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2020 JURY: Julie Stout Architect and Urbanist, Mitchell Stout Dodd Architects; Kate Rogan Director, Rogan Nash Architects; Federico Monsalve Editor, Interior and Urbis magazines; Katie Lockhart Director, Katie Lockhart Studio; Erini Compton Senior Spatial Designer, Designworks.

Contents

28 33

Shorts

36

21 – What’s new Of sculptural homes, awards and lights: The latest findings from the design circuit.

27 – Books A collection of tomes to lead you into worlds both real and imagined, and cast your mind to spaces across the globe.

28 – Hot house Floating over a running stream, this Los Angeles home has come to fruition, thanks to a slew of big-name supporters and a game-changing business model.

People 47 – Inside story Evi O is as much a bold designer as she is a bold artist. In both cases, she manages colour with all-commanding clarity.

36 – Technophile Heavy-hitting tech comes in various guises, from levitating planters to a Bugatti-fied cooker.

52 – Top notes Te Papa’s new chief executive, Courtney Johnston, opens the doors to her personal trove.

38 – Urbanists A sharp little precinct in Auckland’s Grey Lynn is serving a fetching selection of offerings.

42 – Drive Action stands centre court here. These four road newcomers have performance in both mind and body.

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56 – Across the dividing sea Auckland Art Fair exhibitor and Sydney gallerist Sally Dan-Cuthbert has an impressive history – and representation list – in the art world. Her home, complete with a formidable personal collection, speaks to her well-tended tastes.

47

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Apparatus

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Contents

92 84 Spaces 62 – Maximalist empire The co-founders of New York’s design studio Apparatus, the veritable kings of ornateness in Manhattan, show us their decadent loft apartment.

74 – With the grain This contemporary family home on the Coromandel boasts a keen awareness of its surrounds: the coastal-scape and its gritty textures.

84 – Extraordinary A simple organisation of slimline bricks has a Sydney bungalow looking curiously, elegantly ruinous.

92 – Draft of shadows Owned by a design hotel magnate in Mexico, this fully fledged creative haven is demonstrative evidence that brutalism doesn’t clash with amenity.

104 – Courtyard dreams While inspired by the minimalist luminary John Pawson, the renovation of this centenarian home in Auckland’s Grey Lynn channels more than just the British designer’s seductive simplicity.

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114 – Living with art Art has precedence in this luxurious New York pied-à-terre. Above the Hudson River, works by Dan Flavin and Josef Albers mingle with those

by Ingrid Donat and Annie Morris.

& 128 – Phantasmal holiday A South African visual artist anchors his masterly renders in sweet architectural dreamscapes.

62

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Editorial

Many of the conversations we have with architects and designers often lead to discussions about influences and inspirations that, most of the time, have little to do with the world of design itself.

Visual arts, music, dance, literature and the like are often quoted as catalysts for some of the most inspiring spaces, and, in this issue, we sought to explore those connections and the nebulous middle ground where they coincide.

In our Shorts section, we preview two homes that act as public urban sculptures (one in Wanaka, another one in Auckland) and chat to an artist with a penchant for surrealism who has become a homewares designer with a passion for minimalism. For our cover story, we step into the artful living quarters of two industrial designers. We explore houses in Ponsonby, New York, Sydney, Mexico City and others with art that ranges from graffiti to Picasso.

What unites these places is their ability to exude luxury through artistic depth and match it with home life. In the People section, we tour the homes of three women with strong connections and influential roles in the arts and design communities, including Te Papa’s most recent – and youngest – chief.

Throughout the years there has been a great deal of debate – and very little consensus – about what differentiates art from design. With this issue, we hope to make it even more difficult to box objects into either category.

Federico Monsalve Editor FEDERICO.MONSALVE@AGM.CO.NZ FACEBOOK.COM/URBISMAGAZINE @URBISMAGAZINE

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On the cover Gabriel Hendifar and Jeremy Anderson’s loft apartment, featuring an artwork by Robert Moreland. For full coverage, see page 62.

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Undisturbed ocean views

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Masthead

urbismagazine.com Discover exclusive online-only content, with more design news, galleries, videos, people and insights.

The gallery Extended photographic coverage of the stories in this magazine gives you more interiors, architecture, people, art and beyond!

Publisher Nathan Inkpen Senior Editor Federico Monsalve Creative Director Thomas Cannings Director of Production AndrĂŠ Kini Editorial Assistant Julia Gessler Contributing Editors Dean Cornish, Andrew Kerr Advertising Manager Mark Lipman mark.lipman@agm.co.nz +64 9 847 9311 Administration Executive office@agm.co.nz Chief Executive Officer Damian Eastman

Digital edition Browse Urbis magazine on your tablet or smartphone; itď?Šs available on the Zinio app.

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for the latest design news. More information is at urbismagazine.com

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Australia-based subscriptions NZ$100 (includes postage). Rest-of-the-world prices on application. These prices are applicable only for subscriptions made directly with BCI New Zealand Pty Ltd.

Interviews Access extended interviews with the minds behind some of the homes and events within this issue, such as interior designers from Grade New York, Apparatus, authors coming to the Auckland Writers Festival plus others.

Subscribe online Print and digital editions agm.co.nz/store BCI New Zealand Pty Ltd Level 2, 409 New North Road, Kingsland, Auckland 1021, New Zealand tel. +64 9 846 4068 fax. +64 9 846 8742 urbismagazine.com

Urbis is owned and published by BCI New Zealand Pty Ltd, publishers of Interior, Architecture NZ, Houses, architecturenow.co.nz, selector.com and urbismagazine.com. Advertising statements and editorial opinions expressed in Urbis do not necessarily reflect the views of BCI New Zealand Pty Ltd and its staff, unless expressly stated. Copyright 2020 by BCI Publishing; all rights reserved. ISSN 1174-6424 (Print), ISSN 2324-4240 (Online). Standard conditions of entry for Urbis competitions: prizes cannot be redeemed for cash; employees, immediate families and agencies of BCI New Zealand Pty Ltd and associated sponsors are ineligible; prizes may be accepted only in New Zealand and Australia; the decision of the publisher, BCI New Zealand Pty Ltd (at whose premises all draws will be made), is final. By participating in competitions, the entrant consents to BCI New Zealand Pty Ltd using personal details for further marketing purposes. Special conditions may also apply. Prices listed are Recommended Retail Prices and may be different from those in store.

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Contributors

Dean Cornish

Daniel Shipp

Alana Dimou

New Zealand-born Dean Cornish is a director, producer and writer based in Los Angeles. When not working in exotic destinations, he can be found tinkering with gadgets, taking photographs or roaming the Hollywood Hills with his small, scruffy dog.

Daniel Shipp is a Sydney-based commercial and fine art photographer. He is the co-author (photographer) of the book Truth, Beauty, Chaos, and Plants (2018). In this issue, he photographed Evi O (page 47).

Alana Dimou is a food, lifestyle and travel photographer from Sydney. She is fascinated with anything handmade. Observing the people and processes behind creating great things has formed a large part of her work, as has the shared experience of eating and drinking drawn from her heritage and family. For this issue, she photographed Sally Dan-Cuthbert (page 56).

What interests you about the ways in which technology has been developing?

This is going to be an interesting and possibly chaotic year for technology. On the unknown side is the roll-out of 5G mobile technology, the continued development of AI and machine learning, and the continued way in which our realities are challenged by what we see online. On the positive side, we’re seeing businesses, cities and individuals becoming more accountable for their environmental impacts; this can now be achieved and measured more easily, thanks to a myriad of ‘green’ tech innovations.

If there were one imagined piece of tech you would like to see created, what would it be?

I’m still stuck in sci-fi a bit… waiting on the dream recorder, the domestic hoverboard and a lens that can see as well as my eyeballs can.

What has been keeping you busy lately?

A six-week filming trip across Japan for an upcoming series has seen me frozen, humbled, well fed, charmed, grateful and exhausted.

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As an artist, what appeals to you about Evi O’s work?

Evi is confident and playful with her colour palettes, and that’s an enviable skill that reflects her origin as a designer. I can feel the stories in her work but her shapes are abstracted enough to give you a taste of something familiar that you can’t quite grasp. I think this lends an artwork a longevity on the wall – and I do have one of her paintings on my wall!

Part of your manifesto says that “alternate versions of beauty excite [you]”. Could you tell us about this?

I love to surprise people by creating images of things that they wouldn’t normally notice because they aren’t conventionally ‘beautiful’. I know that I have a skill for digging deeper and seeing the potential for something to be transformed by the camera and I have an appreciation for character over perfection.

What’s in store for you these coming months?

I’m launching an online print shop for my Ricochet series, which comprises studies of salvaged basketballs in constructed environments. I will also have some prints from my Botanical Inquiry series in a group show at The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney during March/April 2020.

What were your initial impressions of Sally Dan-Cuthbert’s home?

There are people who live amongst art and then there’s Sally. Her home is awash with so many remarkable pieces by artists she loves and supports, I was terrified I would turn around and break something beautiful. Her bedroom looks out towards a stunning postcard view of Sydney Harbour, as if each window were a photo hanging on the wall, and her yard is the sort of place that would host great parties.

Does art influence your work and, if so, whose and how?

In a broad sense, yes – I’m influenced more by shapes, bright colours and the energy around wherever I’m working. I try to avoid earnestly referencing work that has come before me!

As you are a foodie, tell us about some of your favourite eating spots in Sydney.

I recommend Gumshara for the thickest, mostdelightful bowl of ramen, Pazar for a plate of wood-fired everything and Grumpy Donuts for the best, pillowy, tasty fried rings in town.

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Shorts

String quintet The Laurent collection, a sleek variety of suspended opaline globes by Montreal-based Lambert & Fils, calls upon delicate-looking support systems. Here, thin, polished brass and parallel wires work together like sculptural cogs to keep five glassy forms afloat. backhouse.co.nz

urbismagazine.com | 21

Branching off Markus Hofko, formerly based in New Zealand, is a multi-hyphenate whose curriculum vitae includes graphic designer, director, actor, music composer, publisher and artist.

Recently, he returned to Germany, his home country, and started another exciting chapter: a furniture and homewares label called Von Morgen.

“I came from a rather digital-oriented field of graphic design and, over the years, I tended to execute my work in an analogue manner, using photography in combination with object or set design to realise an idea,” says Hofko of the brand’s origins. “At the same time, I started to work in the field of video, which obviously requires the physical space as a playground.”

The collection includes Rokki, a rocking stool-meets-side table, Disks and Modo, two series of concrete plates, Booles, a selection of colourful bowls, and Kur!o, a modular shelving unit (pictured here). They’re simple in a way not previously explored by the self-confessed surrealist fiend but Hofko hasn’t shied from this territory.

“I’m really interested in the universal language of basic geometry and want to celebrate this. Minimalism has the power to survive trends and be adapted in a broader field of styles.” von-morgen.de

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Shorts

Interior Awards 2020 This year’s Interior Awards will welcome an exciting new residential kitchens category to its fold. With fierce competition for its existing residential interiors category, which launched last year, this is another important move for New Zealand’s leading interior awards programme. Though entries close on 29 April, there is one certainty: the universally dubbed heart of the home won’t shy from its bright, new-found spotlight. (Pictured here: 2019 Interior Awards prize ceremony.) interiorawards.co.nz

Nomad, our favourite travelling showcase for collectable design and contemporary art, has recently taken place in the Swiss Alps. Here is a small selection from the event.

Clockwise from lower left: Beaune Floor lamp by Thierry Lemaire, Untitled by George Ohr, Leaves rug

by Christoph Hefti, and Horror Vacui

by Morten Lobner Espersen.

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Desirable abode We caught up with Barry Condon of Condon Scott Architects to talk about the design of this dynamic new home in Wanaka.

What were you looking to achieve with the design of this house?

The site is bordered by suburban streets on two sides so we wanted to ensure the home-owners feel secure when they are inside and don’t feel as though they’re on view. We were also trying to create shelter as there is, commonly, a strong, seasonal onshore wind in Wanaka. We created these internal courtyard areas, which means you can retreat back into these spaces and essentially use the body of the house as a visual barrier and a windbreak.

The form of the house is quite striking. How did you arrive at this design?

It was all about the view and how we could maximise that and train the eye towards it. The form takes a wing shape, which reaches out to the view. The site is a slightly odd wedge shape; we have used this to our advantage by creating a curved edge, which handles that transition into the angled boundary well and also helps to direct the observer’s eye to the view. As you walk into the foyer from the rear face of the house, the space compresses and draws you through into the living room and the view. When you’re in that space, because you have this amazing panorama, you don’t have any awareness of the street or traffic. It was that intention that informed the shape.

How was the material palette chosen?

We wanted clean materiality. We have two types of cedar: the dark cedar that sits under the soffit and the warmer tone above. This creates two strong, clean lines, with the lighter timber refining the roof wing and the dark defining the glazing line that continues around the house. The rough board-formed concrete then contrasts with the timber. We’ve carried materials from the outside to the inside to create consistency. Dark cedar and concrete travel in through the openings into the house, then continue in the interiors and tie the house together.

Condon Scott Architects ensured that the home overlooked Lake Wanaka while being private from the street (photography: Simon Devitt).

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Shorts

Object of desire: The Cosy lamp by Atelier Alain Ellouz makes alabaster look more translucent and mystically bewitching than mineral-esque.

The impressiveness of Atelier Alain Ellouz’s new Infinity collection – a series of lines, halves and portions of circles that hold endless possibilities in terms of shape – shows the sheer breadth of this, and the studio’s Cosy lamp (pictured here) is a classic example. The fact that a hole inlaid with a strip of gilt metal projects the arc’s light is hard to reconcile with the idea that the rock simply glows of its own accord. atelier-alain-ellouz.com

Of law and sculpture Auckland architect Eqo Leung from Architecturepublic has recently unveiled a Remuera home with significant sculptural forms that respond to height-to-boundary restrictions. “The idea of the design is to work with the height-to-boundary recession planes, and the angles generated… to create a very contemporary and sculptural form,” says Leung. The fibre-cement structure sits in an hourglass-shaped, ninemetre-wide site and uses a language of pinched, faceted walls, which translate into sculpture both in and outdoors. architecturepublic.co.nz

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Clockwise from left: Thom Monckton in The Artist, Flowerbed Colour Change B19–38

by Zhuang Hong Yi, Day Painting #6

by André Hemer, and dishes from Gaggenau Tuesday Test Kitchen.

Things to do While away some time with these splendid, atmospheric musts.

The Artist 24 March–11 April / Wellington Thom Monckton’s The Artist, a solo-physical comedy on the obstacles of creativity and the chaos that ensues for Monckton’s paintercharacter, is coming to Circa Theatre. circa.co.nz

Ocean Film Festival World Tour 25 March–2 May / Various locations Over two hours of six short films by independent film-makers on ocean exploration, marine life, sports and more will be on screens in Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Nelson, Tauranga and Wellington. oceanfilmfestivalworldtour.com/new-zealand

Nohonga

Gaggenau Tuesday Test Kitchen

The Nohonga Design Challenge, a competition hoping to find the most exciting, city-enhancing designs for public benches in New Zealand, is now open to the public.

Inspired in part by a similar contest within the London Festival of Architecture, Nohonga (‘seat or position’ in te reo Māori) is a joint initiative between Brick Bay Sculpture Trust (the founders of the Brick Bay Folly competition) and the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects (NZILA).

“The Brick Bay Folly is a much-anticipated event and this expands on that idea,” says Richard Didsbury, owner and director. “We want Auckland to be a great, liveable city that embraces creativity. The [new] Challenge is intended to stimulate conversation and ideas, and invite people to rethink what’s possible within the public realm.“ “As designers of the public realm, landscape architects often create bespoke seating and furniture in response to the needs of people and place,” says Rachel de Lambert, fellow of the NZILA. “We hope the Nohonga Design Challenge brings forth a range of imaginative and creative responses to a deceptively simple instruction: make a place for people to sit.”

Monthly until 3 November / Auckland Sit down to the fine-dining prowess of Sid Sahrawat (Cassia, Sidart and Sid at the French Café) and his team as they test out six fresh dishes for their respective menus on the first Tuesday of every month. sidatthefrenchcafe.co.nz

Entries must be submitted by Friday 15 May. The judging panel will select up to five entries which will progress to construction. Find full guidelines and instructions on how to submit your project here: https://bit.ly/2wNbFfM

Transmission: Kereama Taepa Until 3 May / Auckland Using a combination of virtual reality, 3D-printing techniques and whakairo (carving), Kereama Taepa brings his innovative edge to te ao Māori in this exciting exhibition curated by Ane Tonga. objectspace.org.nz

Auckland Art Fair 29 April–3 May / Auckland With its 2019 iteration resulting in the sale of more than $9 million worth of art, the 2020 Auckland Art Fair is poised to be another showcase of exquisite, covetable contemporary works. Highlights include a solo exhibition by Reuben Paterson, images from Lisa Reihana’s new project for the Biennale of Sydney, and works by Yona Lee, André Hemer, Todd McMillan and Kate Newby, as well as Yuki Kihara, who will represent New Zealand at the 2021 Venice Biennale. The gallery line-up is strong, too: Boers-Li Gallery (Beijing and New York), Leo Gallery (Shanghai and Hong Kong), Gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert (see page 56 for our interview with the Sydney gallerist), Redbase Art (Jakarta) and MA2Gallery (Tokyo), to name a few, alongside the very best in New Zealand. artfair.co.nz

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Auckland Writers Festival 12–17 May / Auckland Top local and international writers delve into the delicious world of ideas. Urbis recommends: Cliff Kuang (former design editor of Wired and current strategist at Google) discussing his acclaimed book on user-friendly design with Urbis editor Federico Monsalve; artist, literati and former Man Booker prize judge Leanne Shapton, for whom design and other objects encompass deep psychological, emotional and narrative worlds; New York New York with Chanel Miller, Wallace Shawn and Colson Whitehead; plus many local acts, such as Singing the Trail by John McCrystal, Toby Morris’ comic book about the Treaty of Waitangi and more. writersfestival.co.nz

Shorts

Books A few worlds, both real and imagined, are distilled into words.

EDITED BY JULIA GESSLER

On the shelves Editor, author and strategist Cliff Kuang will be in New Zealand for the Auckland Writers Festival (see facing page). Here, he explores the books currently on his shelves. For a full reading list, visit urbismagazine.com

Pulphead John Jeremiah Sullivan, 2011 Sullivan has managed to see the world in an entirely original way. His book opens your mind to the possibility of what’s been hiding in plain sight. It helps you see things once again in maximum texture, as it is when you travel to a new country. In this essay collection, Sullivan calls America – which made us both – a “vast and blood-soaked jigsaw puzzle”, which seems exactly right. Our culture is a mix of awful history, high-flown values, numbing consumerism and surprising grace. Sullivan’s able to see that complexity in almost anything he writes about, from Axl Rose to Christian Rock.

The House of Glam

Age of Ambition

Gestalten, approx. $150 Too much, even as the vaguest of quantities, seems as if it does not exist in this book. Yet there is something measured, even precise, in the interiors it contains. From a library with a gold-leaf ceiling to an apartment with a style dubbed ‘exotic futurable’, they have all required a well of wit, in the sense of imaginative thinking and shrewd intelligence. The pocket of young designers pushing this maximalism forward has, in turn, found ingenious ways to make rooms feel like more than rooms, as if the spaces were, instead, identities or extensions of identities.

The House of Glam is a rip-roaring ride into an assortment of visual feasts from homes around the world, serving insights on expressive decoration from some of its foremost masters (Dimorestudio, Nina Yashar and David Alhadeff included).

Evan Osnos, 2015 For those of us who live in New Zealand, America or any other settled economy, it’s almost impossible to imagine what it might be like to grow up assuming you’d be a subsistence farmer, just like your parents, and then suddenly be living in a megacity and hustling for a place in the world economy. Now imagine what it’s like for an entire country, like China, to undergo that change within 20 years. We talk all the time about China’s rise; this book makes you feel it, through the eyes of real people dreaming new futures for themselves.

Novel Houses: Twenty Famous Fictional Dwellings Christina Hardyment, Bodleian Library, $69.99 There’s a cool satisfaction in visiting the 20 fictional homes included in Novel Houses, after they’ve slid off the pages of one book and into the pages of another. Amidst the pangs of nostalgia for the likes of J.K. Rowling’s Hogwarts, J.R.R. Tolkien’s Bag End and Charles Dickens’ Bleak House, they emerge forcefully as characters, primed by plot outlines and backgrounds on the real-life places that inspired them.

Jesus’ Son Treasures: The Vintage & Secondhand Shopping Guide to the World Edited by Hannah Canham, This Era Archive, approx. $49 This little guidebook is a travel companion for the collector, the finder, the taste-maker.

Twenty-three creatives each recommend their five favourite vintage stores, second-hand shops and flea markets in a city of their choice. The result: a handsome guide spanning 25 cities.

For Auckland finds, turn to page 162 where the owners of Ponsonby clothing boutique Wixii are among the book’s contributors.

Denis Johnson, 1992 I have maybe two or three books that I read at regular intervals across the years, not just for the experience of the books themselves but as a measure of who I am and how much I might have changed. Jesus’ Son is one of them. I can’t claim much similarity to the dope-fiend narrator of Johnson’s book. But what that narrator reveals is a way of thinking about beauty that’s never left me. In Johnson’s mind, discovering what’s beautiful requires a certain kind of woundedness.

It’s a memory of some ideal you’ve glimpsed only in slivers and that leaves before you could understand it – like the time, in one of the stories, where a narrator sees a red-headed woman parasailing in the sky above and realises only later that the woman was his ex-wife.

urbismagazine.com | 27

Shorts

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Shorts

Hot House

The house that marketing built: This Los Angeles home, perched above a running stream, was brought to you by… a truckload of brands. US-based architect Dan Brunn explores alternative business models around his own home life.

WORDS TRACEY INGRAM / PHOTOGRAPHY BRANDON SHIGETA

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Dan Brunn has taken the idea of home entertaining to the next level. While it’s common to see a project description include the various suppliers involved – a kitchen by X, bathrooms by Y and, perhaps, flooring by Z – the Tel Aviv native’s Los Angeles Bridge House rattles off a list of sponsors.

More surprising among the group is BMW. What does the car brand have to do with a home in the residential neighbourhood of Hancock Park?

Principal of his eponymous architecture studio, Brunn wanted to use the home – whose name derives from the fact that it physically bridges a natural stream – as a “demonstration of innovative systems and forwardthinking processes”. Presenting a new way to think about residential development, he wanted to create a space specifically for hosting events, tours and exhibits. (That said, Brunn does actually live here, too.) Bridge House will be activated by events throughout the year – including, of course, its own opening soirée, as well as events hosted by sponsors. The property will also showcase revolving art exhibitions – it played host, for example, to a temporary show during February’s Frieze Los Angeles.

How do you go about designing a home that’s not just for you and your family but, also, for the wider world beyond? “It all started by thinking about the floor plan,” says Brunn, “with the first portion of the house being designated as public spaces.”

Essentially, you enter the home at one end and everything up until the brook is meant for the public. The middle of the house, right above the water, is an outdoor living room. Beyond are all the private bedrooms and the family room.

“This makes a very clear delineation of space for hosting.”

The extensive sponsors list includes almost 60 names. So, how were the brands and contributors chosen?

“Basically, it all comes down to relationships we’ve built over the years and coming back to our favourite brands,” says Brunn. “We wanted to be authentic and work only with products that exemplify that Dan Brunn Architecture ethos.” He adds that using ecologically friendly products and systems was of the utmost importance. It was also crucial that “the selection was translatable, meaning visitors would be 3 0 | URBIS 114

How do you go about designing a home that’s not just for you and your family but, also, for the wider world beyond?

The impressive structure of Bridge House doesnt overshadow its interior. Works of art and a slew of furnishings are considered choices, too.

inspired – and, hopefully, implement some of our selections”.

In that respect, the residence is a different spin on a show home – for both the sponsors and the architect. To fulfil its role of ‘inspiring visitors’ – and presumably to encourage the sponsors’ involvement – Brunn had to push the design to the limits. Completed over the course of two years, Bridge House was designed to become a zeronet-energy home. The building’s bridge form means that less land is disturbed – almost one-third of its base is suspended – thereby lessening its impact on the immediate physical environment.

Other innovations include the use of a modular structural system

by Bone Structure – “the first of its kind in Los Angeles”, says Brunn.

Helping to define the design, the system made it possible to use only bolted connections for construction, with no cutting tools required.

Although the idea of sharing your home with a bunch of brands and their associated events won’t appeal to everyone, it’s certainly one way to stack a space full of top-notch products that already form a part of your everyday life.

Brunn, for example, is part of a music band and can tinker with Yamaha instruments in the music room and… as for the link to BMW? Perhaps it’s not too long a stretch. The car group does include Mini, after all, which has already branched into small-footprint housing with its Living offshoot. As for Brunn, a review of #bridgehousela on Instagram reveals his views on that particular pairing. “When I moved to the States, speaking no English, my language was drawing,” he wrote. “During school recess, I would draw cars, the BMW E30 in particular, with another immigrant friend. This was our way to communicate.” His progression since, now partnering with the marque for this Los Angeles residence, has been both moving and self-affirming, and emphasises the importance of surrounding oneself with objects of emotional and personal significance. “I honestly couldn’t have been more humbled and proud.” urbismagazine.com | 31

FIRE. REIMAGINED.

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At Rinnai, we’ve completely changed the way we think about gas fires, from design through to build. The result is a stunning new range of premium gas fires that look more realistic and more impressive than ever before. To see the Linear Collection, go to rinnai.co.nz

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Good vintage It’s that fine balance between being of a specific era while still retaining a serious, timeless appeal.

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01 / Normative armchair by Supaform; supaform.studio 02 / Ari ceiling lighting system by Marco Spatti; marcospatti.com 03 / Astro coffee table

by Victor Wilkins for G-Plan $1050; mrbigglesworthy.co.nz 04 / Pion lamp by Hay; cultdesign.co.nz 05 / Vintage chair, c.1950, by Jacques Hitier $24,500 for a pair; demischdanant.com 06 / Split 1 from Nina Cho’s Maung Maung Mirrors collection approx. $7215; ninacho.com urbismagazine.com | 3 3

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Sinuous graces The love of curvature and pattern pervades the colourful realm of furniture, lighting and textiles.

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01 / Arco oor lamp by Flos from $5545; ecc.co.nz 02 / Creature Comfort Armchair by Supertoys Supertoys; supertoyssupertoys.com 03 / Figgoscope rug by Marta Figueiredo $6125; designerrugs.co.nz 04 / Curved Chaise by Anna Karlin; annakarlin.com 05 / Guise stool by Odd Matter Studio POA; oddmatterstudio.com, nilufar.com 06 / Sandstone lamp by David Taylor; superdave.se 07 / Era table by Living Divani, side table from $1890 and coffee table from $3720; studioitalia.co.nz 08 / Viso Tapestry chair by Giancarlo Valle approx. $6737; giancarlovalle.com

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Shorts

Technophile High-rollers, shot-callers and no halfsteppers: Here’s some tech to make a dent in that hefty bank balance of yours, whilst keeping you blinging, snapping and levitating. Read on.

WORDS DEAN CORNISH

Phase One IQ4 The Phase One IQ4 stills camera has more pixels than does any consumer model by far: 150 megapixels, to be precise. In addition to chomping through the memory cards, this camera delivers a stunning medium-format image and includes a standard 80mm lens. All this tech comes in a reassuringly old-school package – basically, a brick with four buttons on it – and weighs more than 2kg. It’s a lot to hold in one hand and, of course, megapixels = megabucks.

You can pick up a Phase One IQ4 for around $70,000 at phaseone.com

Soda Lyfe Planter If you’re looking for a little fresh air after that onslaught, then consider the Soda Lyfe Planter.

Yeah, that little plant pot is floating above its base – thanks to magnetic levitation. It’s also gently rotating, to give all sides of the plant equal exposure to sunlight. In case you haven’t worked it out by now, this product is designed in Sweden and comes from Lyfe, the same company that brought us those mesmerising, levitating light bulbs. Fun fact: magnetic fields are apparently very good for stimulating plant growth. Just to add one more tech spec, the planter has 12 sides and is, therefore, a dodecagon. Get it for around $520 at flytestore.com

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Shorts

Insta360 Pro 2 professional 360 camera If you’re looking to document that Caribbean cruise or Seychelles sojourn in the most immersive way possible, then consider the Insta360 Pro 2 professional 360 camera. Unlike consumerlevel 360 cameras, this spherical camera body captures images stereoscopically. Simply put, it captures two separate images at slightly different angles, creating an impression of depth – much like your eyes do. But, unlike your ol’ peepers, the Insta360 Pro 2 also captures in 360 degrees – meaning that, if someone pops on a VR headset, they have the entire environment you captured, specifically tailored to each of their own, puny, human eyeballs. To achieve this, the Insta360 Pro 2 has six lenses placed around its chassis.

These lenses capture literally everything in the environment, twice (see above, re stereoscopic) – in 8K resolution. During capture, the camera has a nifty feature called FlowState, which stabilises out all the jitters from your speedboat or coffee bender. The camera’s CrystalView capability allows you to monitor what you’re shooting from more than 1km away, sending high-quality images straight to your smartphone. The camera unit itself also happens to look like a friendly little robot, which is nice. Buy it for around $7000 at insta360.com

Luzli Roller MK03 headphones From Switzerland, the Luzli Roller MK03 headphones may be the ultimate shiny ‘cans’ for wealthy magpies to fixate on. In addition to having an industrial, metallic feel, these headphones can roll up like a chain link bracelet.

This neat feature makes them the smallest overear headphones in the world when you’re not using them. The patented, precisely engineered rolling mechanism was inspired by high-quality Swiss watch bracelet design, and the materials are of similar build and quality. Because MK03’s headband is made from 11 links and 16 separate stainless-steel springs, it adapts and conforms to the individual user’s head size, making it extremely comfortable. When unfolded, paired 40mm speaker drivers, memory foam ear cushions and high-quality engineering mean these headphones sound amazing; considering the price tag, you’d want them to. Available in silver for $4550 or black for $5300 at luzli.com

Bugatti Noun Smart Cooking Device You may know Bugatti as the maker of luxury automobiles – some that retail for more than $10 million. But the car-maker is now looking for space on your kitchen bench, with the Noun Smart Cooking Device. This appliance is really like nothing else in your kitchen; it comprises two high-resistance heating elements, which are made of transparent ceramic glass. The process seems simple; just pop whatever you want to cook between the glass pieces and it will sizzle away at up to 300 degrees Celsius – a temperature that it can reach in just over a minute. Cooking food that is squished between glass means the juices, nutrition and flavour are sealed within – and the device’s transparency means you can watch the whole process happen. How you clean the thing is another matter. Purchase the Bugatti Noun Smart Cooking Device for $3188 at casabugatti.com

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The Urbanists The people, places and ideas changing our cities one enclave at a time.

In this issue we focus on The Scrap Yard, a small-but-potent commercial development on a back street in Auckland’s Grey Lynn.

WORDS JULIA GESSLER / PHOTOGRAPHY EMMA SMALES

If The Scrap Yard had its own aphorism, it would be that rebirth is a commonly rewarding business.

Its born-again story began in 2018 when it was still a demolition and salvage yard on Grey Lynn’s unassuming Westmoreland Street. In that year, it was purchased by Henla Limited, the company behind Auckland developments such as City Works Depot, Osborne Lane and Ponsonby Fire Station, mixed-use establishments that each seem like the building equivalent of a power suit: steely, sharp, confident on a molecular level.

An extensive renovation later and the site – its name a nod to its past life – emerged as a modish precinct, sharing the anatomy of these forebears.

Now, it, too, is a possessor of brick and concrete and muscular angles, of an industrial-chic style that naturally trickles down into the businesses it hosts, including Ozone Coffee Roasters, Tim Webber Design’s flagship store, Portfolio Recruitment, a retail space for Corcovado Furniture & Homewares, Commune hair salon, architecture and interiors firm Pennant & Triumph, and Basecamp Power Yoga.

Open the doors to its carefully chosen tenants and behind the variety is a certain likemindedness; this is the result of a shared appetite for good design, an appreciation of history and a desire to carry out the work they’re doing with brio. Like all immaterial things, it’s a quality that is difficult to import, yet The Scrap Yard has achieved this kind of cohesion early on. Curating, or re-curating, it seems, is the site’s keynote; connectedness is its gift.

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Shorts

Pennant & Triumph director Justin Roderique (left), Basecamp Power Yoga founder Catherine Thompson (right), and the yoga studio and chill-out space (below).

also offers Yin Yoga (a slow-paced style with long holds to help release muscle tension) and Soulful Flow (classes with music).

Beyond the sweat and full-body tenderness, you can see the core point to which Thompson has devoted her practice: in the walk up to the elevated yoga studio, the Aoraki Room, a symbolic scaling as much as a physical one; in savasana paired with a lavender-scented eye pillow; in sitting, or unwinding, on the back patio. “I wanted to create a studio where people could loosen the grip of what’s brought them to feel stuck.”

Pennant & Triumph

Basecamp Power Yoga For a practice built to nurture both mind and body, Basecamp Power Yoga is a fetching receptacle to this end. It’s a landscape of neutrals and some thoughtful shedding: pared back, without the sense that something is visibly lacking. “I wanted people to walk into the space and experience clarity, grounding and the feeling of being welcomed,” says founder Catherine Thompson on the aesthetic, honed and extra-crisp thanks to Melbourne-based multidisciplinary firm Studio 11:11, who did the fitout. “I wanted the focus of the space to be on the people coming in to practise and this is why the space was created to be more of a blank slate.

Yoga is a transformative and creative practice.

I wanted our students to have a clear space.”

Her business specialises in Baptiste Power Yoga (a vigorous style carried out in a hot room) but

Justin Roderique eyed the bones of The Scrap Yard early. It was still a construction site then – and later, when Pennant & Triumph, of which he is the director, moved in – but he saw potential.

“The key benefits of an urban development are the openness and outlook that you don’t always get in central developments,” he explains. “This feature alone enhances how people feel within a building, whether it be a workspace, retail store or café.”

The firm has been at the juncture between tenant and design confidante for some time, flexing its crafty thews when it helped choose hallway colours and made material and lighting selections, including bathroom finishes and fixtures, for The Scrap Yard’s communal areas.

Alongside projects under way – a workspace in Wellington for a gaming company, a luxury apartment overlooking Darling Harbour in Sydney and a Lodge Bar in Auckland’s new commercial bar development, to name but a few – it’s also working on the interior for the site’s final (at the time of writing, hush-hush) lessee.

As an organism adapts to its habitat, so Pennant & Triumph has grown within its own, holding its shape while assisting in giving something new to the surrounding man-made ecosystem. In the tradition of settling in, it’s fitted well. “To us,” says Roderique, “it feels like home.”

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Ozone Coffee Roasters executive chef and sustainability coordinator Joe O’Connell (below left).

Ozone Coffee Roasters Westmoreland After opening two humming café outposts in central London, New Plymouth-born company Ozone Coffee Roasters had secured its place as a player in a global market. But there was also a business in growing its influence at home. What the firm had in mind was something transparent: a place where its brand could percolate as a living billboard while offering customers engaging experiences across its ground space. “People are looking for a deeper connection with the brands they choose to engage with,” reasons James Gurr, creative director of Ozone Coffee Roasters.

A few years ago, Gurr and several of his business partners were invited to Arizona by an old friend, esteemed pizzaiolo Chris Bianco. There, they dined at four of his restaurants, including Pizzeria Bianco, so popular that it has entered Phoenix lore, before flying to Los Angeles and San Francisco to eat at everything-spot Gjusta and dough kingpin Tartine Bakery.

“All those experiences had two common factors which resonated deeply with us,” explains Gurr. “One: The focus was on the product and everything associated with delivering that product, from the industrial eight-foot-high ovens at Tartine to the huge production line of chefs at Gjusta, to the tomato sauce made from Chris’ own tomato farm at Pizzeria Bianco. You could feel the whole production experience in a very authentic way. Two: There was a feeling of local community – eating together, chatting on the streets outside, having coffee dates, taking kids and dogs in for breakfast on the way to school, and having

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casual business meetings. They just felt like what living should feel like: seamless, considered and relaxed.”

From this story flowered Ozone Coffee Roasters Westmoreland, The Scrap Yard’s edgy all-day eatery, coffee bar and roastery, designed with the help of UK-based architect Lou Davies of Box 9 Design. While the eatery sports all of the markers of a slick coffee roastery, it shakes this off as quickly as it lays it on, balancing this bean-to-brew identity with one that’s warm and sophisticated – gentle in a way that makes you feel relaxed but not loungy, smart in a way that takes stock of its surrounds.

The menu takes similar cues. “When we design our menus, we consider how we will minimise waste, work with seasonal produce and champion local suppliers at every opportunity,” says executive chef and sustainability coordinator Joe O’Connell. “If we can source a beautiful product from a local legend, then chances are it will wind up on our menu.”

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Urbis Drive

Andrew Kerr drives four stylish newcomers that flaunt a heartening commitment to pure performance.

BMW X3 M Competition BMW’s in-house tuner is in overdrive, applying full-on M magic to a host of new models. At the heart of the action is the X3 M Competition, the practical and nicely proportioned mid-sized SUV transformed into an authentic M-division flyer.

It’s partnered in the range by the X4 M, which exhibits even more flair with its swept-back roof line and wider rear track. Both have cockpits that treat drivers to the customary cocooning and trappings of a top-drawer BMW M sports saloon but with the benefit of an elevated ride height.

A comprehensive aero package and special 21-inch alloys immediately set the X3 M apart. And serious sporting intent is confirmed upon start-up of the most advanced development to date of BMW’s twin-turbo straight-six. Consider it an all-new engine with character aplenty and a relentless surge of power from 2500rpm to beyond 7000rpm. It fair flies to 100km/h in 4.1 seconds.

The supporting cast includes immense M-Sport brakes, figure-clenching leather seats, an M-Sport quad exhaust that sounds as fruity as you want it to be, and a leather steering wheel that delights at every turn with its feel and accuracy.

All dynamic responses can be aroused instantly by a thumbpress of the red M1 (sporting) or M2 (super-sporting) buttons mounted on either side of the steering wheel bridge. M2 keeps the revs fizzing and extracts the best from an actively locking M rear differential and adaptive sports suspension.

The bottom line? If you like undiluted performance but demand serious comfort and practicality, you might find the X3 M Competition is the best all-rounder to be engineered by the M division.

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Shorts

Mini Cooper JCW

Aston Martin DB11 AMR A five per cent power increase tells only five per cent of the story of the new DB11 AMR. Extra punch sees it surge to 100km/h in just 3.7 seconds to keep pace with the lighter Vantage but without crowding the flagship 715bhp DBS with which the DB11 shares its aluminium platform. Aston Martin has turned up the soundtrack, too, so full-noise acceleration is as intoxicating as the engine specs suggest it is and the Sport mode thunder seems louder and ever-present.

But it’s the extensive tweaks to most other settings that now make the big V12 super-rewarding (and ridiculously effortless) to drive quickly without corrupting long-distance comfort. In this car, you can you carve up the Coromandel and not be daunted by the prospect of an onward leg to Wellington.

Belligerent in the Sport modes one day, it’s easygoing and undemanding in GT guise the next, when you don’t need to deploy the potency.

Inside, the carbon-fibre trim inlays and optional lime racing stripes add a sense of flair, and the mix of top-grade leather and Alcantara is suitably sporty.

The technology pack incorporates outstanding B&O sound and the audio hardware looks as impressive as it sounds.

Our Onyx Black car sat on gloss-black, diamondturned alloys. In fact, the only relief from the stealth look came from punchy lime-green brake callipers (another Aston Martin Racing extra). The colour scheme meant you had to go looking for some of the carbon-fibre exterior detailing, of which there is plenty, from channels in bonnet vents to mirror caps and front-guard finishers. Rear-end subtleties include a deployable spoiler that rises from the boot lid and smoked tail lights. This car exerts a proper amount of ominous cool.

As we celebrate 60 years of the Mini nameplate, it’s fitting to be behind the wheel of a range highlight: the go-faster Cooper JCW hatch. All Mini hatches are blessed with a feel-good factor, but this compact three-door flyer truly excels on fun. Its potent two-litre, turbo engine really does the business when Sport mode is selected, delivering a serious growl under acceleration and riotous crackles and pops on the overrun.

Feisty performance is backed up by a busy, playful chassis that imparts a great sense of control. The JCW goads you to be frisky when a clear-road opportunity knocks and razor-sharp steering allows you to tip it into corners with a wheel flick. Yes, it’s stiffly sprung but, more often than not, it feels nicely settled.

We’d resist upsizing the wheels and wave our customisation wand elsewhere.

The JCW aero kit means enlarged air dams in the front bumper and a split-level roof spoiler. A Union Jack design is incorporated into the rear LEDs while additional front lights set you up for a Monte Carlo rally stage. Brash colours and Black Line accents seem to suit the aggressive looks.

Modern Mini has matured to the extent that functionality now enjoys greater weighting than does gratuitous cabin bling. You might, therefore, find the carbon cloth interior and gloss-black trim garnishes a bit subdued. The professional navigation system integrated in the wide central screen is an obvious standout feature, and the sheer range of seat and wheel adjustment will impress the tallest drivers.

Belligerent in the Sport modes one day, it’s easy-going and undemanding in GT guise the next, when you don’t need to deploy the potency… This car exerts a proper amount of ominous cool.

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Lexus RX450h F-Sport Parallel-hybrid power continues to prove popular, with Lexus hybrids outselling their petrol-only equivalents throughout 2019. In a best-of-bothworlds scenario, this self-charging hybrid-electric SUV brings extra refinement to the revamped RX range and impresses as a semi-sporty five-seater.

Standout design features have been carried over: the block mesh spindle grille, in which each individual block has a different shape and angle; aluminium roof rails; and irregular dark glass panels in each rear pillar. Bumpers and rear light clusters have been redesigned and a panoramic sunroof remains a rare option at this end of the RX spectrum.

The interior design is also bold and fantastic craftsmanship compensates for a slight lack of cohesion. A repositioned 12.3-inch touchscreen now sits 140mm closer to the driver, who has the option of using a trackpad to navigate infotainment.

With the F-Sport badge present, performance, efficiency and greater agility are all RX450h hallmarks. This model now exhibits better balance and poise, thanks to widespread suspension changes and body rigidity improvements. Custom drive modes tweak front and rear performance dampers for better handling stability, and an Active Cornering Assist system chimes in to keep things neat and tidy. The powertrain and CVT transmission combine smoothly, quietly and very effectively when strong acceleration is needed.

The new RX is the first Lexus to receive in-car connected tech applications. Other new tech includes an adaptive high-beam system called BladeScan that precisely controls light distribution and is ideal for open-road driving at night. LEDs shine onto a spinning mirror to keep the beam focused without blinding oncoming drivers.

This is a comprehensive update, then, for an aspirational SUV that still guarantees serene, stress-free cruising despite adopting a more driver-focused demeanour.

This is a comprehensive update... for an aspirational SUV that still guarantees serene, stress-free cruising...

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OLI 316

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B&B Atoll, seat system designed by Antonio Citterio

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People

Inside story Book designer and up-and-coming artist Evi O takes us on a tour of her home and the objects she loves.

WORDS TRACEY INGRAM / PHOTOGRAPHY DANIEL SHIPP

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People

Happy Place by Elliott Routledge is the first of three bold works hanging in Evis living room.

Imagine: you pick up your paintbrush one day, perhaps out of boredom, and make a few small works, each no bigger than an A4 sheet of paper. You have a full-time job so this is just for fun – something to make your creative juices flow. But, then, one of those small studies ends up thrusting you into the spotlight and you somehow end up presenting a huge show at one of Australasia’s most renowned art fairs. How would that feel? Just ask Evi O. Born in Indonesia, she relocated to Australia at the age of 17, and has become a designer and self-taught artist. The Sydney resident trained as a visual-communication designer and wanted to work in publishing. She took on a role in the industry at the age of 21 and stayed for almost a decade before branching out on her own as Evi O. Studio, which specialises in print and digital publishing, brand identity and creative collaborations. That’s where you’ll still find her from day to day but, also, you’ll often catch her behind an easel, churning out paintings in impressive numbers. “I will always love publishing,” says Evi, “but, when you design a book, you’re like a midwife. It’s creative but you are expressing the visions of others. Every creative needs a personal outlet, so I started painting on the weekends, for fun.”

And then along came gallery curator Amber Creswell Bell to give Evi that one-in-a-million ‘big break’. “She saw one of my tiny studies and said it wasn’t bad. I told her I could make more. ‘Make 12 and I’ll include them in a show,’ she said. So I did.” This was in 2015. The show was called Geometrica and the results were positive enough to lead to another group exhibition at a then-new gallery, Saint Cloche, directed by Kitty Wong. “The gallery was new, the curator was new, the 4 8 | URBIS 114

People

... Evi’s early studies can be seen scattered around her apartment in Sydney: pops of bright colour in a subdued interior by Hecker Guthrie.

artists were new. But that show went well as well.” (As did Evi’s relationship with Kitty: they continue to work together today.)

As Evi retells the story, she sounds as though she’s still surprised by these successes. Perhaps that feeling is left over from growing up in Indonesia, where “art and design aren’t day-today commodities”, she says. To begin with, the successes were more about gratification than remuneration. “When you’re starting out, you don’t make much money. If you sell work, you use the funds to buy more materials to create more paintings.”

Even though it was still very much a side gig at this point, Evi had her first solo show in 2016. It was called Double Cream and was hosted by The Design Files gallery in Melbourne. “I was secretly doing it in a different city so that, if it failed, no one would know: a weird, cheeky thought, but I was glad it was another successful show.”

It comprised 12 pieces: a world of bright primaries and sumptuous pastels that resemble landscapes? Ice cream sundaes? “I always paint from personal experience. I’ve painted about places I’ve visited, buildings I’ve seen, scenes passing through life. They’re all very abstract, simple shapes but with a touch of nostalgia, perhaps. Part of the charm of my work is its naming. ‘Once you see the work and read the title, you can’t unsee’; that’s what someone once told me and it’s the best review I’ve had.”

It wasn’t until – by way of a story too long for these pages – she ended up as the single representative of Saint Cloche’s inaugural inclusion in the 2019 Sydney Contemporary art fair that Evi realised her art practice was “now a real game. Having not ever planned a career as an artist and being a nobody in the art world, I felt like it was a fantasy to have such a big body of work in one room.” (Not so coincidentally, the show was called Fantasia.) “I made 39 pieces – I don’t think it’s common to produce that many as a first-timer. But we sold 35 of the 39 works and one was collected by the city. I received supportive comments from art critics. That’s when I realised that art, for me, is just about expressing feelings and telling stories.”

Some of Evi’s early studies can be seen scattered around her apartment in urbismagazine.com | 4 9

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Evi’s favourite things 01. Don Draper My monstera deliciosa plant called Don Draper lives up to his name. He’s sensitive but handsome.

02. Studies Two early studies from the Cream and Double Cream exhibitions – where it all started.

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03. Bed It’s hard to find a well-made, minimal-looking bed at an affordable price. I can be very particular so I worked with two locals to design one.

David Harrison helped me with drawings and Gary Galego crafted and perfected the structure.

04. Ceramic cups A shelf of ceramic cups – received, bought, made, collected. I don’t buy in pairs.

05. Henri My loyal, sooky whippet. He’s been with me for two years now and has done a good job of giving routine to my packed life.

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06. Pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama A small memento from Naoshima island in Japan.

07. Stacks of books Some to read, some I’ve made, some I’ve collected.

08. Haze by John Lloyd A little painting that reminds me of the Australian bush, where I find solace. I try to go bushwalking on weekends.

09. Issey Miyake jumpsuit I collect a bit of fashion from my travels. I used to think how handy it would be to have perhaps three dozen jumpsuits on rotation.

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10. Boob cup A one-off porcelain piece by one of my special people: ceramicist Milly Dent.

People

Sydney’s Waterloo: pops of bright colour in a subdued interior by Hecker Guthrie.

You’d think her light-filled dwelling might be perfect for painting in but producing her pieces from home for a while proved to be the “worst idea ever”, she says. “For two months, I couldn’t have any visitors.” She now paints from a studio in Marrickville.

Bridging the worlds of designer and artist is still a work in progress but Evi says she wants to balance life and work better.

“I’m in the middle of harmoniously marrying both practices, because they both fulfil and complement what makes me a productive creative and a curious entrepreneur. I don’t really sit still. It’s our third year of business and the team has matured – it’s more independent and we’re more confident.”

(Just like Evi herself, wouldn’t you say?)

“Building this team is one part of the business I didn’t realise I’d enjoy so much.

It’s the most rewarding thing we’ve made.

I guess it’s not surprising that that’s what I paint, too: human connection.”

Evis reading chair, found at a sale, is a LC1 Chair by Le Corbusier. A collection of hardy cacti populates the balcony.

“I always paint from personal experience…

They’re all very abstract, simple shapes but with a touch of nostalgia, perhaps.”

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Top notes Te Papa’s new chief shows us her home and her own personal treasures.

WORDS SHARON STEPHENSON PHOTOGRAPHY VICTORIA BIRKINSHAW

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People

... a shrine to the art, ceramics and jewellery she’s been collecting for the past couple of decades, from the framed images by the late Peter Peryer to Paul Melser ceramics.

Courtney Johnston wouldn’t call her career rise meteoric, even if everyone else does.

The 40-year-old took the reins of Te Papa Tongarewa last December, the youngest-ever chief executive of New Zealand’s national museum.

But Johnston has spent much of her life under the spell of museums, galleries and the art world – from a degree in art history at Victoria University of Wellington to arts commentating for Radio New Zealand, promoting Wellington’s City Gallery and, for five years, heading up The Dowse Art Museum in Lower Hutt.

“Some were surprised by my appointment, particularly because of my age,” says Johnston from her office on Te Papa’s second floor. “But I’ve worked hard to supercharge my experiences and leadership roles, and this really is my dream job. If you work in the museum field in New Zealand, then Te Papa should be the pinnacle of your career.”

Johnston once strolled these halls as a visitor host during university holidays. But, before that, there were 18 years spent largely on one road in Taranaki. “I grew up on a dairy farm, and both my primary and my secondary schools were on the same road so it was really quite a small world.”

She fled to the University of Otago (“as far away as possible”) but, two years into her arts degree, her father suffered a motorbike accident so she moved to Wellington to be closer to him.

Johnston’s vision for Te Papa, which recently celebrated its 22nd birthday, is to “do the heavy lifting

around those conversations about what’s important to us”.

“Museums can do an enormous amount of service for their people by opening up our conversations about who we are and how we come together. What are the stories about New Zealand that we want to tell each other and the world?”

Home is a 10-minute walk away: a three-bedroomed apartment Johnston bought three years ago. As you’d expect, it’s a shrine to the art, ceramics and jewellery she’s been collecting for the past couple of decades, from the framed images by the late Peter Peryer to Paul Melser ceramics and necklaces from Auckland jeweller Warwick Freeman.

Johnston admits she’s constantly trying to bring more colour and texture into the second-floor space. “The Dowse has a strong tradition of colourful applied art, of rich layering and texture, and when I worked there I fell hard for ’70s’ and ’80s’ textiles. I’ve been trying to inject some of those bold influences into my life ever since.”

She’s also had to learn to be less precious about her collection since marrying Reuben Friend, Director of Porirua’s Pātaka Art + Museum, in 2018. Friend has three children – 11, 10 and 9 – from a previous relationship and they spend roughly half their time with the couple.

“A family of five uses much more than a couple does so I’ve had to unpack my grandmother’s Crown Lynn collection that I’d packed away. It’s taught me to appreciate the functionality of these pieces but also to become a lot less attached to them so, if the odd piece breaks, I’m okay with it.” urbismagazine.com | 5 3

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Courtney Johnston’s home is a trove of creative finds that coalesce into a charming whole.

“The Dowse has a strong tradition of colourful applied art, of rich layering and texture, and when I worked there I fell hard for ’70s’ and ’80s’ textiles. I’ve been trying to inject some of those bold influences into my life ever since.”

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Courtney’s favourite things

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01. Brown belt I have been awarded the brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

It ties with my current job as the achievement I’ve worked hardest for and am most proud of.

after we worked with her and her whānau on a big project at The Dowse Art Museum, honouring the work of her mother and father, weaver Erenora Puketapu-Hetet and Rangi Hetet.

02. Coffee grinder My very, very beat-up coffee grinder is held together with packing tape (waste not want not, right?).

07. Crockery I grew up in the shadow of Mount Taranaki and my grandparents lived on the same road as we did. These are from my Nana’s Egmont Crown Lynn crockery collection. I can remember the plates from many family dinners.

03. Book My favourite book is Dodie Smith’s I Capture the Castle. I reread it every couple of years and, each time, find myself relating differently to this classic coming-of-age story.

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04. Perfumes About 10 years ago, I went through a phase of learning about and buying perfumes, and, while I’ve slowed down, I have about 20, with about a dozen in rotation and four or five that I wear most often. My two favourites sit on opposite ends of the spectrum: Cool Water by Davidoff, which is an amazingly accessible cologne, and Musc Ravageur by Maurice Roucel from the Frederic Malle range, which is far more niche.

05. Jim Greig pot This is a gift from my Dowse days – a small Jim Greig pot kindly gifted to me by his family.

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06. Kete This kete was a gift from weaver Veranoa Hetet. She gave it to me

08. Plants This is a cutting I’m growing from another cutting I was given by Jean Ngan from a plant in the Stokes Valley home she shared with her late husband, the artist Guy Ngan. The major Guy Ngan project at The Dowse in 2019 was one of the last projects I was involved with there.

09. Candlesticks I’m lucky enough to own three cast-bronze candlesticks made by the German-born, Island Bay-based jeweller Karl Fritsch.

They’re heavy enough to be doorstops and not actually terribly functional as candlesticks, but I love them.

10. Necklace This silver and mother of pearl necklace is by Pauline Bern. I love Pauline’s work and this was a gift-to-self when I completed four years on the Museums Aotearoa board in mid-2019. urbismagazine.com | 5 5

Dan-Cuthbert sits in the main bedroom beneath a photograph

by Deborah Paauwe.

The Last Drop by Nell hangs in the dining room, where the entire ceiling had to be re-strutted in order to install the piece.

Across the dividing sea Sydneysider Sally Dan-Cuthbert has a penchant for New Zealand and Australian art and design. Ahead of her arrival at the Auckland Art Fair, she gives us a tour of her home and impressive collection.

WORDS LEANNE AMODEO PHOTOGRAPHY ALANA DIMOU

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Sally Dan-Cuthbert is broadening the way visual art and functional design are viewed by breaking down categorisations that, traditionally, have kept them separate.

There aren’t too many prominent artworld figures from either Australia or New Zealand with the type of credibility that Sally Dan-Cuthbert has. The independent Sydney-based art advisor has been working with a handful of private and corporate clients for the past 27 years and, before that, she was a painting specialist for Christie’s auction house and a curator. Her list of contacts is nothing short of impressive and her professional knowledge and expertise are formidable. Little wonder people had been telling her for ages she should open her own gallery and so, in late 2019, she did just that.

Located in Rushcutters Bay, Gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert reveals everything that is right with Australia’s contemporary art scene today. The space itself is light, bright and modern, exhibitions showcase exquisite works of different media, and the gallery’s stable features both artists and designers. In this respect, the gallerist is broadening the way visual art and functional design are viewed by breaking down categorisations that, traditionally, have kept them separate. But, then again, her agenda is simply to show the best work around, regardless of genre and style.

As she explains, “I believe in things that can inspire and create conversation and I also believe in beauty.”

It’s a philosophical approach that underpins her interest in narrative and materiality, motivating her to curate and collect works that are as conceptually rigorous as they are visually striking.

And, while she doesn’t play favourites, there are particular artists and designers she has been championing for many years and whom she now represents through her gallery, including New Zealanders Lisa Reihana, Sabine Marcelis and Zhu Ohmu. Of the three, Reihana, who is of Māori descent, is arguably the most widely recognised, having represented New Zealand in 2017 at the Venice Biennale.

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art and design scenes further, as well as become familiar with Māori art traditions. “I see Lisa as a critical thinker and storyteller, and feel fortunate to have been able to follow her practice journey,” reflects Dan-Cuthbert. And, while she’s commissioned Reihana to produce work for several of her art advisory clients, Dan-Cuthbert was most excited to purchase one of Reihana’s photographs for her own personal collection. A powerful image of the artist’s great-aunt telling a Māori legend, it now hangs above the lounge’s fireplace in Dan-Cuthbert’s Spanish Mission-style Rose Bay home.

Such is the work’s visual impact that DanCuthbert and her husband actually redid the whole fireplace – they exposed the brick and removed the mantel – to work better with the photograph.

In a home full of breathtaking objects, sumptuous designer furniture and striking artworks, Reihana’s photograph seemingly rising out of the ashes is unforgettable. Dan-Cuthbert has complemented this vignette with a black New Zealand saddle leather chair by Trent Jansen and Johnny Nargoodah, positioning both of them opposite a white large-scale sculpture by Jonathan Jones, who lived with Dan-Cuthbert and her husband for a few 5 8 | URBIS 114

days while he constructed the artwork in situ.

It goes without saying that Dan-Cuthbert has a very, very good eye. But what truly sets her apart is the synergy she manages to create between an artwork or design object and its environment. This has undoubtedly come from spending time in her clients’ homes and offices, where she learned that nothing will work – regardless of how beautiful a piece may be – if it’s in the wrong setting or location. There’s also something to be said for surrounding oneself with things that elicit emotional responses. “Any art and design I’m going to live with has to be unique and special,” Dan-Cuthbert says. “I’m not going to have a painting or piece of furniture in my home for the sake of filling a wall or corner. It has to excite me and have a reason for being there.”

Still celebrating her gallery’s successful showing at Sydney Contemporary, Dan-Cuthbert is preparing to bring works from Reihana, Jansen and Nargoodah, and Ohmu to the Auckland Art Fair. These will sit alongside new work from David Tate, including a special-edition stool based on the kiwi bird. Dan-Cuthbert is proving she has the Midas touch, so it’s well worth keeping an eye on her next moves.

In the lounge room, a photograph

by Lisa Reihana hangs above the fireplace. Trent Jansen and Johnny Nargoodah’s black leather chair is positioned in the lounge room, next to the fireplace.

People Bronwyn Oliver’s Eclipse sits above the fireplace in the dining room, bookended by a pair of Louis Philippe’s period French candelabra, circa 1835–1840.

Dan-Cuthbert stands in front of a largescale sculpture by Jonathan Jones.

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TOUR DU MONDE

DEDON COLLECTION NESTREST Design by Daniel Pouzet and Fred Frety

DAW S O N & C O .

Ph. 09 476 1121 | www.dawsonandco.nz | 115 The Strand, Parnell | 38 Constellation Dr, Rosedale

www.dedon.de

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Quiet cosmopolite Mid-century modernism dips into mannerly brutalism in this serene Mexico City abode. For this and more homes, see the following pages.

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Maximalist empire Some of the intricate furniture and lighting pieces by New York’s Apparatus studio are now available in New Zealand through ECC. To coincide with this, the firm’s co-founders, Gabriel Hendifar and Jeremy Anderson, give us a tour of their maximalist and highly detailed loft apartment.

WORDS TRACEY INGRAM / PHOTOGRAPHY WICHMANN + BENDTSEN PHOTOGRAPHY / PRODUCTION AND STYLING HELLE WALSTED

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Part of what the Flatiron space needed, according to the duo, was luxuriance. To what was essentially a blank slate, a big white box, they added “lushness�.

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Gabriel Hendifar (left) and Jeremy Anderson.

Milo Baughman sofas, upholstered in a velvet faux bois fabric, bring a sense of comfort to the living room. The turquoise-grey Robert Moreland work has a brightening effect.

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The earth-toned kitchen features vintage bar stools and a brass-clad, marble-topped island. Similarly sleek finishes, such as the brass and cast-crystal Block Double Vase

by Apparatus, can be found in the dining room. Water towers, seen from the roof of the building, dot the Manhattan skyline.

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Moving cities or starting a business: these are two pretty major events in anyone’s life. But how about doing both in very close succession? Such was the case for Gabriel Hendifar and Jeremy Anderson, who co-founded New York City-based design studio Apparatus in 2012. The pair met in Los Angeles – Hendifar was working in womenswear and Anderson in PR – before the latter’s job took them to the Big Apple. “Surrounding the move, a lot of questions came up about what the next chapter would be like, what kind of life we wanted,” says Hendifar. “After moving in together in Los Angeles, we had created some pieces for our apartment – in some ways, out of necessity but, more than anything, because we weren’t finding what we wanted out there in the world. It was really just through conversations and the support of some friends that we decided to take the leap and start Apparatus once we got our footing in New York.”

Eight years on, they remain true to their initial intentions.

Specialised in lighting, furniture and objects, the studio is “still about creating what we want to see in the world and creating a world we want to live in”, says Hendifar, who serves as the company’s creative director. And when the pair acquired a classic New York loft space in Manhattan’s Flatiron District a few years ago, the design of their home naturally followed the same mantra. What they do is personal, affirms Hendifar, rather than a response to a certain trend or something people are expecting to see. “With everything I design, I ask myself, do I want this? And if I don’t, we don’t move forward with the piece. So, on some level, I want to live with everything we make. It then just becomes about what the space wants and needs.”

And part of what the Flatiron space needed, according to the duo, was luxuriance. To what was essentially a blank slate, a big white box, they added “lushness”. A floating wall – oakpanelled on one side and lacquered on the other – divides the volume. While subtly separating individual spaces, such as the dining room, kitchen and master bedroom, the partition is also designed to “create a sense of unfolding as you move through the apartment”, says Hendifar. Rather than leave the weaving wall slick and flat – not exactly the Apparatus style – they dressed it with a long stretch of character-rich Danish canvas from the 1930s.

Anderson and Hendifar were also captivated by the “amazing view” through the apartment’s huge 2.7m-tall windows. Here, all the warmth of the partition wall’s wood is recalled in a series of bespoke oak shutters, whose brassringed apertures emit an amber glow with the sunlight’s touch.

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An Omnibus chaise longue and ottoman by Vladimir Kagan in a Toyine Sellers fabric offer plush, elevated seating opposite the master bedroom. The towering oak shutters were custom-made

by Hendifar.

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Specialised in lighting, furniture and objects, the studio is “still about creating what we want to see in the world and creating a world we want to live in…” – Gabriel Hendifar

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getting dressed, getting into character. We really oriented the apartment around that.” Resembling a fitting room in the most sumptuous of fashion boutiques, the changing area includes mirrors (which conceal storage) and a curvaceous chaise longue from Vladimir Kagan. “It sets this scene where getting dressed can become a social and interactive part of the evening.”

Naturally, Apparatus pieces play certain roles in the interior. So, how did the creatives prevent their home from feeling like a product showroom? “We live with a mix of things,” says Hendifar. “While we do have a lot of Apparatus work, we also have other vintage and contemporary lighting, art and objects around. It all feels of the same world but it’s alive and layered. The more things we make, the more I think our spaces will take on different characters. But, in many ways, everything we make is meant to live in the same world – and each new piece we introduce is an addition to that world.”

In fact, their home is perhaps more laboratory than showroom, since living with their work allows them to see their products in a new light. Hendifar says that being able to experience the work in different situations, different moods and under different levels of illumination gives him a new understanding of what they create. “It often leads me to the next thing, the next collection.” And, because it’s not their “forever place”, says Hendifar, this home is a stepping stone towards the next. “We went into the project with a vision that I wanted to execute. I feel like I grow so much personally with each project, each collection, each event. They’re all ways of propelling ideas forward.”

Living and breathing your own collections, day and night, certainly makes separating business and pleasure challenging. But Hendifar believes “separating” is the wrong word. “It’s about creating balance,” he says. “When you live for what you do, it’s impossible to separate yourself from your work. But it’s entirely possible to create boundaries around time and to make sure that we take care of ourselves and each other in this process.”

With Apparatus having just secured New Zealand distribution through ECC, how do the co-founders feel their products will be perceived in the Kiwi market? “We feel like the people there have a great sense of design and a great eye for contemporary work,” says Hendifar. “Everyone we’ve talked to really gets what we are doing. We’re excited to see where they take the work.”

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Unlike other rooms, which are brazenly idiosyncratic, the bathroom is characterised by a softer aesthetic and includes Circuit sconces by Apparatus (available from ECC). A photograph by Viviane Sassen hangs above a pair of matching console tables.

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“While we do have a lot of Apparatus work, we also have other vintage and contemporary lighting, art and objects around. It all feels of the same world but it’s alive and layered.” – Gabriel Hendifar

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For Anderson’s 40th birthday, Hendifar commissioned realist painter Alessandro Tomassetti to paint Anderson’s ear. The work now hangs as an unusual focal piece in their master bedroom. A large pastoral painting by Albert Emiel is beautifully juxtaposed against the apartment‘s many decadent furnishings.

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With the grain The Coromandel’s gritty persona marries smooth-cut family living.

WORDS JULIA GESSLER PHOTOGRAPHY MATT QUÉRÉE

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The kitchen, designed to be both fresh and light, was manufactured by Neo Design. The living area is spread across the full width of the building to utilise the site’s connection with a dune reserve. Pedro stools, designed

by AnotherProject and from Simon James, line the breakfast bar.

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The home relates and connects to its environment, not only through its layout but also through its distinct material palette.

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Sand is fickle; it moves, adjusts. A house is more constant; there’s a groundedness to its bearing. How these two work together is not an art so much as a balance between opposites and elements.

In Tairua, hugging a dune reserve on the Coromandel, Gavin Donaldson’s recently finished coastal project has this sense of equilibrium. A picturesque beachscape washes into the lounge, cloaking it in a dreamy haze of seashore beige and sand-binding grasses. The residence appears as if it’s content to fall into its environment, to flow with the site typography and its gentle slope upwards from the street, and connect to the beach. At a glance, the dunes and home are a perfect pairing: mutable and solid, and in touch with one another.

This was what Donaldson wanted to achieve from the start, three years ago. “It was important that the [structure] did not develop into a box-on-box form,” says the director of Neu Architecture, explaining that the clients, an active couple with twin boys, didn’t want a home that presided over its surroundings.

Instead, three levels blur and blend, united by an exterior palette that anointed in-situ concrete – “developed from the idea of [having] a pure form that was robust plus low maintenance” – as its material crown prince. It was a choice as much about creating a four-bedroomed home that could withstand the harsh conditions of a littoral area as it was about texture: to register, in a single finish, the coarseness of the dunes.

Part of the project’s magic lies in the juxtaposition of this roughsawn grain, similar to that of wood planks, with a series of glazed and slatted sliding screens. Apart from providing privacy and shade, the screens, made of matte-black aluminium, have the elegance that comes with a technically difficult feature that doesn’t look technically difficult. Mechanics meet aesthetics, as well as some clever design solutions. Earthy raggedness – those irregular, uneven surfaces – is tempered simply by sheer proximity.

White has a similar effect on the interior. Expansive walls in the achromatic colour tone down dark porcelain panels and a swathe of features donning exposed concrete, from an internal stairwell to a rebated shelf, a dining room wall and a lounge fireplace. The kitchen, in this sense, softens even as it stands out for its polish (it is markedly sleek and almost entirely white) and its five-metre-long island that runs parallel to the beach.

While the house is, in many respects, a set of quilted contrasts well-stitched together, it has one bold statement piece: a mural on the main entrance wall by Andrew J. Steel. “I was on site alone, brush in hand, ready to paint, and basically told to go for it,” says the Auckland-based artist and graffiti wunderkind, who possesses that rare kind of brush-to-canvas confidence. The result is not just a work that “accentuated the features of the architecture – clean lines, minimalistic and modern,” he explains, “but a work that also allowed for subtle personalisation through including several Easter eggs.” Conceptually, it is distinctly Steel’s, filled with the charm of his signature world of cartoonish folks and anthropomorphised dogs, and covertly the home-owners’, with nods to them, Tairua and nearby Mount Paku.

For all of this, arty pop included, the home doesn’t veer away from being, foremost, a family home: one built with a living room intended to be as wide and elevated as possible for the views, and with what Donaldson calls “a floating outdoor sitting area” to reap them even more. It has nestled into this category as it has done into its environment. It has also settled into a lifestyle of comfort – and of salt. urbismagazine.com | 7 9

A picturesque beachscape washes into the lounge, cloaking it in a dreamy haze of seashore beige and sand-binding grasses.

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An Arcade sofa by Simon James and a Ferric table, designed

by Massproductions and from Simon James, take centre stage in the living and dining room.

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A mural by Andrew J. Steel, commissioned by the clients, brings edge to the main entrance wall.

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Extraordinary With brick as the predominant material, this house, designed by Benn+Penna, is like a contemporary rendition of an historic ruin, affirming the long-standing and much-deserved pedestal of brick in architecture.

WORDS REBECCA GROSS / PHOTOGRAPHY TOM FERGUSON

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The courtyard separates the old and new sections of the house, with living spaces positioned around it. The expressed brick steps accentuate the idea of the house as a series of gently ascending platforms.

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Your ordinary brick is a ubiquitous building material that’s been used in architecture since ancient times: functional, cost-effective, commonplace. However, the architectural and spatial effects created with brick can be anything but ordinary.

Australian architecture studio Benn+Penna used the humble brick for this rear addition to a bungalow on Sydney’s Lower North Shore. The studio designed three interlocking brick pavilions with carved-out spaces, creating a composition of solid, monolithic volumes and transparent, skeletal forms.

“We talked about the building looking almost like a ruin,” says Andrew Benn, director of Benn+Penna. “The brick has a stone-like quality so the buildings appear to emerge out of the ground; and the emphasis on negative space makes the structure look quite ruinous.”

The clients are parents of two teenaged children. Their existing brick bungalow had a series of rear lean-tos accommodating the living areas, with only a single door to the backyard – a large, upward-sloping site. The clients wanted more space for their family, giving independence and privacy to them and their children. As keen gardeners, they wanted better connections to the outdoors.

There are three bedrooms and a dining area in the pre-existing bungalow, with the kitchen, living room and master suite in the addition. Designed as an interlocking cluster, the three pavilions integrate the house and garden by overlapping indoor and outdoor space. Benn+Penna’s

uniform use of brick for the walls, floor and courtyards embeds the house in the site and creates an uninterrupted flow between inside and out. “The brick is a fusion between the original cottage and the landscape,” Benn explains.

“It has an earth-like quality that lends itself to the garden, and an architectural quality that lends itself to the heritage of the cottage.”

The slimline, elongated bricks are a silvery-clay colour that is pale and muted, and the dull surface augments the unified, monolithic look of the house. Also, the mortar has been matched to the colour of the brick and roughly finished to create more texture.

Benn+Penna’s pared-back aesthetic showcases the qualities of the brick and craftsmanship of the brickwork, and the reductive approach to space creates a variety of atmospheres throughout the house, despite the predominating brick palette. “Some spaces are intimately enclosed by the bricks while others are far more open and flowing to the garden. There is a different atmosphere in each space, even though the material palette is uniform,” says Benn. The brick is complemented with blackbutt stairs, frames and joinery, and concrete and timber floors.

The three pavilions are organised around a central courtyard that separates the old and new sections of the house. The courtyard is a weighty brick plinth that aligns with the sandstone base of the cottage and then gently ascends as a series of platforms through the home. urbismagazine.com | 87

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“Some spaces are intimately enclosed by the bricks while others are far more open and flowing to the garden. There is a different atmosphere in each space, even though the material palette is uniform,” says Benn.

The kitchen sits alongside the courtyard, carved out of the two-storeyed pavilion, which appears solid and monumental otherwise. The effect is enhanced by the deep, recessed threshold that connects the kitchen and courtyard, and which provides an eave to protect the interior from the sun.

Rowlock brick steps rise to the second pavilion where large sliding glass doors and a skeletal white frame diminish the barriers between the living room and landscape. The pavilion opens to courtyards on both sides, and the white timber frame extends beyond the glazing to create a covered space outside. The transparent form of this building is reminiscent of Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House and Philip Johnson’s The Glass House. Each of these modernist pavilions is reduced to its essential structure, thereby immersing occupants in the garden landscape.

Brick walls anchor both ends of this horizontal pavilion.

A shelf and fireplace are recessed in the brick wall at the far end of the room, and the vertical grain of timber cabinetry above is a subtle contrast to the horizontal brickwork. The entrance to the stairwell is recessed into the other brick wall, which is the third pavilion.

This narrow, vertical space, through which the stairwell ascends, is evocative of a passage up and into a turret. Light from above heightens the dramatic effect, with shafts of light streaming through a skylight and high-level window. These also draw hot air out through the stack effect so that the angled form of the pavilion looks and functions like a chimney.

“It’s like a chimney in a ruin: still standing and surrounded by skeletal structures,” Benn describes.

The stairs lead up to the master suite – the “hawk’s nest of the house”, says Benn, thanks to the deep-set telescopic window that offers views towards the harbour foreshore.

Benn+Penna has achieved a creative, atmospheric outcome using the commonplace brick as the dominant material. Like a contemporary rendition of an historic ruin, it speaks to brick’s long-standing place in architecture.

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The master bedroom has a calm brick-and-white palette. The stairwell is contained in a narrow, dramatically vertical space. Patterned tiles add subtle texture to the bathroom wall.

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Draft of shadows Art, greenery, sunshine and a touch of vintage blend effortlessly in this brutalist house for the co-founder of Mexico’s hippest hotel chain.

WORDS LEANNE AMODEO / PHOTOGRAPHY GIORGIO POSSENTI

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A Terence Gower sculpture titled The Couple greets visitors at the end of the long entry. Secondary living areas feature designer furniture, as well as MoisĂŠs Michaď?Šs collection of books and personal effects.

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Three vintage 1950sď?Š slat stools

by Vista of California sit at the Arabescatto marble kitchen island/ breakfast bar. The homeď?Šs main living areas are on the first floor.

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... the main reason for such minimalist, neutral design is to provide the perfect backdrop for the owner’s art collection, all of which is on display, carefully curated throughout.

When Moisés Micha came across an abandoned four-storeyed townhouse in Mexico City’s affluent Chapultepec district, he purchased it without a second thought. The 1970s’ brutalist building may be startlingly oversized for a bachelor pad, but the cofounder of boutique hotel brand Grupo Habita saw its potential as an urban sanctuary and the perfect home to accommodate his extensive (and ever-growing) art collection.

There was considerable work involved to get it to a liveable state, though, especially since the interior had previously undergone a shoddy renovation, which divided it into poky apartments. So, Micha engaged Belgian architect Nicolas Schuybroek, who collaborated with Belgian interior designer Marc Merckx, to realise his vision, along with local architect of record Alberto Kalach, who was also responsible for the landscaping.

The home doesn’t have a garden – unlike the majority of houses in the neighbourhood – and, for this reason, the architects introduced a triangular concrete canopy, a rooftop terrace and a generously sized patio at the rear of the residence to afford it some outdoor space.

These additions allowed Kalach to incorporate hanging gardens descending from the balconies; they provide the interior with a connection to nature and also function as privacy screens, particularly on the façade.

For Schuybroek, this landscaped panorama heightens the home’s appeal. “It was all about creating a secluded,

serene retreat that was warm and welcoming yet sophisticated,” he says. “Reconfiguring it in this way not only gives the building’s original design a new twist but, also, it offers the opportunity to experience each floor differently, as well as enjoy breathtaking views from the rooftop terrace.”

Their first task, internally, was to reinstate a sense of spatial logic and they did this by removing all unnecessary elements from past refurbishments, repurposing it as a single dwelling once again. Kitchen, dining and lounge areas are positioned on the first level, while the two bedrooms and two bathrooms are located on the upper levels. The exterior’s austere concrete beauty is extended inwards, beginning with the groundlevel entry’s long corridor, which opens up to a small pool in the rear courtyard, upon which sits Terence Gower’s bold red and black steel sculpture, The Couple.

This courtyard and its resulting void is new, dramatically sliced away to ensure the once-gloomy interior now receives plenty of natural light and cross-ventilation. It’s quite the welcome for a home that simply becomes more and more impressive in materiality, scale and curation, the further inside one steps.

Clean lines and neatly proportioned rooms characterise the scheme, and Schuybroek and Merckx have continued the polished concrete floors and cemented walls and ceilings throughout. “We chose a restrained material palette to give the interior’s design urbismagazine.com | 97

The home doesn’t have a garden – unlike the majority of houses in the neighbourhood – and, for this reason, the architects introduced a triangular concrete canopy, a rooftop terrace and a generously sized patio at the rear of the residence to afford it some outdoor space.

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Damián Ortegas Unfolding/Flip Chair is a standout work from Michas art collection.

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It shouldn’t come as a surprise to discover Micha’s parents are also collectors – who own works by Diego Rivera and Pablo Picasso, amongst others – and he grew up surrounded by art.

a strong identity but, still, to have it appear soft and luxurious,” Schuybroek explains. The effect is utterly utilitarian, providing visual cohesion across all four floors. And, while the overall expression is brutalist, there’s a definite nod to mid-century modernism in each level’s distinct horizontality and floor-to-ceiling glass windows and doors.

Punctuating the monochrome palette are the openings’ blackened steel frames and heavily patterned Arabescatto marble, which is strikingly used in the kitchen and bathrooms. In a display of Schuybroek and Merckx’s fine attention to detail, this same marble is judiciously incorporated into the dining area’s custom built-in console and the main bedroom’s side tables: delightful accents that offer visual connection between the residence’s different spaces. But, of course, the main reason for such minimalist, neutral design is to provide the perfect backdrop for Micha’s art collection, all of which is on display, carefully curated throughout. Consideration has been given to each work’s positioning and so there’s nothing sterile about the outcome. Instead, the effortlessly integrated arrangement feels curious, warm and incredibly alluring.

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for collecting came from and, in decorating his home in this way, he’s articulating a long-standing passion.

A Le Corbusier/Bubble Diagram (2014) by Jose Dávila hangs in the kitchen, as does a painting by Gabriel Orozco, which is from the artist’s Flag series (2003).

Elsewhere, works by Ai Weiwei, Mathias Goeritz and Abraham Cruzvillegas highlight Micha’s stylistic affinity for Dada-esque collages and sculptures.

But it’s Damián Ortega’s Unfolding/Flip Chair (2004) that instantly appeals. The piece deconstructs and abstracts a simple chair form; sitting in front of the dining room window at the end of the custom-designed table, the sculpture is a witty study in form. This is even more so because it bridges the conceptual gap between fine art and functional design. It’s the perfect counterpart to the home’s furniture, which Schuybroek, Merckx and Micha selected over the course of a year.

Timber pieces prevail and they inject a lovely mix of caramel and honey tones into the scheme, complementing the main bedroom’s locally sourced parota joinery. Each item’s own particular patina also further softens the concrete interior, while the mix of old and new represents sophisticated eclecticism at its very best. And, just like the Ortega sculpture, the 1960s’ teak and wicker Pierre Jeanneret chair – a rare find in Chicago – stands out. Ultimately, this is a home of incredible style and elegance, realised via an intelligent design that values beauty as much as it prioritises comfort.

Micha (facing page) co-founded Grupo Habita in 1994 and opened his first hotel in 2000. The second dining room features pale timbers, in contrast with the first floorď?Šs main living areas.

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Punctuating the monochrome palette are the openings’ blackened steel frames and heavily patterned Arabescatto marble, which is strikingly used in the kitchen and bathrooms.

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Custom-designed features in the main bedroom include a parota bed frame and marble bedside tables.

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Courtyard dreams

The front door to this square-front villa in Grey Lynn, Auckland, might look typical but it’s a portal to another time and place.

WORDS CLAIRE MCCALL / PHOTOGRAPHY SAM HARTNETT

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Clare McIntosh curated the furniture using luxe elements, such as the curvaceous &Tradition Loafer lounge chair, designed by Space Copenhagen (available from Dawson & Co.), and the Cameron Design House Lahti circular pendant, imported from the UK.

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Chester, the Seal Point Siamese, likes to settle into the deep-pile rug near a Minotti Calder console.

Vertical battens break up the faรงade and lend dynamism to the design of the extension. At night, LED uplights add extra drama.

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When Nick and Clare McIntosh and their two primary-school-aged children moved in to their new home in the Auckland neighbourhood of Grey Lynn, they already knew the house. “We had lived [two doors down],” says Clare. They also knew what changes they wanted to make.

UK-born Clare was inspired by the work of designer John Pawson – the consummate minimalist – whose ideas she came across as a child. “My grandfather and father were both builders,” she explains, “so we had lots of architecture books around the house.”

Later, when she worked at the BBC, she produced a documentary on Pawson – and, later still, while working on a travel programme about New Zealand, she fell in love with the country and relocated. Then she met Nicholas, a builder. Her fate was sealed.

The couple makes a well-oiled team with a shared passion for projects and although many would have considered this villa to be charming, it was on the wrong side of the street for sun. Still, it was elevated and, best of all, had a wide frontage.

At the back of the home, there was an expansive garden planted in established palms – and enough room to manoeuvre. The couple saw the opportunity.

Jose Gutierrez of Jose Gutierrez architecture firm had worked with Nick and Clare before on their previous home, just two doors down. He wasn’t surprised by their ambition to refurbish and then create an extension that wrapped around a courtyard. It made sense, too. “There was a good deal of north-facing space on the 480-square-metre section,” he explains. This plan capitalised on that while also observing the strict building coverage of 40 per cent in a heritage zone.

But, says Gutierrez, architecture is not just about compliance or making things fit. “It’s about intrigue and evoking the senses.”

The front door is a typical, traditional entry off a white-balustrade verandah. Peel it open and there’s a view: a vertical window that frames the inviting pool and the gabled peak of a palm-fringed pavilion, which has a tropical feel. This could be Bali or The Bahamas.

The journey, visual and visceral, loops from old to new around the sheltered courtyard. Moving along the main axis of the home, screening gives glimpses of a planted garden on one side of the corridor that connects the original to the extension. On the other, reflections shimmer in the water as ceiling heights and angles change to delineate space. “That’s part of the sensory experience,” says Gutierrez. “A flat ceiling gives way to a raked one over the dining space and, finally, expands into that double-height volume of the main living room.”

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... architecture is not just about compliance or making things fit.

“It’s about intrigue and evoking the senses.” – Jose Gutierrez

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in rural Sweden. Certainly, there are traces of that here: the layout, the pitched roofs, the all-white palette countered by timber elements stained black.

Meanwhile, Gutierrez planned the proportions and the design moves to ensure that the addition was not too dominant on the site. “The battens break down its scale and make the pavilion more ethereal – its form starts to diffuse,” he says. The deep 90mm battens multitask by hiding the flashings and fixings on the painted-ply cladding and lend verticality to the exterior. “I also like the way the battens allow snippets of green to seep through and that the interchange between solid and openings creates an abstract aesthetic when viewed in certain ways,” says Gutierrez.

Having lived through several major renovations, the McIntoshes were unfazed by staying put during the build and Clare, who has swapped her career in TV and the media for full-time project and family management, was integral to the design of the interiors. She likens making spaces to building a film set. The house is her stage and she set about adding elements of luxe.

For the kitchen, she sourced a slab of Invisible Blue marble for the island bench. It became her design muse. Although the whole house is painted white (Aalto’s Powdered Wig on the exterior, Gallery White inside), there is coordinated colour to be found. “The Italian oak floors have a faint greyblue grain in them and the pool tiles are Sukabumi stone, which is bluey green,” she says.

Nick spent three weeks getting the fume finish on the kitchen cabinetry just right, waxing the doors then staining and rubbing and reapplying to achieve a smoky shade. The scullery bench is slate with a leathered finish and the rangehood was custommade to their specifications. “We had to enlist a specialist steel colourist to make it the right tone to fit with the kitchen.”

Once all was built around them, Clare chose furnishings, using a mix of old family pieces and new buys, including many items sourced from her birthplace. “My mum still lives in the UK and, every time she comes to visit, she has to bring over a suitcase full of taps, vases and nice little Tom Dixon pieces I can’t get here,” says Clare.

Finely detailed both inside and out, the house is a stone’s throw from Ponsonby Central. After living in London, the couple enjoys the buzz – the sense of activity and excitement just beyond the door.

Inside, the courtyard with its deep plunge pool is an unexpected escape. Clare: “I love the way the road frontage looks small but, once I’m home, I can see all the way across the pool to the back of the section – for almost 40 metres. The scale feels grand.”

For Gutierrez, that’s the measure of the project’s success on this compact city site: linking a 100-yearold building with its contemporary counterpart in a way that celebrates them both.

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Keeping the colour tones consistent was important. The house is painted Aalto Powdered Wig on the exterior and Aalto Gallery White inside.

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Italian oak flooring runs from the connecting corridor and throughout the new part of the home. Clare says the addition has quite a grand scale even though it’s tucked into a tight section. “It is cleverly designed to feel larger than it actually is.”

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Living with art In this apartment, designed by Grade New York for an art-loving couple, proportions and flow are just as important as are surfaces and detail. Art, however, reigns supreme and in complete unison.

PHOTOGRAPHY RICHARD POWERS / PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY BRANDON SCHULMAN

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This feature (except the final interview) is an excerpt from New York Contemporary: Grade Architecture and Interiors by Thomas Hickey and Edward Yedid (The Monacelli Press, $140). Published here courtesy of Monacelli Press, it has been edited to accommodate Urbis’ style.

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In the dining room, Warren Platner’s classic chairs surround a custom table. On the ceiling, suede upholstered petals frame a shower of lights. A coffee table of kiln-fused glass and cast bronze, designed by Stacklab, slips neatly into the living room. Along the window perimeter are a pair of Hervé Langlais club chairs and an Ox chair by Hans Wegner.

Trust is design’s great intangible. Once it is implicit, the project has the best possible chance of ending up beyond the client’s wildest dreams. It also ensures that the process is a joy every step of the way. With this Brazil-based couple, trust existed before the start, thanks to a shared connection with a one-time GRADE colleague. The confidence it engendered became the catalyst for every decision in the couple’s art-filled pied-à-terre in Sir Norman Foster’s tower in far-west Chelsea, practically on the Hudson River. For art lovers as passionate as these two, no other building and no other neighbourhood made sense.

With interior and exterior architecture as distinctive as Foster’s, it is natural to take advantage of the design cues and opportunities they provide. The sweep of the living room soffit profile, for instance, sparks many of the custom design details. The same is true for the pale, golden champagne tint of the structural framework. As for the panoramic views of the skyline, river and harbour, what could be more inspiring?

The entry gallery, the through-line between the public and private areas, showcases just some of the art and iconic contemporary furnishings assembled over the course of an especially exciting design process. A stepped crown moulding incorporates the curve of the soffit, introducing a touch of tradition filtered through a modern perspective.

With ceilings leafed in white gold and walls panelled in ash bleached and stained to emphasise the open grain, the gallery is warm, luxurious and just texturally interesting enough to heighten the experience of the group of works it displays. They include pieces by Annie Morris, Josef Albers, Ingrid Donat, Perrin & Perrin, Dan Flavin and others we urbismagazine.com | 117

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On the kitchen wall, Brent Wadden’s Untitled adds another variation on the recurring black horizontals. Horizontal reveals bring a clear geometry to the flush cabinet doors, complementing hideupholstered stools by Powell & Bonnell. Works

by Mary Heilmann, Joel Shapiro and Ed Ruscha add a sophisticated note.

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curated, including its centrepiece, Lucio Fontana’s Concetto Spaziale, a most brilliant finishing touch.

The living room encompasses two seating areas oriented to capture panoramic views that sweep east and south.

Each grouping mixes pieces by some of the 20th century’s best-known makers with custom designs that enhance the art-above-all point of view. A captivating painting by Ellen Gallagher, the very first work selected for this project, informs the room’s elements from form to colour palette.

Stationary wall wings separate the living and dining rooms without a more formal closure; these incorporate the soffit profile, as do the details of the cowhide-lined builtin units. Over the dining table, a petal-like arrangement of suede-wrapped panels and delicate descending lights flowers on the ceiling. The library houses an everexpanding collection of catalogues and art books, as well as comfortable seating and lighting for serious readers.

The shelves float on a wall of fabric-wrapped panels set to reveal shadow lines created by a subtle undulation.

In the master bedroom, black and gold accents highlight a tonal palette of creams, off-whites, light greys. A fantastic tangle of a lamp by Jean Royère spreads its vines across the hallway; its bold black lines prefigure those in the bedroom’s Matisse aquatint. Its curves, as well as Foster’s, influence the custom bedroom furnishings. The twin beds in the guest room pick up on the same detail.

It is rare and wonderful to share such trust with clients.

When it happens, there’s no predicting what art can come of it. And not just the works of art themselves, but the art of furniture, of curating, of placement, and above all, the art of living.

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By the window, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec’s anodised aluminium Chains emphasises the room’s height next to a castaluminium console that mimics the colour. On the focal wall, Rogan Gregory’s unique terrazzo sculpture forms a corolla around George Condo’s Female Composition.

The chairs are Platner Dining Chairs (available in NZ from Studio Italia).

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Lucio Fontana’s Concetto Spaziale pops against walls panelled in flat-cut, custom-bleached ash, finished with just a hint of charcoal. Eric Schmitt’s Dragee Console of patinated bronze and marble makes a strong, functional statement below. Shelves for the clients’ collection of art books and exhibition catalogues float off the library wall of fabricwrapped panels set in a stepped formation.

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A backdrop for Dimorestudio’s sconces, the custom headboard reinterprets the curve of the soffit in yet another way. Overhead, Ingo Maurer’s Lil Luxury ceiling light introduces a touch of gold, repeated

by Franck Evennou’s set of three nesting tables.

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Urbis speaks to Grade New York’s founders, Edward Yedid (pictured left) and Thomas Hickey, about the ideas behind this project.

What were the clients’ main requests?

Edward Yedid (EY): We learned how important art and design are to them, and their preferences in terms of palette. They wanted their home to feel calm. When we met, the husband was dressed from head to toe in softly toned cashmere. That’s what the apartment needed to feel like. It’s located on the Hudson River so we sought to capitalise on the water views as well. We selected the furniture and works of art, but took our curation role further by treating the architecture and interior as works of art, too. The dining room highlights our concept. We designed the table to celebrate the views of the water outside. Above, a suede-wrapped ceiling canopy – which helps to make the space more intimate – is shaped like a puddle. The textured surface behind the canopy gives the impression of water. The carpet below makes it feel as though the ceiling has almost flowed onto the floor.

How did you find yourselves fulfilling the roles of designers/art curators?

EY: I’ve collected art for 20 years.

Through that process, I’ve gained a great amount of knowledge and built relationships with galleries along the way. Whenever possible, we want to be the art advisors for our design projects. You’re already working with the client so closely on every aspect of their project, so being part of the art process at an early stage can have a strong impact. We always say we want architecture and interiors to have equal representation, to inform each other, and art is also a big player. Art adds a level of interest and character to any project: attributes you can’t get with furniture and accessories alone.

In the case of 551 West 21st Street, we knew the clients cared about art but we didn’t know we’d be advising on it from the get-go. It was an organic process instead. The first piece we advised on 12 6 | URBIS 114

was the green painting in the living room

by Ellen Gallagher. I flicked [the client] an image of it via text and he loved it.

Then the journey really began. Together, we collected about 10 different works across various scales, styles and prices.

A residential context is obviously very different from a white-walled gallery – how does that affect the curation?

EY: Instead of relying on white walls, we came up with the idea of using panels of ash wood. They’re bleached and stained white but the texture comes through. They don’t fight with whatever you put in front of them and are more interesting than plain white walls are.

It was the first time we’d worked with this material and now we’re doing something similar for a new project.

In that case, though, the space won’t benefit from wood panelling so we’re working with a plaster artist to mimic the idea.

How do you feel about purely decorative objects versus functional art and sculptures – say, a sculpture that doubles as a seat?

Thomas Hickey (TH): The key term in all our work is ‘balance’, whether that’s balancing architecture with interiors or interiors with art. We wouldn’t want to create an environment with only functional objects nor with only objective art – a gallery you can’t engage with. That’s why it’s such an advantage to be a one-stop shop, taking care of every element to make sure everything has equal weight.

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