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New Zealand Special Facebook David Trubridge Ecoville Apparatu R Residence issue 56. 2014 AUstralia $16.50 New Zealand $17.50 SinGapore $12.95 USA $21.99
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letter from the editor issue 56, 2014
“ [...] often the best art and design comes from the regions, not from the metropolises of the world.” Paul mcgillick
In this era of globalised everything, it is tempting to think of design as having no regional characteristics, simply existing in some cybersphere of universal values. But this is to confuse design with fashion and fashion, while it may be seen as universal, invariably has its origins in the metropolises of the world. If you live in the metropolis, you can afford to be blasé about fashion. But in the regions, keeping up with the latest fashions from elsewhere can be quite an imperative. Australia is an excellent example. Here being seen to be up-to-date has always been an obsession. And, long before rapid transport and communications – that is, from the late 19th Century on – Australia managed to be remarkably up-to-date. Interestingly enough, this up-to-dateness (in art, design) came courtesy of the big department stores and Home magazine. In other words, it came packaged as fashion. But the fact is that often the best art and design comes from the regions, not from the metropolises of the world. Indeed, there is a PhD to be written on the benefits of staying clear of the noise of fashion and working in relative isolation. You see things more clearly. All this is apropos our tweaking of this issue of Indesign towards New Zealand. The Land of the Big White Cloud is as far away from the world metropolises as you can get, and yet it is a cauldron of creativity – creativity with the edge of difference, authenticity and energy. David Trubridge is a Brit by origin, but has lived in New Zealand since 1985. Not only is the quality of his work testimony to the benefits of ‘isolation’, its success internationally suggests that distance is no barrier. David is, I am embarrassed to say, our first New Zealand Luminary. But what a start! And enjoy the other New Zealand stories which give just a tiny glimpse of the fine architecture and design being produced there.
PAUL McGILLICK – editor abovE Editor, Paul McGillick with Assistant Editor, Alicia Sciberras
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MAR–MAY, 2014
Issue 56 regulars
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027 EVOLVE Bite-sized portions from the latest people, places, products, events
NEW ZEALAND special
065 All in the family Brothers, JJ and Angus Blaiklock reveal the challenges of refreshing architectural finishes company, Baresque
092 As part of our New Zealand Special, this issue David Trubridge features as the Indesign Luminary 100 AUT University, Auckland, by Jasmax
073 Fuse André Tammes throws some light on the city at night
112 XERO, Wellington, by Studio Pacific Architecture
080 tongue n groove x Indesign Exploring the classy ways in which Tongue n Groove keep your feet on the ground
COMMERCIAL
173 PULSE Blurring the lines between craft, art and design Xavier Manosa shares the Apparatu story
CIVIC
Australian-born, Melbourne-based lighting designer Ben Luder sheds some light on the ever-changing world of luminaires 183 ZONE The annual design retreat at Boisbuchet in France attracts the best mentors for some of the best aspiring designers Jane Caye’s creative blend of traditional and online retail has made Birdsnest at Cooma in the Snowy Mountains a phenomenal success 193 SUSTAIN Australian expat, Riccardo Tossani, and his partner, Atsuko Itoda, have designed a sustainable house in Tokyo which also blends privacy and transparency Melbourne-based design tornado, Leyla Acaroglu, takes a holistic look at sustainable design 200 PS Tito Perez Mora looks to the past to inform the future
Cover Atrium Champagne Bar, London, by Foster + Partners (pp.149-151) Photo: Nigel Young indesignlive.com
122 The Imperial, Auckland, Fearon Hay
132 Facebook, Sydney, Siren Design
139 Ecoville, Tarniet, Hachem Architecture Hospitality 144 Riley Street Garage, Sydney, RAD Studio 149 Atrium Champagne Bar, London, Foster + Partners RESIDENTIAL 155 Concrete House, Melbourne, FGR Architects 164 Stonnington House, Melbourne, Inarc Architects
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FabPod Nick Williams and John Cherrey, Imagination Partners
Photo: Nicole England
The FabPod was designed by a team of researchers from The Spatial Information Architecture Laboratory (SIAL) and School of Architecture and Design, with support from the Design Research Institute (DRI) at RMIT University and the Australian Research Council (ARC). Thermoformed EchoPanel 442 See how we can help spark your imagination at
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evolveindesign
hello DOlly Harkening back to the nostalgic years of childhood, 20 well-known architects and designers presented their version of ‘A Doll’s House’ in an exhibition and auction at Bonhams, London, to raise money for British charity: KIDS, who work with disabled children and young people, and their families. The submissions respond to the needs of disabled children and ‘Inside Out’ by Coffey Architects encourages outdoor playing at home, taking into account the safety and supervision issues of taking disabled children to local parks. A concrete structure with bonsai tree and herb/moss garden lives outside while individual Oak rooms can be played with inside on rainy days. [Text: Sophia Watson]
A Doll’s House adollshouse.co.uk
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TABLE MANNERS Dutch graphic design studio Raw Colour recently collaborated with Dutch furniture label Arco for the re-issuing of their famous ‘Balance’ table. The ‘Balance’ table, originally designed by Arnold Merckx, is an Arco classic that celebrates its 25th birthday this year. And testament to its timeless design, ‘Balance’ remains just as popular today as the day it was first released. Based on its new colour scheme, Raw Colour staged a unique photo and video shoot in the Arco factory in Winterswijk. The shoot focused on the table’s graphic elements and its four new colours: natural, grey, deep green and rosa. And the model featured in the campaign? That’s Edwin, an Arco employee from the product development department. [Text: PD] Raw Colour rawcolor.nl Arco (31) 543 546 570 arco.nl
bamboo bonanza The aim of the ‘Bamboo Windsor’ series is to re-examine the reputation and aesthetics of bamboo furniture, and to use the inherent material qualities of natural bamboo to create serial products that are all individual. Conceived in collaboration with Olav Bruin (of 24H Architecture), Bo Reudler previewed his latest offerings during Dutch Design Week, including the ‘Bamboo Windsor’ coffee table and settee, and new colors of the ‘Bamboo Windsor’ chair, alongside a haute bamboo lamp. [Text: PD]
Bo Reudler (31) 645 526 474 boreudler.com
STOP DOCK AND ROLL
united design With a united front, designers Hella Jongerius and architect Rem Koolhaas have renovated the North Delegates’ Lounge at the United Nations building in New York. Working together with a team of Dutch creatives, this refreshing revamp is a direct outcome of intelligent design thinking and collaboration, allowing this informal meeting space to transform into a unique showpiece of Dutch Design. [Text: Nikita Sheth]
A ‘Dock’ is a man-made structure used for marine purposes, where boats can offload cargo and seek refuge from the big, bad ocean. And the same could be said for the new modular furniture system ‘Dock’ from German company, Ophelis. Built to sit in amongst the sea of office desking systems, the functional purpose of the ‘Dock’ encourages workers to pause, meet and collaborate in a variety of ways that respond to the digital age. Designed by Berlin-based Till Grosch and Bjorn Meier of Grosch Meier, the brightly hued office island collection includes chairs, tables, shelves and cabinets, which can be mixed and matched to make a variety of compositions. Made from aluminum, Oak veneer and high pressure laminate the ‘Dock’ is upholstered in durable textiles in pastel palettes, offering limitless combinations – the timber can also be customised in either Birch, white or black. [Text: Alicia Sciberras]
Ophelis (49) 7253 830 ophelis.de Grosch Meier (49) 3020 005 588 groschmeier.com
Hella Jongerius (49) 3044 013 183 jongeriuslab.com indesignlive.com
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Finished Business hink of the imaginary landscape of Alice in Wonderland and you might conjure up images of gardeners painting white roses red, or a curious croquet-ground with balls of live hedgehogs and mallets of live flamingoes. Or there is the hall of locked doors, where “a little three-legged table, all made of solid glass” is home to the key that unlocks a tiny door hidden behind a curtain. It’s a visual feast with myriad colours, patterns, textures and surfaces to delight in. Walking through the three showrooms and factories that comprise Baresque headquarters in Sydney’s Artarmon, it’s hard not to get a sense of being inside Alice’s Wonderland. Leave the main showroom, cross the road, enter an unmarked door, go up two flights and stairs, and wow, we’re in the Architectural Finishes manufacturing space, with pallets of resins and acrylic films on the floor, next to the “spray room” where all the colours of the rainbow can be applied to products. Moving on, taking what Angus Blaiklock calls “the 25-cent tour”, go out to another street, enter the building next door, and presto, it’s the Jarvis Tubular Products factory, which Baresque acquired in 2011. From its humble beginnings in 1975 when John Blaiklock, his son Richard Blaiklock and daughter Gay Bell acquired a bankrupt wallpaper import and distribution business, Baresque has grown to
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ABOVE Inside the Baresque Factory workshop, Artarmon opposite (top)
‘Mondo’ white ice and smoky topaz ceiling installed at the Rendezvous Hotel, Melbourne OPPOSITE (BELOW) The original factory in Broadway where Baresque began
become Australia’s only importer, local manufacturer and supplier of fabrics, wall coverings, wall papers, architectural finishes, and more recently chairs, tables and upholstery. With showrooms in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne and sales offices in Adelaide and Perth, it truly is a one-stop destination for interior designers looking for everything from resins to stone veneers, innovative paint and film applications – think IdeaPaint, which turns any wall into a whiteboard – or custom-cut panels and moulded steel products. Initially operating from a former warehouse in Sydney’s Broadway, the company moved to its present headquarters in Artarmon in 2002, by which time both John and Gay had retired. Richard’s son Angus – who had just completed his architecture degree – assisted with the move and then officially joined the company to establish the Baresque Architectural Finishes division. His older brother JJ – who had completed a commerce degree while working in retail at David Jones, and was at that time a national buyer of menswear for the department store – joined Baresque in 2004 as “the third vote”, and was initially tasked with revitalising the Wallcovering and Fabrics division. As children, both brothers remember Baresque as a strong presence in their lives – business was discussed over dinner and at family gatherings, and
ALL IN THE FAMILYindesign
words RACHAEL BERNSTONE portrait PAUL LOVELACE Angus recalls that presents were always gift-wrapped in discontinued vinyl coverings, never wrapping paper – but the brothers had different ideas about whether they would join the family firm. Angus says: “I can’t recall ever dreaming of being in the business”, but concedes he didn’t see himself as a practicing architect either, while JJ says: “I have memories of being in the warehouse as a child, and I always knew I’d get into the business at some stage, but it was always our call”. As if to demonstrate their freedom of choice in the matter, they explain that they have another brother and younger sister, neither of whom work in the family business. Following the deaths of Gay in 2004 and John in 2005, Richard became chairman of the company in 2006, and JJ and Angus took the reins as Managing Director and Executive Director respectively. “Dad is extremely giving and trusting of what we do, and it’s still Dad’s company, although we run on the principle of one person, one vote,” Angus explains. “Yes, Dad will argue his point, but if we choose a different path to the one he suggests, he will throw his weight behind our cause,” JJ adds. Richard meets with Angus and JJ every Monday morning to discuss strategy and direction, and the brothers still seek his counsel frequently. “Because of his significant business acumen – he’s done a lot of property development work after stepping back from Baresque, so he’s added a lot of value in relation to property management –he has forced us to be so much more diligent about business processes,” Angus says. It was under the brothers’ stewardship that Baresque underwent a process to unify its separate divisions – previously Wallcoverings and Fabrics was represented by four sales people, and Architectural Finishes by another four – and to acquire Jarvis Tubular Products, so that now the company’s ten sales representatives sell the entire range of thousands of products, which are available in multiple configurations and permutations. As MD, JJ takes care of customer service, marketing and finance. “One of the biggest changes that took place during the amalgamation phase was streamlining the website and back-end processes,” he says. “When we started, for example, the Architectural Finishes website was a portal to our suppliers, which was OK when we had only three or four sales reps, because Angus was on hand to answer questions. But when you ramp that up to 10 reps, you need better systems in place. My job is being done well if I am not being asked any questions by our customer service staff, or if I can direct them to the answers at their fingertips.” “It’s imperative in a range as big as ours that we have that level of detail available to both our customers and our sales team,” Angus adds. As ED, he is responsible for sales, production and product development, and works closely with clients, having built strong relationships with many interior designers over the years. One of the major challenges the company has faced in recent years is the economised aesthetic that has emerged from the tighter budgets and frugal necessity of the global financial crisis.
“ I have memories of being in the warehouse... and I always knew I’d get into the business” JJ Blaiklock
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words Jan Howlin portrait Anthony Browell
David Trubridge Mercurial seems too mild a word to describe David Trubridge who has changed the face of design in New Zealand hroughout an innovative, productive, and continually evolving professional life, internationally celebrated New Zealand designer, David Trubridge, is and has been many things – sculptor, builder, craftsman, artist, furniture and lighting designer, sailor, environmentalist, manufacturer, CAD-wrangler, businessman, promoter, speaker and philosopher. At the same time he has pursued strongly felt ethical concerns and followed the dictates of his heart through this rich succession of experiences and achievements. It’s easy to imagine a man with an uncommon drive, talent, spirit and awareness, all impressively integrated into a creative whole…and we find the impression is not far from the truth. We meet up with Trubridge during Sydney Indesign 2013, where, fortuitously for me, he has come for the Australian launch of his book, David Trubridge So Far, which charts the progression of his development from craftsman to designer. It describes how his ‘Body Raft’ was taken up for manufacture by Cappellini at the 2001 Milan Furniture Fair, an event that became a springboard for the David Trubridge design brand and the iconic collection of eco-conscious furniture, lighting and other products that are now exported all over the world. It also details his ideas on art, design, craft, responsibility and sustainability, and the experiences that influenced them. With a quiet manner and a focused energy, he speaks at a pace that indicates there is no time to waste, about the passage of his life and its various phases. By nature he is one for moving on to learn new things, rather than resting in one place. That nature also has a keen analytical bent, a penchant for questioning,
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which means he is always thinking, not only reflecting on his own experiences, but also analysing the big picture problems of the planet, politics and human nature, and the processes of design and creativity. He recalls that even when he was making “fairly humble workday furniture” he was always “thinking about the philosophy beyond it, about the role of craft, always taking it further.” It is this analytical side that led him, when he was preparing the material for his book, to discover a neat structural idea that provided him with a new way of understanding his life. He found the different phases of his life corresponded with the natural elements – earth, air, fire and water – and these then became the chapters in his book. Given that nature has always been his inspiration and muse, he felt the devicecould not be more fitting. Earth Born in the UK and spending his teenage years on the Isle of Wight, Trubridge grew up with a passion for boats, which led him to a degree in Naval Architecture from Newcastle University. By the time he graduated in 1972, however, he had other ideas. “I was captivated by the amazing stone sculptures [being made in situ in quarries] around Europe at that time, and I had this dream that I wanted to be a sculptor, to carve wood and stone,” he says. Along with others of his generation who were armed with the Whole Earth Catalogue and John Seymour’s book, Self-sufficiency, he was looking for an alternative, creative and sustainable lifestyle. Together with his fine arts graduate wife, Linda, he bought a stone cottage in ruins in a high and remote part of Northumberland where he set up a workshop
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FLUID LEARNING A landmark building by Jasmax marks a paradigm shift in student-centric space
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words Andrea Stevens photography Simon Devitt architect Jasmax location AUCKLAND | NZ PROJECT Sir Paul Reeves Building, AUT University
he Sir Paul Reeves Building is a significant new addition to AUT University’s Auckland city campus and a milestone in their master plan development. Where there was once a series of low-rise workshops, there now stands a 20,000-square metre academic tower and podium for the School of Communications and AUT’s undergraduate student population. The atrium is both a home for students and a nexus for the campus, gathering and connecting four key circulation levels to form new pathways across the site and with the city. For all its complex site geometries and its tripartite programme, the architects have maintained a real clarity in the design, uniting the lower edge of the campus and creating a welcoming gateway to the precinct. Since gaining university status in 2000, AUT has had a steady programme of building construction and upgrading of existing buildings across their city and three satellite campuses. Master planning guides this development and maps out the urban spaces that bind the buildings together. The site of the Sir Paul Reeves Building on Mayoral Drive – which is surrounded by three other schools, the library and administration block – was originally envisaged for two buildings, with a through-site link into a pedestrianised Governor Fitzroy Place. But during concept design the open link was re-cast as a covered atrium. “The academic year spans autumn to spring with a little bit of summer at either end, and in wet or cold weather the students just didn’t have enough undercover spaces to go to,” says AUT Vice Chancellor, Derek McCormack. “And we know that the more time students spend on campus the better they achieve. As this site was close to the library, the city and the schools with the highest student populations, it was perfectly placed for a student-centric hub.”
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GARAGE CHIC The fashion for adapting old industrial buildings as sophisticated hospitality venues takes a new turn with this conversion of a garage
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words Owen Lynch photography Tyrone Branigan architect RAD Studio location SYDNEY | AUS PROJECT Riley Street Garage
n a city where the bike paths are plenteous and the bus lane is king, Sydney (pleasingly to most), is a city where the humble car continues to finds itself relegated to the ‘naughty corner’. Charmingly though, vehicularlove lives on nostalgically thanks to a slew of new independently established cafes, diners and bars stretching from Glebe to Surry Hills, the Upper North Shore to Circular Quay that are taking the trend for adaptive re-use, up a notch - each taking thematic cues from its adopted setting: disused garages, service centres or mothballed mechanic shops. Given the city’s transition toward becoming more pedestrian-friendly our playspaces have become, rather paradoxically, a celebration of industrial chic: ‘Grunge please, but hold the grime’. Recently opened in Woolloomooloo on the CBD’s eastern-fringe, is Riley Street Garage or 55 Riley as it is also called. A rough diamond that has taken up residence in a by-product of the 1930s and Sydney’s burgeoning motor-age: a heritage garage. The site’s symmetrical Colortex brick façade features a central entry-stair flanked by the facility’s original roller doors. With stepped, recessing brickwork overhead mimicking the stair as you ascend, there is an acute sense of arrival – a feeling of being funneled inward. Stepping over the threshold you enter into a vast, trendily appointed, open-plan interior – an Australian take on the swank New York bistro. If the description reads jarringly, the experience is anything but. Steered deftly by designer Richard Alexander of RAD Studio, the Riley Street conversion has taken the long road to delivery given the complexity of the site’s heritage and conservation requirements. A rare surviving example of inter-war Art Deco industrial, the investment in conserving and reviving a building of this nature is one well made. Nearly two years in approvals, design and documentation have given way to what is possibly a best-practice exemplar, a benchmark for sympathetically delivering as much of the old, hand-in-hand with the very new.
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profiling the life and work of creators around the globe
PORTRAIT: ROBBIE WHITEHEAD
Catalan workshop, APPARATU is pushing the boundaries of what we traditionally think of ceramics
173 APPARATU 179 BEN L端DER
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PREVIOUS A workshop
taking place in the grounds outside Domaine de Boisbuchet, a country estate from the 15th century in south-west France CLOCKWISE FROM top
On the last day, each group presents their finished projects to the other Boisbuchet participants; A participant in Benjamin Hubert’s workshop presents a lampshade made from a combination of latex and natural fibres; A student working; A student’s sketches; Students inside a pavilion by Jörg Schlaich; Communal meals outside the farmhouse
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WORDS Mandi Keighran PHOTOGRAPHY boisbuchet
An annual design retreat in Boisbuchet, France, highlights the intangible benefits of bringing designers together
oisbuchet is an unusual place. Located in the south-west of France, the large rural estate is home during the summer months to dozens of design students and professionals partaking in weeklong summer workshops with some of the most interesting designers currently practising, both emerging and established. Far away from the luxuries of the studio and distractions of the city, Boisbuchet’s remote location and rustically romantic buildings seem to inspire a kind of raw engagement with the basic principles of design. Since its establishment in 1989, literally hundreds of workshops have been held as part of the Boisbuchet programme. This year, for example, over 30 workshops were run by creative personalities including Patricia Urquiola, Oliviero Toscani, Benjamin Hubert, Marten Baas, Ron Gilad, Shin Azumi, Snarkitecture – the list goes on – each of whom develop their own programme for the week. Given the unusual approach of Boisbuchet, it is unsurprising to find that its founder, Alexander von Vegesack, has led a varied and rather nomadic life, constantly informed by design. Born into a noble family in 1945, he began collecting objects at the age of 14, scouring flea markets for interesting
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LOCATION Boisbuchet | France
pieces that embodied what he calls “the culture of objects”. He has organised exhibitions for the Centre Pompidou and the American Federation of Art, collected bentwood furniture and taught at the Thonet Museum, worked with Ray Eames and film director Billy Wilder, and is the founder of the Vitra Museum with owner of Vitra, Rolf Fehlbaum. “With all my experience surrounding design and architecture,” he says, “I had the idea that I would like to create an atmosphere where designers could easily approach projects, where they could develop fantasy without being forced by a classroom or teachers, and be supported by experts but still develop their own ideas.” This grand idea was realised in Boisbuchet, a non-profit organisation with associations with Vitra, the Centre Pompidou and a number of universities and design brands. Workshops vary in scale from photographic projects and material studies to full-scale architectural experiments on the grounds – which now form a kind of architectural park – by the likes of Shigeru Ban and Simón Vélez. For those enrolled in the workshops, Boisbuchet undoubtedly offers a unique opportunity to work with renowned professionals. Despite this, however, it is interesting to ask what the actual educational worth of such a programme is. Obviously, each workshop is largely as valuable as the teaching designer makes it. This is a difficult variable to control and, unsurprisingly, feedback varies drastically between workshops depending on the engagement and teaching style of the individual tutor. After 25 years, however, von Vegesack is convinced that the main reason people return to Boisbuchet is for the chance to engage with likeminded people from around the world and to build valuable networks – perhaps an experience almost as
valuable in the highly connected world of design as one rooted in practical teachings. As for the designers running the workshops, von Vegesack admits that they are certainly not attracted by any kind of financial return (designers are paid a nominal fee of €1000 to cover travel costs, and invited to bring a partner or their family). Rather, he says it is the opportunity to explore new ideas within the workshop. The association with Vitra is also a powerful drawcard for designers, although this did prove slightly problematic in the past when the workshops were initially run in a tent outside the Vitra Museum in Germany (due to the estate at Boisbuchet being occupied by squatters). “Most of the designers or teachers were very keen to meet with the owner of Vitra in order to work for them,” says von Vegesack. “This was not a good basic condition to take care of the students, as their attention should have been focussed on the workshops.” In addition, the sense of camaraderie and the potent isolation that seemingly breeds creativity at Boisbuchet was lost as students stayed in various accommodations around the city. So, in 1995, following the eviction of the squatters and necessary repairs to the buildings – which were themselves run as a kind of workshop with students from several Eastern European universities – the first Boisbuchet workshops were held on site at Boisbuchet. In Australia, the Architecture Foundation Australia is another non-profit organisation that aims to provide a different kind of education experience. Each year practicing architects and senior students from around the world take part in a twoweek master class run by Pritzker Prize winner, Glenn Murcutt in association with Brit Andresen, indesignlive.com