is increasingly a defining characteristic of our work. What do you admire most about Conlon Group’s work? Conlon Group's attention to detail not only aligns with ours but pushes the limits of quality, clarity and execution. We feel excited about every project we see through with them. We are better for being a part of their work, as are the collective outcomes of our efforts.
How does working so closely with a landscape designer or architect like Conlon Group enrich your work as an architect? Knowing what we value, how we work, and what we do and don’t know, along with tried and tested outcomes and past knowledge and experience, allows us to start each project from a higher base. Design is a complex process, sometimes with emotion, passion and aspiration eclipsing functional priorities. Working with people who you know and trust allows this process to be richer – with less ego. With experience and subsequent knowledge-building comes better, more diverse and sustainable outcomes. Closer collaboration dissolves the sense of “them and us” in the design process. How does it contribute to a more impactful project outcome? I love the idea that we don’t think in two dimensions when it comes to architecture or the landscape. I love that with the appropriate design consideration, we can find ways to holistically integrate the natural and built environments. The idea that a roof can become a garden, that a balcony can be a breathing lung rather than a vacuous tiled area, excites me.
Pictured: Witta Circle by Shaun Lockyer Architects and Conlon Group Location: Kabi Kabi and Jinibara Country / Sunshine Coast, Australia
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“Landscape is integral to our work, not an addition to it, so consideration for how the architecture and landscape interact is required from the concept stage.” – Shaun Lockyer
Pictured: Amaroo Residence by Shaun Lockyer Architects and Conlon Group 41 Location: Kabi Kabi and Jinibara Country / Sunshine Coast, Australia
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Pictured: Flinders House by Kennedy Nolan and Amanda Oliver Gardens Location: Bunurong Boonwurrung Country / Mornington Peninsula, Australia ISSUE #49
Photography Derek Swalwell
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KENNEDY NOLAN
X AMANDA OLIVER GARDENS Victoria, Australia
LANDSCAPE DESIGNER AMANDA OLIVER AMANDA OLIVER GARDENS What was the first project you worked on with Kennedy Nolan? Deepdene House in 2014. Kennedy Nolan’s name kept popping up as they had recommended me to various people, and then Rachel Nolan rang me and asked me to meet to discuss a project. Deepdene was a great introduction to their work; it exemplified their originality in design and connection to the garden and landscape so well. What makes your collaboration with Kennedy Nolan so effective? From the very start, Kennedy Nolan recognised the focus on plants in my garden designs. They were looking for someone who created gardens rather than ‘outdoor rooms’, whose emphasis was on the soft rather than hard-built aspects of contemporary landscape design. We both love a bold use of texture, colour and form. We also share a practicality that has an emphasis on beauty. The Flinders House was one of our proudest collaborations. It’s been a tricky site for various reasons and as a project, it’s still a bit of a work in progress, but the bulk of the garden is really beginning to take shape. The extensive roof garden, predominantly planted in Coastal Tussock grass, Poa poiformis, ensures the landscape is read before the building. The ‘on structure’ rooftop planting is now merging with the surrounding natural soil garden plantings, and in time the built form will be largely obscured. The plantings are a mix of indigenous, native and exotic, creating what Patrick Kennedy describes as "idealised" nature.
Typically, how do you respond to the architecture to ensure your design is intuitive to the established design language and there is harmony between the built environment and surrounding landscape? Understanding the architecture and how it is designed to function is important. Aspect plays a crucial role and ensuring the garden enhances and complements this. Responding to the seasonality of Melbourne's climate – the pleasure of winter sun, the low autumn light, the extremes of a typical summer and the exuberance of spring. In the city, it’s about making the most of the borrowed landscape, framing or opening up views, screening or softening the ugly and creating a sense of enclosure. In the country, it’s about ensuring the garden sits well within the surrounding landscape and has a sense of place. What do you admire most about Kennedy Nolan’s work? What’s not to admire? Their strong working relationship and emphasis on landscape; the way they interweave gardens and garden spaces into all their designs; the originality and thoughtfulness that goes into each new project. The use of colour and materiality on the exteriors of their buildings makes my job a lot easier. I love being able to pick up on those colours and textures when selecting my plant and material palette.
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Pictured: Somers House by Kennedy Nolan and Amanda Oliver Gardens ISSUE Location: #49 Bunurong Boonwurrung Country / Mornington Peninsula, Australia
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“We both love a bold use of texture, colour and form. We also share a practicality that has an emphasis on beauty.” – Amanda Oliver
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ARCHITECTS PATRICK KENNEDY & RACHEL NOLAN KENNEDY NOLAN
Describe the synergy between your architecture studio and landscape designer Amanda Oliver:
How does it contribute to a more impactful project outcome?
About ten years ago, we came across a garden Amanda had made in North Fitzroy. We were immediately struck by her emphasis on horticulture, and were excited because we could sense a shared sensibility.
The climate emergency caused by global heating is the great moral and existential challenge of our time, and everything we do needs to be informed by this. We interrogate all aspects of our practice and pursue incremental change wherever we can, but a simple and beautiful way to do this is to make more gardens and to plant more intensively, but there are other important considerations. Plant diversity, supporting insect life, birds and fauna, eliminating environmental and noxious weeds, making linkages and corridors that connect the biosphere, growing food, managing water use, cooling the microclimate, banishing toxins and poisons in maintenance and preserving threatened species are just some of the ways we can incorporate biophilic design into our practice. Amanda is critical to this in our work.
Amanda’s approach was exactly what we had been searching for, a designer who could deliver an intensely plant-focused landscape design, not in a botanical or taxonomic sense, but one imbued with narrative, curation and beauty. The synergy with our practice existed on many levels, certainly in a design intuition predicated on colour, texture, form and scent and in the emphasis on a story or narrative. Amanda’s relationship continues with our clients long after we have exited because her gardens are ‘cared for’ by her – a term she prefers to ‘maintained’ and one which encompasses evolution and change. How does working so closely with a landscape designer or architect like Amanda Oliver Gardens enrich your work as an architect? We are delighted that increasingly our practices are seen as a package deal – to us, that is a testament to the symbiosis of our design approaches. There is a history of collaboration between architects and landscape designers from Edwin Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll and later Graeme Gunn with Ellis Stones, and from these relationships, a clear dialogue develops that amplifies the endresult. In residential projects, we are principally concerned with idealised domestic space, and for us, this encompasses architecture, interior design and the garden as a balanced whole. Amanda’s expertise and natural instinct enriches both the experience and the result, and over time and iteration we are learning from and influencing each other.
What do you admire most about Amanda Oliver Gardens’ work? There is so much we admire about Amanda’s work. She has an ability to 'see’ how a garden will mature. She is unafraid to make mistakes in the pursuit of the best result. She is committed and strong and sure, but probably our favourite thing is that she is endlessly curious about plants and sees beauty in the smallest native orchid, understanding the interconnectedness of all parts of the living world.
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Pictured: Somers House by Kennedy Nolan and Amanda Oliver Gardens Location: Bunurong Boonwurrung Country / Mornington Peninsula, Australia
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Pictured: Sandcastle by Luigi Rosselli Architects and Dangar Barin Smith Location: Eora Country / Sydney Australia ISSUE #49 Photography Prue Ruscoe
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LUIGI ROSSELLI ARCHITECTS
X DANGAR BARIN SMITH New South Wales, Australia
LANDSCAPE CONSULTANT WILL DANGAR DANGAR BARIN SMITH
What was the first project you worked on with architect Luigi Rosselli? I first worked with Luigi on a very small penthouse development in Sydney’s CBD for a property developer called Zaro Elizov, who realised the value of a good landscape outcome. This was in the early 1990s. We have worked together ever since. What makes your collaboration with Luigi Rosselli Architects so effective? Luigi and I share the same views about how a landscape and building should interact. He likes his buildings to be feathered by the landscape, which suits my style. We want the building to feel like it has been inserted into an existing landscape. Our relationship relies on both of us having an efficient way of working and an understanding that the projects will evolve during construction. We are also both completely comfortable with providing feedback. The collaboration is based on a shared knowledge of design, and a passion for great outcomes while providing practical solutions for our clients that respect sustainability and budget.
Typically, how do you respond to the architecture to ensure your design is intuitive to the established design language and there is harmony between the built environment and surrounding landscape? When LRA sends us the concept design for a project, Luigi will have already done a sketch of the landscape around the building. We use this as the starting point for our design. We have a relationship that has formed over three decades of complete trust, which allows us to massage the outskirts of the building and the associated garden structures if we believe there are other ways to design these elements. This goes both ways in the event he feels strongly about any landscape elements. What do you admire most about Luigi Rosselli Architects’ work? Luigi and his team are prolific architects across multiple disciplines. However, what I admire most about him is his ability to transform existing structures. Architecture is a very difficult profession and adapting these buildings into beautiful, functional, generational family dwellings is the hardest of all areas to practice in. 49
ARCHITECT LUIGI ROSSELLI ARCHITECTS LUIGI ROSSELLI ARCHITECTS
Describe the synergy between your architecture studio and landscape consultant Will Dangar: I’ve always thought that nature is an important component of architecture. First of all, because you build in nature, and second, if nature is absent in the urban environment, you try to recreate this in an environment where you can feel the fresh air, the seasons, and see birds, plants and life. With the privilege of cities like ours that aren’t too dense, we try to bring a garden feel into the most compact of sites. We tend to give a choice to the client of landscape architects; it’s as important as choosing your architect. Clients favour Will Dangar for his communication and incredible experience; his portfolio is astounding. Will has his own way of getting a brief out of a client, but we give him my original yellow trace sketches and communicate some of the concepts deliberated in this design. That way, he doesn’t go on a different tangent unrelated to a project. He understands the needs within the building. How does working so closely with a landscape designer or architect like Will Dangar enrich your work as an architect? It is fundamental – you can see in the final stage of a building site there’s a beautiful building, but there is something lacking – a harshness. Then the landscape is created in the final few weeks, and you immediately see the difference. It’s important the two things work together – we know that from the ongoing collaboration with Will Dangar. A lot of elements in our projects hinge on the landscaping. Sometimes we build around a tree, integrate planting into the roof and a building’s facade or form a courtyard that needs a certain atmosphere; that’s the landscape architect’s work. Will is knowledgeable about plants and always selects quality, substantial plants, which means six months later, the garden is quite established. He is also very good at mixing different origin plants. While other landscape planting can be quite desert-like with lots of mulch, pebbles and dryness, Will’s projects by contrast, are lush, succulent and full of life. Pictured: Sandcastle by Luigi Rosselli Architects and Dangar Barin Smith Location: Eora Country / Sydney Australia
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How does it contribute to a more impactful project outcome? It is well known that living next to plants and gardens makes people feel more at ease, comfortable and less anxious. It’s an important psychological element. It’s important to increase the effect of plants in absorbing CO2 and providing a healthier environment. That’s the goal in most of our designs – to maximise the amount of plants growing. If we can’t do it outside, we’ll do it inside. What do you admire most about Dangar Barin Smith’s work? Will is very creative; he consistently comes up with great ideas. He doesn’t follow the schemes and habits of everyone else. He’s always developing new concepts and methods of construction. In the Sandcastle project, we had a very steep site. Other landscape architects would not have coped with the sloping site and demanded a retaining wall. We would have ended up with kilometres of retaining wall – a monster from the street. Will Dangar proposed a design that was able to creatively forgo this, and the garden is now fully established and working very well.
“While a lot of other landscape planting can be quite desert-like with lots of mulch, pebbles and dryness, Will’s projects, by contrast, are lush, succulent and full of life.” – Luigi Rosselli
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Pictured: Sandcastle by Luigi Rosselli Architects and Dangar Barin Smith Location: Eora Country / Sydney Australia
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Pictured: Portsea by Fiona Brockhoff Design and Bell Fisher Architects Location: Bunurong Boonwurrung Country / Mornington Peninsula, Australia ISSUE #49
Photography Earl Carter
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BELL FISHER ARCHITECTS
X FIONA BROCKHOFF DESIGN Victoria, Australia
LANDSCAPE DESIGNER FIONA BROCKHOFF FIONA BROCKHOFF DESIGN
What was the first project you worked on with Graham Fisher? Our first project together was in 2015 in Portsea when we were approached to design a very special garden around a unique clifftop property overlooking Port Phillip Bay towards Melbourne. What makes your collaboration with Bell Fisher Architects so effective? Each landscape we create involves a collaborative approach with the client and architect, as well as the architecture and site. Since each situation presents a unique combination, it's important that the way we design is flexible and adaptive while remaining true to our philosophy. Bell Fisher Architects and Fiona Brockhoff Design respect each other’s approach to design and we always seek to create a garden landscape that relates to the scale of their architecture and the home’s internal layout. The two Mornington Peninsula seaside properties that are featured in this article would have to be my favourite collaborative projects. Although the sites are adjacent and have many similarities, the client's brief was different. The architecture responds beautifully to this difference and, in turn, the landscape design does too.
Typically, how do you respond to the architecture to ensure your design is intuitive to the established design language and there is harmony between the built environment and surrounding landscape? The landscape response we create comes after discussion with the client, architect and careful site analysis. It is important to understand the materiality of the architecture so, where needed, we can incorporate similarities or repetition in surface treatments and style in the language of the garden. Unity between internal and external spaces is important to make spaces feel larger than they may be or homogeneous in style. Often views from the garden spaces provide the link to the landscape beyond the property and with nature itself, creating an overall sense of synergy between the architecture, garden and surrounding landscape. Therefore, the way these spaces are furnished needs to strengthen this relationship. While we work in different fields, there is a deep understanding of creating an outcome that is both coherent and aligned with the client’s brief. A good example would be understanding how level changes within the architecture must be considered in the landscape realm. What do you admire most about Bell Fisher Architects’ work? I admire their unique response to each situation. They design houses that respect the client's brief and site characteristics. Providing interesting, scale-appropriate spaces that feel good to live in underpins their successful practice.
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Pictured: Portsea by Fiona Brockhoff Design and Bell Fisher Architects Location: Bunurong Boonwurrung Country / Mornington Peninsula, Australia
ARCHITECT GRAHAM FISHER
How does it contribute to a more impactful project outcome?
BELL FISHER ARCHITECTS
One of Fiona’s great skills is in handling changes in levels around buildings and integrating them into a landscape design. The resolution of these and the harmony with the planting scheme invariably solves difficult interfaces between building and landscape, including areas of deep shade from the building that need specialised plant choices.
Describe the synergy between your architecture studio and landscape designer Fiona Brockhoff: I think that the naturalistic, casual and site-responsive nature of Fiona’s work acts as an ideal foil for the formality, symmetry and order that is inherent in our work. This is particularly relevant to her coastal projects but also applies to the city-based sites that we have done with Fiona. The end result is completely harmonious. How does working so closely with a landscape designer or architect like Fiona Brockhoff enrich your work as an architect? It is massively important to the success of our projects that they are finished and surrounded by a beautiful landscape. It enhances the architecture itself, the enjoyment of the building for the client, and the satisfaction of the architect. It sets the owners on a total aesthetic path for the future.
It is axiomatic to our practice that buildings provide views towards nature, gardens and plants. Large windows serve to provide a constant interaction between the building’s internal environment and the outside world, made all the more beautiful by the work of great plants people like Fiona. What do you admire most about Fiona Brockhoff Design’s work? Fiona’s work paradoxically produces a pared-back yet lush landscape that doesn’t overwhelm a building, with a great balance between openness and vegetation, light and shade. Her work is functional when it needs to be and always beautiful.
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“While we work in different fields, there is a deep understanding of creating an outcome that is both coherent and aligned with the client’s brief.”
– Fiona Brockhoff
Pictured: Portsea by Fiona Brockhoff Design and Bell Fisher Architects Location: Bunurong Boonwurrung Country / Mornington Peninsula, Australia
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Pictured: Portsea by Fiona Brockhoff Design and Bell Fisher Architects Location: Bunurong Boonwurrung Country / Mornington Peninsula, Australia ISSUE #49 Photography Peter Bennetts
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A NEW IMMERSIVE SYDNEY FLAGSHIP
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"Designed to engage all the senses and provide inspiration for the entire home, Winnings Redfern provides customers with the ultimate platform to see, touch and interact with the latest technologies and world’s best and exclusive designs for the home.” - John Winning, CEO, Winning Group
EXPERIENCE THE WINNINGS FL AGSHIP SHO WROOM >
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A HOME’S ENHANCED SENSE OF CONNECTION TO THE L A N D S C A P E A N D I T S OW N E R S HAS BEEN HEIGHTENED IN I T S S E C O N D I N C A R N AT I O N B Y T H E S A M E A R C H I T E C T.
LOCATION | Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and Bunurong Boonwurrung Country / Melbourne, Australia ARCHITECTURE, DESIGN & STYLING | Susi Leeton Architects + Interiors LANDSCAPE DESIGN | Myles Baldwin Design ISSUE #49
PHOTOGRAPHY | Lisa Cohen WORDS | Sophie Lewis
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The home is composed of five different levels with a lift designed to create an efficient flow from parking the car to arriving in the kitchen with the groceries for dinner. 65
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decade after its first appearance in est magazine, Susi Leeton Architecture + Interiors returned to the River House to build on themes of light, privacy and landscape for a couple and their now-teenage children. Located on a river bend on Melbourne’s Yarra River, architect Susi Leeton reconsidered how the 1980s home could be ‘grown up’ for young adults, bring friends together and let visiting family comfortably stay. The River House negotiates five different levels that transition in different ways through steps, bridges and a lift. “Like the river, the building meanders through and down the site, down a garden path across a bridge to the front door,” Susi says. For the then-young family, the home’s sleeping and living areas were closer together, and the communal areas were more openplan. Now, the parents have their own upper level to retreat to, while the kids have their own lower floor. In the middle, Susi has enlarged the conservatory kitchen, where mess can be made away from the living and dining areas. “We considered everything from bringing in the shopping from the car to the kitchen, by installing a lift down a few levels, to providing plenty of storage, a drying room and walk-in robes for everyone,” Susi says. “There are lots of different spaces for encouraging connection to each other and the landscape,” she adds. The architecture is designed as a backdrop – to feel like you’re part of the lush landscape. Window frames are embedded to accentuate the view, maximising all aspects of the now-matured garden. “Every level and floor plane connects to Myles Baldwin’s garden,” she says. “We wanted the garden and views out to the river to take precedence over the architecture”. This allows the home to feel secluded while close to the city. The architect appreciated the home’s access to southern light and, at the same time, “scooped sunlight from other directions”. A ceiling cut out with a large skylight diffuses light in the hallway, where a Japanese maple tree is embedded in the limed oak floors. A central void wrapped in glass, featuring an established tree, blurs the boundaries between inside and out, as does the use of mirror. “The kitchen’s walk-in pantry lies behind our mirrored ‘Bento Box’ which also discreetly houses the bar,” Susi says. Which also discreetly houses the bar,” Susi says, "It brings the landscape into the room and creates a soft vibration of shifting greenery and southern light.” Marmorino polished plaster walls also gently reflects light while recessive architectural lighting highlights the home’s curved edges.
River House reveals Susi’s appreciation for Australian artists, including Johnny Niesche – his Cosmetic Calculator (2016) pictured in the hallway. Marmorino polished plaster walls accentuate the home’s light play.
est magazine The living space features the B&B Italia Camaleonda sofa by Mario Bellini,
OKHA Design Studio Repose sofa, Halcyon Lake Chromatic Sage II rug, B&B Italia Formiche small table by Piero Lissoni, De La Espada Laurel side table, a Missoni Home ottoman and a Lex Williams timber side table. Artwork by Kevin Chin (beside fireplace) and Daniel Boyd (back wall). The dining space features Vintage Cab chairs by Mario Bellini for Cassina, Fred Rigby Studio dining chair and Lowe Furniture oak dining table.
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This page: The cosy breakfast nook features a Molecule table by BARBERA Design, Mark Tuckey Zigzag stools and bench cushions upholstered in Westbury Textiles linen. Opposite Page: The kitchen with custom ISSUE #49is carved from solid Signorino Granite. drawers
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Beyond the limed oak floors, large-format limestone tiles run from inside to outside and through the private areas. In the bedrooms, walls are painted in a colour Susi describes as the back of a eucalyptus leaf. The grounding palette is a backdrop to Susi’s curation of Australian art, including her own, alongside works by Daniel Boyd, Sally Gabori and Adrienne Gaha and sculptural pieces, such as a 300-year-old Japanese log from a temple in Japan. The architect also nods to local makers with furniture sourced from BARBARA Design, Lowe Furniture and Mark Tuckey. In revisiting the River House, Susi has continued to bring a sense of the slow-flowing river into all aspects of the design and experience of space. “Combining function with feeling”, Susi says, “allows you to exhale as soon as you walk through the door.” 71
The kitchen pantry and bar is enclosed in a mirror, which Susi describes as a ‘Bento box’, designed to reflect the ISSUE #49 from every direction. landscape
The hallway that leads to the living area features a Japanese Maple tree neatly tucked into the George Fethers & Co. limed oak boards that run through the entire communal floor. Sculptures by Isadora Vaughan are positioned next to the Japanese maple, with Winter Landscape by Adrienne Gaha on the wall. The recessed lighting is by Flos and Adrian Pizzey Lighting.
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The bedroom features the Cuero Butterfly chair, Baxter Liquid side table by Draga & Aurel, and Flos Tab floor lamp by Edward Barbe
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er and Jay Osgerby.
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The bathroom features tapware by Brodware, an Apaiser vanity and a Merwe Bayou bath to soak in views of the now-matured Myles Baldwin Garden.
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In the River House every level and floor plane connects to Myles Baldwin’s garden – allowing the home to feel secluded while close to the city.
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LARGE EARTH BOWL SHELL PINK DINOSAUR DESIGNS
REPOSE SOFA OKHA
CAMALEONDA LOUNGE CHAIR IVORY WHITE CHENILLE
ZIG ZAG STOOL
B&B ITALIA
MARK TUCKEY
CHROMATIC DUO II SAGE
OTOMYS GALLERY
MAISON NATURALE
HALCYON LAKE
GREG WOOD
GEORGE FETHERS
V36 DAY IN DAY OUT Oil on Linen Board, Walnut Frame 51 x 51cm
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MERBAU KYTHE SEAT LEX WILLIAMS Special Edition Lex Williams Kythe Seat in Merbau
“WINTER LANDSCAPE” 2017 ADRIENNE GAHA Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art Gallery
DURO LIMESTONE PAVERS ECO OUTDOOR
USAK GREY MARBLE
CIPRIA ARMCHAIR
SIGNORINO
EDRA
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The Bathelier A unique vision of creative bathrooms.
The Bathelier, a new concept by Cosentino that brings to life the vision of a unique and experiential space through renowned designers that create an interpret the bathroom of the future: singular, unique, and harmonious. REMY MEIJERS | CLAUDIA AFSHAR | DANIEL GERMANI | COLIN SEAH | MUT DESIGN Find inspiration at cosentino.com
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Project The 7th Room Design Snøhetta ISSUE #49
Photography Rory Gardiner
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THE LIBRARY Take refuge in nature.
ROCK THE SHACK S BORGES & SVEN EHMANN
LIFE UNHURIED CELESTE MITCHELL, KRISTA EPPELSTUN & KATIE GANNON
LIVING IN THE FOREST PHAIDON
SUBLIME HIDEAWAYS: REMOTE RETREATS AND RESIDENCIES GESTALTEN
OASIS: MODERN DESERT HOMES AROUND THE WORLD IO TILLLET WRIGHT
HOW MUCH HOUSE? THOREAU LE CORBUSIER AND THE SUSTAINABLE CABIN UPE FLUECKIGER
CONCRETE JUNGLE: TROPICAL ARCHITECTURE AND ITS SURPRISING ORIGINS GESTALTEN
HOME BY THE SEA NATALIE WALTON
CABIN FEVER GESTALTEN
SEE MORE BOOKS > 87
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TOTA L S U
LOCATION BRIDGEHAMPTON, NORTH AMERICA ARCHITECTURE STEVEN HARRIS ARCHITECTS INTERIOR DESIGN & LANDSCAPE DESIGN REES ROBERTS + PARTNERS PHOTOGRAPHY ERIC PETSCHEK ISSUE #49 WORDS
HOLLY BEADLE
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This Page: The pavilion is crowned by an organically-shaped swimming pool with an underbelly made of plaster, which, in the light of the afternoon sun, turns a beautiful shade of gold on one side. Other weather-resistant materials include Ipe hardwood decking and Grigio Olivo limestone steps. Opposite Page: The front entrance is marked by a sculptural, cast-concrete mural ISSUE #49
by Mig Perkins.
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The entry hall doubles as a gallery space for the client’s art collection. The pieces pictured are by Philippe Hiquily ISSUE #49 and Keltie Ferris (painting). (sculpture)
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A SCULPTURAL OCEANFRONT HOME E M E R G E S A S A N AT U R A L EXTENSION OF THE LANDSCAPE ON WHICH I T ' S B U I L T.
United by a focus on celebrating each of their projects’ natural context, New York-based architecture practice Steven Harris Architects and interior and landscape design practice Rees Roberts + Partners have taken a dynamic approach to coastal living. Bridgehampton Beach House, consisting of a two-storey house and sculptural pool pavilion, surrenders to the coastal elements by rising out of the dunes and directing its attention to the vast Atlantic Ocean.
The pavilion is inspired by the late Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx, whose proclivity for curves earned him global recognition. An organically-shaped reflective pool with an underbelly made of plaster crowns the pavilion, mirroring the ocean that lies just metres away. “The pool helps to collapse the space between the house and the ocean, reinforcing the connection between the two,” Steven says.
The home occupies a large, south-facing site on the east end of Long Island, New York, in the city’s most renowned summer destination. “Houses in The Hamptons, especially those by the ocean, can be quite massive and imposing, which is why we spent a lot of time ‘fragmenting’ the house to relate it back down to human scale,” Steven Harris says. “Our focus was on showcasing the coastal landscape rather than competing with it for attention,” he adds.
Rees reveals that curves, like those expressed by the pavilion, were worked into the entire brief as a tribute to the landscape, stating, “Our clients repeatedly challenged us to explore these organic forms at multiple scales.” Journeying into the main house, we see this manifest in a cast-concrete mural by the front entrance and a large winding stairwell in the entry hall.
The main house at the rear of the site and the pavilion at the front of the site were conceived as two separate entities. While sharp, angular lines shape the house, the pavilion echoes the dunes with its sinuous forms. “The contrast between the two structures helps to accentuate the pavilion’s visual impact,” Steven says.
The home’s main living spaces are located on the first floor, to take advantage of the ocean views. “We went against tradition by placing the kitchen, dining and living areas on the upper level. In doing so, though, we have opened these areas up to spectacular panoramic views of the dunes and ocean,” Rees says. This top-heavy distribution is made possible by a series of heroic cantilevered forms, which, when viewed from the outside, pivot around a solid brick mass. 93
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Living by the coast is not without its challenges. “In harsh marine environments, materials are more likely to rust or rot,” Steven says, “and so we had to choose materials that were low maintenance, yet durable.” The plaster that wraps around the underbelly of the pool for example, was chosen for its resistance to heat, wind, salt and sand. Similarly, all the windows are made of marine-grade stainless steel, and the floors are made of durable Grigio Olivo limestone. Homes by the ocean should embrace its natural beauty and appreciate the unfathomable length of time it has existed before us, as typified by Steven Harris Architects and Rees Roberts + Partners in their design.
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In keeping with the home’s language of curves, the kitchen features a custom, curved cast-concrete island bench, while the dining space features a custom table made of wood and white gesso finish and a set of Ralph Pucci Mahalo dining chairs.
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South-facing floor-to-ceiling windows with deep overhangs offer expansive views of the landscape while also maximising natural light. The living space features a custom-upholstered Edra On the Rocks sofa, Oscar Niemeyer Alta lounge chair, Studiotwentyseven ‘SSU’ carved 97 coffee table in walnut, The Invisible Collection Soff floor lamp and a painting by Rodney Graham.
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The line between inside and outside is blurred once again in the bedroom, which features a custom cast-concrete bed frame and matching nightstands designed by Rees Roberts + Partners. Artwork by Volker Huller.
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A Rees Roberts + Partners designed outdoor shower made of Danby marble – one of the most naturally durable marbles to exist – with a marine-grade stainless steel shower fixture sits nestled amongst the elements.
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The sharp, angular lines of the main house are offset by the sinuous forms of the pavilion. Rees Roberts + Partners have tied the landscaped spaces in with their existing surroundings by planting ISSUE #49 native species and following the natural gradient of the dunes.
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NATURAL WE TALK TO THREE LEADING ARCHITECTS ACROSS THREE DIFFERENT CONTINENTS ABOUT THEIR APPROACH TO COHESION BETWEEN DESIGN AND NATURE.
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INTERVIEW YVETTE CAPRIOGLIO
INSTINCT
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K-STUDIO CO-FOUNDERS KONSTANTINOS AND DIMITRIS KARAMPATAKIS Athens, Greece
How does your studio’s architecture and design reflect the country in which it is built and the context? Our design approach seeks to root our proposal to its immediate environment, but also to connect it to the greatest context, beyond the physical, meaning its heritage. In the beginning of every design process, we try to comprehend the site conditions and the physical qualities of any given plot, yet also zoom out to understand how our case relates to a greater area. We always get inspired by the natural resources of the place we are designing for, but also from the traditions, the global construction techniques and the ancient local knowledge that has been distilled over the ages, to achieve insightful solutions to local problems. This does not just lead to a proposal that blends in nicely, but constitutes an educated comment on how to belong as an organic part of place, not just paying tribute to the locus, but evolving its inherent information with our own understanding and perspective of it. How does the work of your studio implicitly and explicitly connect with the natural environment? We tend to design by taking into consideration the resources already available to us; we try to maximise existing buildings and their parts by reimagining and repurposing, namely by using excavated materials for newly built structures and informing our design with them. Climate-wise, we also try to 'listen' to what the elements dictate, thus informing our design decisions in order to be more efficient: protect a space from winds, shelter from direct sunlight, etc. Traditional techniques usually hold an important wealth of knowledge in that direction, and for that we always turn to them for consultation.
Pictured: Liknon by K-Studio Pictured: Liknon by K-Studio Photography Claus Brechenmacher & Reiner Baum Photography
Photography Claus Brechenmacher & Reiner Baumann Photography
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Biophilic design aims to create spaces that foster a deeper relationship with nature – how has your studio diversified and evolved to embrace this? Time is the greatest designer, and nature is the result of a timeless evolutionary design process – a process that constantly redefines mechanisms of efficient adaptation to certain conditions and parameters. This efficiency and resourcefulness is an ally we like to have when designing. To give an example, in one of our earlier projects, the restaurant Barbouni, which is located on a beach frequently dominated by the wind, instead of trying to tame it, we decided to embrace this natural element. In the same way the wind activates the sea surface and the sand dunes. We saw an opportunity in bringing this perpetual motion within our structure in order to construct a shading system that would withstand high winds. By flowing with it, instead of standing strong against it, we minimised the effort to design a canopy that consisted of soft, flexible fabrics that sway with the wind and tuned in with the natural context of the location, evoking strong emotions to the end-user. K-Studio’s architectural experiences are informed by tradition, enriched by materiality and inspired by contemporary life. How do these elements play out through the conceptual blueprint for each project? As mentioned before, it is respect and interest in unlocking ancient knowledge that pushes us to look back to tradition. Materiality, as we said, further connects the design to its place and heritage. Inevitably, it is contemporary needs and problems that we need to tackle when designing, and thus the building is informed not as a compositional process but as an experience; we are tempted to imagine the sensation of being there, with the mantra “form follows emotion”.
As a practice, you are averse to waste and make minimal interventions that use minimal resources, always preferring to work with the elements to create naturally luxurious comfort. How does this approach inform connectivity to nature in your projects? Rather than pursuing an eventual connection to nature, our design process is inherently led by it. We are generally lucky to be invited to work in places of immense natural beauty, a luck which of course is accompanied by immense responsibility to protect and celebrate it. This doesn’t mean we would shy away from making bigger statements, but rather confidently put together the resources that already exist in each place to create extraordinary architecture and think beyond conventional building forms. In one of our latest works, Liknon, located on a one-hundred-yearold vineyard, we have embedded the building into the pre-existing landscape and made the project about walking through the array of stonewall-held plateaus so that the visitor gets to experience the place on a deep level. Your ethos is to build strong identities and architectural narratives that use the local context in balance with contemporary aspirations to elevate and enrich the user’s enjoyment. Do you believe the mix of both the tangible and intangible inherently drives the outcome of projects? Definitely, the weaving of one into the other is what forms the final product: the feeling of being there, the emotional experience of the place and how the individual perceives a sum of factors beyond just the building itself.
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Photography ClausPictured: Brechenmacher Liknon by & Reiner K-Studio Baumann Photography
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"Time is the greatest designer, and nature is the result of a timeless evolutionary design process." – Dimitris Karampatakis
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Pictured: Liknon by K-Studio
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Pictured: Juan Cano I by PPAA ISSUE #49
Photography César Belio
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PPAA FOUNDER PABLO PÉREZ PALACIOS Mexico City, Mexico
How does your studio’s architecture and design reflect the country in which it is built and the context? We seek an adaptable architecture, with structural systems offered by the site or region; creating an autonomous architecture that adapts individually to each project, combined with sustainable usage of the resources to minimise the construction impact. Also, we strive for architecture that can adapt to the different structural systems offered by the site or region. This involves sustainable usage of the site’s resources to minimise the construction impact. How does the work of your studio implicitly and explicitly connect with the natural environment? For connecting architecture and nature, our working approach focuses on shaping the void. These voids are shaped into patios, terraces, multipurpose spaces, etc. They take geometrical forms where the exterior space is defined and bounded but not built. We see these voids as a new, open possibility for unexplored and unexpected architectural programs. Biophilic design aims to create spaces that foster a deeper relationship with nature – how has your studio diversified and evolved to embrace this? As we have been thinking about architecture for the future, we had to return to what we have lost as human beings. The architecture of tomorrow must respond to an urgent need for sustainability and values enhanced by available technology. At a time when the human presence in nature has never been so extreme, architecture should be the key to creating this connection.
Your practice likes to follow the inclination of nature, where sensorial atmospheres are created through the influence of weather, soil and textures. How did this evolve? We believe that architecture is an issue that is put to the test by the multiple elements that are in its surroundings. Our commitment is to create architecture based on intentions, not forms. In Juan Cano, we started with the idea of preserving the trees. The clients wanted privacy without disconnecting from the street, and with this in mind, we decided to elevate the living area. As we had a huge program, we decided to grow up instead of delimitating the area with built space, so, the patio is an element that functions as a system of natural lighting and ventilation and is also the space where the family can gather and play. There is a dialogue between contradictory ideas that are part of your creative process – creating architecture that adapts to each individual project. Can you talk further about the importance of contradictory ideas? There are spaces that are given programs and where various activities can happen. This is where we think that contradictory ideas let us create flexible spaces: built and unbuilt, closed and open, private and interactive, light and dark. The struggle in architecture is, therefore, finding the balance between liveliness and emptiness, with emptiness leaving space for the viewer to use their imagination. The intention is to design architecture that supports certain programmed activities while allowing for a flexibility to change over time or to be multifunctional. There are spaces that are given programs and spaces where various activities can happen. The latter are where people can come up with the function themselves. If the meaning of all parts of a building is already decided and people cannot decide anything, it makes for a very rigid situation. The intention is to design an architecture that supports certain programmed activities while allowing for a flexibility to change over time or to be 113 multifunctional.
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You describe an intentional openness in each of your projects between people and architecture and, again, between architecture and its surroundings. What is key to creating this openness, and how does it manifest during the process? Each project starts from the idea that we cannot think of architecture without its natural environment, and with this intention, we create architecture that has a direct dialogue with the natural scenery in ways as mentioned, such as terraces, patios and open spaces. The unbuilt space is just as important as the built one, the voids take different sh apes that allow both ventilation and visual interactions in a multipurpose space that can be suitable to the inhabitants needs. Explore nature’s materials, letting them be exposed rather than hiding them, and minimise all construction impact where possible. Here, nature wins and commands. It is our duty to give it that place, so each project has a genuine relationship with its natural environment.
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"At a time when the human presence in nature has never been so extreme, architecture should be the key to creating this connection. Each of our projects starts from the idea that we cannot think of architecture without its natural environment." – Pablo Pérez Palacios
Pictured: Juan Cano I by PPAA
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Pictured: OS House by Jacobsen Arquitetura. ISSUE #49
Photography Fernando Guerra (FG+SG)
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JACOBSEN ARQUITETURA PARTNERS PAULO JACOBSEN, BERNARDO JACOBSEN AND EDGAR MURATA Rio de Janeiro & São Paulo, Brazil Lisbon, Portugal How does your studio’s architecture and design reflect the country in which it is built and the context? Working globally, our DNA is guided by the understanding of client’s profile, regional culture, and an in-depth geographical analysis. In this sense, the personal tastes, cultural habits, and our research of architectural elements linked to regional customs are fundamental to connection between construction and locality. How does the work of your studio implicitly and explicitly connect with the natural environment? For us, architecture should not impose itself on the environment, but establish a harmonious dialogue with it. This involves approaches that seek to dilute the limitations – physical and visual – of the surrounding environment. At the start of every project, an in-depth analysis of the topography and natural conditions such as insolation, ventilation and existing vegetation, is conducted to give us an indication as to how to position the architecture on the site. From this perspective, the design seeks to dissolve into the landscape, while the materials and textures connect to the local context. The following set of solutions tries to integrate built spaces with their natural environment: the insertion of glass-less interior gardens, which dissolve the limits between inside and outside, the use of natural materials, such as wood and stone, and the extensive use of windows to embrace views, among other solutions. This atmosphere plays a fundamental role in the overall comfort and wellbeing of residents.
Biophilic design aims to create spaces that foster a deeper relationship with nature – how has your studio diversified and evolved to embrace this? When Jacobsen Arquitetura was first established, our founding partner Paulo Jacobsen worked on a series of projects in Paraty, a coastal region of the state of Rio de Janeiro, which used unsustainably-sourced round wood beams. Today, with more experience and the expertise of Bernardo Jacobsen, we emphasise the use of laminated eucalyptus or pine from sustainable sources, with rare species only being used for specific finishing work. From start to finish, we adopt an approach that prioritises a respect for nature, striving for the lowest environmental impact, and the comfort of our clients. Among the many examples that characterise biophilic design in our work, we can cite our use of natural materials, spaces that blend interiors and landscaping, passive strategies for ventilation and natural lighting, construction techniques with low environmental impact, and implantation that causes the least change to the natural profile of the land.
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Your studio’s concept of tropical architecture is based on the potential relationship between the exuberant nature of Rio’s landscapes and the architectural project. How does this tropical architecture develop through your creative process on each project? Our studio is located in Rio de Janeiro, in the house where Bernardo Jacobsen grew up with his father Paulo Jacobsen. The house itself, as well as the surrounding rainforest and tropical climate directly influences our creative process by inspiring us to create welcoming spaces connected to nature. We want residents to feel the breeze move through spaces, observe the light throughout the day as it passes through openings, and hear the sounds of the natural elements: water, birds, the rustling of the trees. How important is the integration between the built environment and its natural context to the outcome of your projects? With each of our projects, we try to establish an interconnectedness between the built forms and the pre-existing natural landscape. By respecting the natural characteristics of the site – topography, insolation, wind direction, predominant views – the project emerges in direct response to it. According to our founder partner, Paulo Jacobsen, "Architecture should be closely related to the client's personality and way of life, in full harmony with the surroundings in a timeless way. The idea is that the architecture disappears into the landscape.” The established dialogue between architecture and nature informs your solutions. How does this dialogue inform your exploration of materiality in each project? Our architectural approach prioritises the use of natural materials – predominantly stone and wood both inside and outside. Although these materials are used globally, we prioritise those of Brazilian origin, or from the region where the project is located. This in turn, forms a genuine connection to the location. In addition to stone and wood, we also use bamboo, rammed earth, straw and natural fibres in our interiors.
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The choice to use natural materials allows our buildings to 'get old' with dignity.
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Pictured: FL House by Jacobsen Arquitetura. Photography Fernando Guerra (FG+SG)
Pictured: Casa MLS by Jacobsen Arquitetura. Photography Maíra Acayaba
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Pictured: AB House by Jacobsen Arquitectura ISSUE #49 Photography Rafael kamogawa
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"Architecture should not impose itself on the environment, but establish a harmonious dialogue, as a natural result." – Bernardo Jacobsen
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Erskine Bed & Frame Bedroom by Kett
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MARTYN THOMPSON
MARTYN THOMPSON IS A CREATOR OF INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR WORLDS. FROM A SYDNEY APARTMENT TO A HOUSE AND GARDEN IN UPSTATE NEW YORK, HE CONJURES UP MAGICAL SPACES THAT TOUCH THE SENSES. DESIGN Martyn Thompson LOCATION Woodstock, North America STYLISTS Brian Reyes & Martyn Thompson PHOTOGRAPHER Martyn Thompson WORDS Karen McCartney
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artyn Thompson and I take tea (in hand-painted cups of his own design) in his Birtley Tower apartment in Sydney’s Elizabeth Bay. This seminal Sydney Art Deco building, by architect Emil Soderston, is an appropriate landing place for Martyn after 20 years in New York.
The notion that interiors can be an embodiment of personality is common, but here it finds deep and intense resonance with every item evoking an aspect of Martyn’s finelycrafted aesthetic. Moody, off-beat tones, jacquard fabrics covering teardrop-shaped ottomans, and jewel-like Murano glass pendants combine with rough-hewn 19th-century tables and his latest rug designs for Tibet Sydney punctuate the space with rich, textural gestures. The apartment showcases Martyn’s genius in conveying a sense of ‘meticulous ease’. He precisely considers placement, textures, proportions and form alongside light – always light – but the overall effect is of a certain relaxed, devil-may-care charm that feels anything but prescriptive. But we are here to talk about Woodstock and his magical house and garden in the Catskills where all of the above applies in the context of an American town famous for its unpretentious boho sensibility and famous music festival. A two-and-a-half-hour bus ride from New York, Martyn had visited friends there, and then, he acknowledges, the urge to buy was a stage of life thing.“I think there's a point, generally for people in their 50s, where they desire to move to the country. So I just followed that impetus. New York is fabulous but, in many ways, a tiring place to live,” he says. The area appealed because it reminded him of where his mother grew up in Staffordshire in the English West Midlands, and the house, on the edge of town, was, at its original core, a 1920s artist’s house with several ill-advised add-ons throughout the ensuing decades. Undaunted, Martyn painted the exterior timber black, a common treatment in the area, while the interior was subjected to several unifying coats of his favourite paint, Farrow & Ball’s Pigeon. “It was a very stylistically inconsistent house, with windows from every decade, but also with a great deal of charm with different ceiling treatments – some lower with the wooden beams, another sporting a giant internal pitch,” he says.
Previous pages: The sprawling garden in Woodstock pivots around and 17th-century Venetian rotunda. Opposite: The art of the still life, Martyn’s framed photographs are set against walls painted in his go-to shade – Farrow & Ball’s Pigeon.
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A range of jacquard fabrics of Martyn’s own design cover the couch, the ottomans and even the lampshade at the rear of the room. A variety of vintage stools speak to the rustic context, while the ISSUE 1970s #49 large table adds a note of deliberate contrast.
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But if two things captured his artistic imagination, it was the light and the garden. The block was a massive 12-thousand square metres, with wild woodland forming two thirds and the house and garden the remainder. “It had once been a very established garden, a garden of note, and the original style was quite formal orchestrated around an impressive 17th-century Venetian rotunda with defined garden beds,” he says. Giant shrubs and mature trees edged the property with fencing necessary to keep wild deer from eating all the vegetation. Struck by the drama of the changing seasons, Martyn observes how city and country life fundamentally differ. "The mortality cycle became very apparent to me but also the marvel of rebirth – something not so evident the city." The house is large (300 square metres), and he set about making good the electrics and plumbing – remedial work that made the house secure and liveable. His one major structural change was to add a generous fly-screened studio room that became a multi-purpose space allowing direct engagement with the garden for dining, painting, socialising and reading.
Furniture pieces were brought up from his loft in New York, chairs and sofas covered in jacquard fabric from his own ranges and framed flower portraits, again of his own creation, adorn the walls. “My work is all about aesthetics, and flowers are beautiful, wild and short-lived. There's such a history of floral still life, it is such a timeless activity,” he says. The garden became a collaborative effort with Maureen Drury, the mother of his ex-partner and good friend, Dove Hornbuckle. “I had a vision of a wild-looking English garden, and together we worked towards that. It was primarily a restorative activity,” he says. Never one to stand still, and with a natural penchant for collaboration, Martyn is on the quest for new, daring creative allegiances to drive forward his ideas in Australia. “Nurturing relationships with local makers with manufacturing skills prepared to do small runs and collaborate on new ideas is very much the next stage for me.”
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Opposite page: Ceramics – be it a plate or teapot – are very much part of Martyn’s everyday joy. This page: The play of light within the house was one of the first things that attracted Martyn to the property.
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The placement of furniture and art responds to the differing nature of the rooms; for example, here, the original fireplace has an imposing presence. Martyn is an expert in mixing eras and here, a 1950s table and chair – with their fine form – are balanced by the massive 133 sculptural vessels by Dove Hornbuckle.
The bedroom with its opportunity for rich, layered bedding is something Martyn enjoyed as colour and texture combine with comfort and ease.
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One of the things Martyn loves is the shifting of the seasons and how the garden changes accordingly. One of the few structural changes was to build a screened room so that the garden could be enjoyed at all times of day while being protected from insects.
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Photography Eryca Green
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PIGEON FARROW & BALL
AKARI UF3-Q VITRA BLUE INTERLUDE #2 MARTYN THOMPSON
EMBOSSED LEATHER COCKTAIL TABLES KARL SPRINGER 1st Dibs - 1989
EAMES® MOULDED PLYWOOD LOUNGE CHAIR HERMAN MILLER
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A HOME IN THE MEXICAN DESERT GOES BEYOND JUST RESPONDING TO THE LANDSCAPE, INSTEAD FORMING AN INTEGRAL PART OF IT.
LOCATION Guanajuato, Mexico ARCHITECTURE HW Studio Arquitectos PHOTOGRAPHY César Béjar WORDS Holly Beadle
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Case Enso II is constructed out of locally-sourced limestone in the colour of the earth, rooting the architecture in the landscape. Similarly, steel was chosen for the roof’s exterior for its ability to oxidise and ISSUE #49a colour similar to the bark of the huisache trees. produce
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The home is separated into four parts and divided by a central cross-shaped by four limestone-lined passages. The passages offer relief from the heat by casting shadows ISSUEtransporting #49 and breezes.
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et in the Mexican state of Guanajuato in an area known as the ‘high desert’, Casa Enso II required a deep understanding of the landscape and its arid climate. Based in the neighbouring state of Michoacán and having already completed a number of projects in the region, HW Studio Arquitectos came equipped with this understanding, allowing them to deliver a home that not only embraces its surroundings but also offers protection against them. As a natural continuation of the ground beneath it, HW Studio Arquitectos chose to construct Casa Enso II out of a locallysourced limestone, a material deeply rooted in the architecture of Guanajuato, favoured by architects and builders for centuries – not just for its likeness to the earth, but also for its ability to regulate temperatures by absorbing heat during the day and slowly releasing it at night. “We wanted to find a stone that was the same colour as the earth to give the impression of the architecture emerging from the ground,” HW Studio Arquitectos founder Rogelio Vallejo Bores reveals. “The house appears as though it has been there a very long time; a ruin of sorts – something not at all alien to the landscape.” Travertine was selected for the floors for its tonal similarities to the earth, while steel was chosen for the roof’s exterior for its ability to oxidise and produce a colour very similar to the bark of the huisache – trees typical of the area. “We only chose materials that strengthened the dialogue between the architecture and the environment,” Rogelio says, which explains why only a small selection of materials were used.
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The decision to separate the home into four parts – one to greet visitors upon their arrival, one to accommodate the owner’s cars, one to accommodate the main living and private spaces, and one to accommodate the office – was made for different reasons, one being that the cross that now divides the spaces, shaped by four limestone-lined passages, offers relief from the heat by casting shadows and transporting breezes. While the spaces are separate, they are not disparate from one another, working together to make the experience of the home as seamless as possible so that the landscape can remain the focus throughout. “The dispersion of the spaces is intended to bring you closer to the earth, the air and the mountains, as if the building were an ancient monastery, framing the landscape but at the same time forming a natural part of it,” Rogelio says. “Upon the home’s completion, the owners very quickly made it their own, almost as if they had lived there their whole lives,” Rogelio says. “As a designer, this fills me with a great sense of accomplishment, knowing that I’ve gifted them with a place they can form an emotional bond with.”
The interior palette is similar to the exterior to establish a visual continuity and connectivity with the landscape.
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“The house appears as though it has been there a very long time
‒ a ruin of sorts ‒ something not at all alien to the landscape.”
- Rogelio Vallejo Bores
Frameless, floor-to-ceiling glazing protects the indoor spaces while integrating them with the outdoor spaces.
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Neolith, a more sustainable option
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TREAD LIGH A M O U N TA I N R E T R E AT M A X I M I S E S THE POWER OF N AT U R E T H R O U G H INTUITIVE DESIGN. LOCATION TEMASCALTEPEC, MEXICO ARCHITECTURE JSa & ROBERT HUTCHISON ARCHITECTURE PHOTOGRAPHY CÉSAR BÉJAR, LAIA RIUS SOLÁ, RAFAEL GAMO ISSUE #49 BRONWYN MARSHALL WORDS
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Casa Cosecha de Lluvia is located in a community of landscape-driven homes called Reserva el Peñón, set across 450 acres.
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ocated in the mountains to the west of Mexico City, Casa Cosecha de Lluvia sits intimately near the heart of where the effects of living impassively are felt. Instead of ignoring them, the bar is being raised with intention. Guiding an innate connection to the landscape, three distinct rain-harvesting pavilions – a main residence, art studio and bathhouse – come together designed by JSa and Robert Hutchison Architecture. Sitting as part of a larger community of landscape-driven homes referred to as Reserva el Peñón, there is a compounding effect from the collective behavioural effort of using and reusing water and other energy sources. “We saw the project as a way to test out a new way of thinking, which we could then hopefully apply to future projects as well,” architect Robert Hutchison says. Each home in the reserve is required to incorporate rain harvesting, most coming from the individual home’s rainwater harvesting system and a small portion coming from the reserve’s reservoirs. “We wanted to see if we could harvest 100 per cent of our water from our individual site rather than depend on external sources,” Robert says. “The result is a 100-per-cent-water-autonomous project that collects and treats all the rainwater, greywater, and black water on site.” Opting to showcase the mechanisms supporting the home, the table is flipped, and the curtain is drawn on the wakefulness of impact. “Casa Cosecha has a basement that was built to showcase the water systems in a very didactic way,” JSa Arquitectura director Javier Sanchez says. “The result is to inspire people to understand that they also need to include the systems, not only bedrooms and bathrooms but all the systems that make a house work in today’s compromised environment,” Javier adds. As the harvesting and reuse potential of the natural elements within design is becoming better understood, its integration is becoming an endemic and core part of practice. A counter to the climatic conditions, Casa Cosecha de Lluvia comprises a series of smaller structures that incorporate holistic principles, surrounded by bio-agricultural gardens and an orchard that build on the retreat’s self-sufficiency. Connection with the environment is constant, as the main residence looks out to the landscape in all four directions, while all three structures have vegetated roofs. The bathhouse, comprising a hot bath, sauna, steam shower and washroom, with cold plunge pool in the centre, is oriented to the sky above and water below.
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This Page: Nature-inspired, hard-wearing materials like steel and timber ensure the home’s permanence in the landscape. Opposite Page: In the kitchen, an island bench made of stone and stainless steel ISSUE #49 with the surrounding timber tones. contrasts
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In a region where rain capture and reuse are uncommon, the permaculture principles underpinning the home challenge the traditional approach. “Recently, there has been a greater sense of urgency,” Javier says, “We are so far behind that we are in ‘debt’. To rebalance this reality, projects today need to generate surpluses, as it is not enough for buildings to be net zero if they can do more.” “For us, the most sustainable designs are the ones that simply use less,” Robert says, further echoed by Javier, “By designing buildings to last longer, we won’t have to rebuild them, and together with integrating more flexibility, these buildings will be able to become part of new programs in the future.” Not only does the integration of systems that leave a smaller footprint matter, but it is also the visual reminders of our reliance on the environment that may lead to meaningful change.
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The stand-alone bathhouse sits a small distance away from the main house and supports four bathing activities: hot bath, sauna, steam shower and washroom. The spaces encircle a cold plunge pool that opens up to the sky.
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All three structures deeply contrast with the tones of the landscape, yet still form a natural part of it.
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Casa Cosecha de Lluvia flanks a shallow pond, reinforcing the significance of the element of water in its design.
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Preserve masterfully. Cook precisely. Live deliciously. Savour the ingredients that stay fresher longer with Sub-Zero, the food and wine preservation specialist, the meals that are cooked to masterful precision with Wolf, the cooking specialist, and a kitchen appointed with elegantly crafted appliances. Newly refined, inside and out, explore the Sub-Zero Wolf design possibilities.
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QUIET A
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LOCATION FLANDERS, BELGIUM ARCHITECTURE HANS VERSTUYFT ARCHITECTEN PHOTOGRAPHY PIETALBERT GOETHALS ISSUE #49 MEGAN RAWSON WORDS
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A proven eye for detail, an admiration for craftsmanship and a deep respect for history take centre stage in a rc h i te c t H a n s Ve rst u y f t ’s latest Flemish residence.
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ecognised for his restraint and sculptural simplicity, architect Hans Verstuyft has championed artisanal artistry, natural light, and the use of raw materials across his portfolio. His work embodies a timeless aesthetic that effortlessly blends a modern, Scandinavian sensibility with consideration for the context and history of each place, and Hans' latest residence, ‘House R’ is a continued celebration of these design hallmarks. Set across two main structures and nestled within a parcel of historic farmland, the design of House R reflects Hans' signature style with its architectural lines, open spaces, and drawing in of natural light and airflow. The vernacular is characterised by distinctly Flemish features, tempered within its rural surroundings; constructed from masonry, long and rectangular in shape, with a steep pitch roofline and gabled triangular ends. In a collaborative partnership with Brussels-based landscape architect Erik Dhondt, the home’s enclosing gardens have been enhanced and ‘the plot’s character has contributed to the home’s ‘grounded’ feeling. “Erik Dhondt ensured the surrounding landscape could be experienced in different ways from the home, sometimes cinematically, sometimes framed as a still life,” Hans says. Hans' use of construction materials also adds to the farmstead’s established feel. “The facing brick is roughly plastered, and the roof is made from tiles recovered from Burgundy, France. However, the plan structure and spatial perception are contemporary and refined. It makes the whole timeless and creates a certain imperfection, which immediately accentuates the craftsmanship”, he says.
Opposite Page: Encouraging an indoor-outdoor way of living, the home opens out onto the landscaped countryside.
The dining table is surrounded by iconic, black Fredericia J39 Chairs designed by Børge Morgensen with hand-woven paper cord seats. Overhead, a black Trizo21 Austere Chandelier designed by Hans Verstuyft invites an architectural edge.
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The living space features an iconic Carl Hansen + Son CH25 chair by Hans J. Wegner crafted from timber and paper cord and an Austere floor ISSUE #49 lamp by Hans Verstuyft.
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The farmstead’s functional layout accommodates a large open space for communal zones, including a generous kitchen, dining, and living space, in contrast the private spaces are all located at the opposite end of the building, across two floors via a splitlevel, steel spiral staircase. In keeping with the exterior, the interior materials are purposefully restrained with an emphasis on artisanal and raw materials such as exposed concrete, terracotta tiles from Italy, and natural stone from Germany. The subdued palette has been built around a foundation of cool greys and cream and is offset by the warmth of dark, smoked oak timber which offers a reoccurring thread throughout the home in the form of built-in joinery. A curation of bespoke furniture and lighting in House R includes custom pieces designed by Hans himself, such as his Spot On downlights and Trizo21 Austere chandelier. At the same time, a ceramic lamp by artist Jos Devriendt highlights the handmade. Stained black Fredericia J39 chairs designed by Børge Morgensen showcase natural, hand-woven paper cord seats around a simple timber dining table, while a Carl Hansen + Son CH25 chair in the living space continues this theme. Minimalist Vola tapware in the kitchen and bathrooms creates yet another nod to the elegance of Danish design. Fostering a strong sense of historical form and expressive structural gestures, Hans Verstuyft has channelled light, nature, landscape, and material exploration within House R. As a result, the architect’s passion for craftsmanship, design expertise and attention to detail have a powerful presence in the home.
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A ribboning blackened steel staircase connects communal areas with the ISSUE #49 private spaces upstairs.
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Hans Verstuyft has emphasised artisanal and raw materials throughout, such as exposed concrete, terracotta tiles from Italy, and natural stone from Germany.
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The home’s facing brick is roughly plastered, while the roof tiles are recovered from Burgundy, France, contributing to the farmstead’s established feel.
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WE TAKE TO THE CITY'S STR THE 10TH EDITION OF 3DAY TO UNCOVER HIGHLIGHTS A FURNITURE, LIGHTING A
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REETS WITH CULT DESIGN FOR YSOFDESIGN COPENHAGEN ACROSS INTERIOR DESIGN, AND TEXTILE DESIGN.
hip with Cult Design
Rasmus Hjortshøj
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01. PALE ROSE COLLECTION HOME IN HEAVEN LOUIS POULSEN
The archetypal Pale Rose collection by lighting pioneer Louis Poulsen was reimagined by glass artists Home in Heaven, led by Breanna Box and Peter Dupont. Using their recognisable trademark motifs such as horns and tentacles, Box and Dupont worked with Blowfish Glass’ Elliot Walker to handcraft coloured glass objects that take inspiration from Poulsen's original pieces.
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02. HOUSE OF CRAFT CARL HANSEN & SØN United by their commitment to exceptional craftsmanship and a forward-thinking approach that embraces the future, ‘House of Craft’ by Carl Hansen & Søn captured 110 years of Danish furniture history. Visitors witnessed artisans at work and were encouraged to try their own hand at creating an abstract sculpture using wooden offcuts.
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EXPRESSIONS OF CHARACTER FRITZ HANSEN Set to the fine arts backdrop of the Charlottenborg Palace, ‘Expressions of Character’ was based on the design DNA embedded within the Fritz Hansen brand and explored the relationship between art and design. Presented as a journey of artistic installations using iconic pieces, elements such as shapes, materials, colours, and light, offered recognisable pieces viewed through a new lens.
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04. FORMAKAMI LIMITED EDITION BY JAIME HAYON &TRADITION Built on a bedrock of classics that date back to the 1920s, &Tradition today is shaped by design heavyweights and emerging talent to encompass sight, sound, scent, taste, and tactility. This year &Tradition invited visitors into their Copenhagen home to experience a sensory sojourn, including the new limited edition Formakami pendant, illustrated by Spanish multidisciplinary Jaime Hayon.
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CHISEL LOUNGE CHAIR HAY Born from the desire to design a solid wood seat with a distinctive silhouette that would stand the test of time, Hay has released the Chisel lounge chair. Norwegian designer Andreas Bergsaker's chair is a reference to a carpentry tool, both in name and in shape, characterised by generously dimensioned, bevelled wooden legs.
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06. ARCS TROLLEY & MIRROR HAY HAY’s passion lies in creating welldesigned products in collaboration with the world’s most curious and courageous designers. Staying true to this are the Arcs trolley and Arcs mirror by Muller Van Severen x HAY, informing the latest additions to the successful Arcs series and offering a fun, kaleidoscope of colours and scalloped-edge shapes.
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APEX CLIP LIGHT HAY Another new addition to HAY’s collection was the inclusion of the Apex lamp by creative John Tree. Inspired by the form and function of the classic banker’s lamps, Apex’s shade is constructed from a single piece of folded steel that can be rotated to direct light. It is available as a table, desk and clip version and comes in various cheerful colours.
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08. LARI PORTABLE LAMP KARAKTER
Deeply rooted in the Scandinavian spirit of exploration, courage, and quality, Karakter presented a portfolio of furniture, lighting and objects that are honest and expressive. The Lari Mini lamp caught the Cult team’s eye, which consists of a single mouth-blown piece of glass atop a metal base. Lari mini is the portable version of Angelo Mangiarotti’s original Lari lamp, first crafted in 1978.
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PEDAL BIN VIPP Paying homage to the brand’s most recognisable product, Vipp celebrated its pedal bin's humble origins within the walls of its freshly revived flagship store by interior designer Julie Cloos Mølsgaard. First designed in 1939 when Marie Axelsen asked her husband Holger Nielsen to create a bin she could use in her hairdressing salon, the new edition embodies Axelsen’s favoured pale yellow hue.
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10. CHACONIA CHAIR FREDERICIA Touted as the Grande Dame of Danish design, Nanna Ditzel’s pieces break the traditional norms of 20th-century furniture construction. In production for the first time since its creation in 1962, the Chaconia Chair was released during 3daysofdesign by Fredericia and glorified Ditzel’s revolutionary spirit to deliver a sculptural collector’s item.
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THE DETAIL The e s t d e f i n i t i ve g u i d e t o n a t u re - i n s p i re d l i v i n g f ro m o u r g o - t o P ro d u c t L i b ra r y.
The Detail is curated by product editor Brigitte Craig
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PA I N T Paints that reflect earth elements inside and out.
EGYPTIAN SILK PETER LEWIS PAINTS
RECYCLED DULUX
STONY GROUND FARROW & BALL
LAKE EYRE BAUWERK COLOUR
EBB CC RESENE
BY THE YARD MUROBOND
TUSCANY PETER LEWIS PAINTS
CLIMBING ROSE BAUWERK COLOUR
CONDIMENT DULUX
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FORCE OF NATURE
Project Casa Maiora Design Studio Andrew Trotter Photography Salva López
203
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Project OV House Architecture Nicolas Schuybroek Architects ISSUE #49
Photography Ambroise Tezenas Interior Concept Obumex
FORCE OF NATURE
OUTDOOR ARMCHAIRS Classic design pieces move from inside to outside.
MARENCO OUTDOOR ARMCHAIR ARFLEX
PACHA OUTDOOR CHAIR GUBI
NARCISO BAXTER
MALIBU CHAIR WILLIAM HAINES DESIGN
HUSK OUTDOOR CHAIR B&B ITALIA
PHOENIX ARMCHAIR MOLTENI & C
WARHOL IROKO NATURE MINOT TI
YAK OUTDOOR DEPADOVA
PLUMON CLUB ARMCHAIR KET TAL
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POTS & PLANTERS Design-driven indoor planters.
CYLINDER SMOOTH POT POGGI UGO
SPINDEL POT SWISSPEARL
ADA BOLD LLOT LLOV
CASSERO 60 SERRALUNGA
RONCO SWISSPEARL
PEBBLE MEDIUM INDIGENUS
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OF POT ATELIER VIERKANT
FORCE OF NATURE
Project Manhattan Loft Design & Styling Colin King Photography Rich Stapleton
207
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Project Can Brut Design Framework Studio ISSUE #49
Photography Thomas De Bruyne
FORCE OF NATURE
L I M E STO N E Fluidity through materiality.
LIMESTONE AMBER SIGNORINO
TRANSYLVANIA MEDIUM LIMESTONE HABITAT STONE
TURCO AREGNTO LIMESTONE CDK STONE
FOSSIL GREY PIETRA STONE GALLERY
CREMA IMPERIALE VICTORIA STONE GALLERY
HAVANA RENISSANCE SURFACE GALLERY
LIMESTONE OYSTER SIGNORINO
MUZILLAC VEINE HULLEBUSCH
NEW SAVIOR LIMESTONE CDK STONE
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S I D E TA B L E S Move-anywhere sculptural side tables.
FOSSIL SIDE TABLE MDF ITALIA
DOUBLE TIER CLOUD SIDE TABLE BZIPPY
IONIK STOOL OEUFFICE
ZUEUS OCCASIONAL TABLE ZANOT TA
PANAREA SERVICE TABLE ATMOSPHERA
LUNAR SIDE TABLE STUDIO RAW MATERIAL
JUJU GARDEN SIDE TABLE SERRALUNGA
MAUI ROUND SIDE TABLE HARBOUR
IKONA STOOL SALVATORI
V I E W M O R E S I D E TA B L E S > ISSUE #49
FORCE OF NATURE
Project Alexandra House Design Alexander &CO Editorial Styling Claire Delmar Photography Anson Smart
211
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ISSUE #49 estliving.com
WINTER 2023