Crown Lounge - Issue 2 by Traveloscopy Editor

Winter 2015

Issue 2 Australia $12.95 Indonesia 130,000 IDR USA $9.95 Singapore $13.99

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F O O D

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A R T.

P R E S E R V E

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COLISEUM COLLECTION A LUXURY ITALIAN EXPERIENCE

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SYDNEY SHOWROOM 69 O’Riordan Street, Alexandria NSW 2015 Tel: 02 9693 5780 Fax: 02 9693 5982

A welcome from the CEOs

WELCOME

Is there anything more magnificent than shaping our cities for the future? As a developer, we choose to play a leading role in setting the course of our cities, not only with the residences we deliver, but also with a desire to add to the rich urban fabric that makes up a city. When we think about the pace of change throughout the past century, it’s not surprising that by 2050, 70 per cent of the world’s population is projected to live in cities. Cities will define our future. They are the engines of economic growth, job creation and innovation. As an Australian-founded developer, we are absolutely thrilled to contribute to the $8-billion redevelopment of the greater Green Square precinct. Set to be the gateway to the precinct, Infinity by Crown Group will challenge conventional ideas of light and space with its innovative looped-shape design. Green Square will soon emerge as an extension of Sydney’s CBD, attracting more than 40,000 new residents and 22,000 new workers.

You can hear about the vision behind Infinity by Crown Group from lead architect Koichi Takada on page 74. The winter edition of Crown Group Lounge is jam-packed with a kaleidoscope of stories. From insightful features on power women such as actor Cate Blanchett and Boost Juice founder Janine Allis, to a snapshot of Giorgio Armani’s Pre-Fall 2015 Collection, to profiles on luxury brands Cartier and Porsche, in this edition we celebrate talent across the globe. Be whisked away by exotic travel destinations such as Aspen or blissfully embrace Australia’s love affair with premium champagne and fine red wines. This issue is certainly a crowd-pleaser. We would also like to take this opportunity to shine a spotlight on our growing Platinum Club community, whose members’ unwavering support has made this magazine possible. We are truly grateful.

Iwan Sunito and Paul Sathio CEOs, Crown Group

Welcome

Disclaimer: Crown Group Lounge is published by Business Essentials Pty Ltd trading as Edge on behalf of Crown Group Holdings Pty Ltd (ABN 47 125 413 443), Level 29/1 Market Street, Sydney NSW 2000, tel (02) 9925 0088, fax (02) 9925 0598. Copyright © 2015. All rights reserved. Printed by SOS Print + Media. Reproduction in whole or in part without prior written permission is strictly prohibited. Opinions expressed are those of the individual contributors, and are not necessarily those of the Publisher or Crown Group Holdings Pty Ltd. Information provided was believed to be correct at the time of publication. All reasonable efforts have been made to contact and acknowledge copyright holders. Privacy Policy: This issue of Crown Group Lounge is published by Edge on behalf of Crown Group Holdings Pty Ltd. Edge may use and disclose your information in accordance with our Privacy Policy, including to provide you with your requested products or services and to keep you informed of other Crown Group publications, products, services or events. Our Privacy Policy is located at crowngroup.com.au/privacy-policy. It also sets out how you can access or correct your personal information and lodge a complaint. Crown Group may disclose your personal information offshore to its owners, joint venture partners, service providers and agents located throughout the world, including in Indonesia, China, Malaysia, USA and the European Union. If you require further information, please contact Crown Group’s Privacy Officer either by email at privacy@crowngroup.com.au or mail at Crown Group, Level 29/1 Market Street, Sydney NSW 2000.

IN THIS ISSUE

Clockwise from left: 2015 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia hits Sydney, Waterloo’s Viking by Crown is now complete, the stunning Rachael Cassar recycled gown featured in Crown Ashfield’s video and the Crown Group team celebrates the launch of Crown Group Lounge with Bonnie Boezeman.

LEADERSHIP & INVESTMENT Uptown Cate 12 Internationally acclaimed movie star Cate Blanchett talks home life and her role as Armani ambassador Queen Janine 16 Boost Juice CEO Janine Allis shares the secrets to her retail success State Of The Art 18 Discover how you can afford to invest in art today with an interest-free loan The King Of Jewellers 20 A look at premier jewellery house Cartier’s fascinating 168-year history T R AV E L & I N D U L G E Archipelago A Gogo 24 A luxury cruise through Papua New Guinea, discovered in style Sleeper Agents 28 Introducing the Porsche 911 Turbo and Turbo S Awakened Aspen 32 Shedding light on stunning ski destination Aspen, Colorado

A Phenomenon To Watch 52 J Farren-Price Director Julian Farren-Price discusses what makes a rare and collectable timepiece Let There Be Light 56 All the highlights of the world’s largest festival of light, music and ideas, Vivid Sydney Sustainably Stylish 58 Couture designer Rachael Cassar on her award-winning eco fashion WINE & DINE Champagne’s Finest 62 Australia’s love affair with premium bubbles Battle Of The Wine Titans 66 Two of the best red wine makers in the country are examined to see who comes out on top ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN A Grand Design 70 Architect Harry Seidler’s breathtaking legacy lives on Sculpting Skylines 74 A frequent architect for Crown Group, Koichi Takada muses on his stellar career to date

A R T S & FA S H I O N Dazzling Down Under 34 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia celebrated its 20th anniversary in style Pre-Fall 2015 38 The Giorgio Armani Pre-Fall 2015 Collection expresses a search for elegant dynamism

Collective Commons 80 Our pick of seven of the best public piazzas around the globe See Saw Sydney 86 Sydney Architecture Walks and its tour of Sydney’s architectural marvels THE CROWN GROUP COLLECTION

Frank In The City 48 The aptly named Frank LA is an eclectic combination of art, print media and fundraising

Step Back In Time 92 Construction workers at V by Crown in Parramatta discovered a little more than they bargained for

A Night Of Luxury 90 Find out what Sydneysiders want in a luxury hotel experience

Solace Investment 96 Q&A with Skye by Crown Group future resident Simon Mills on why he chose to invest in North Sydney Crown Group Community 98 What’s happening on the social calendar Moments To Remember 102 A behind-the-scenes look at Crown Group’s dedicated development team Crown Group Collection 104 A map of Crown Group developments Skye’s The Limit 106 Floating high above the North Sydney skyline, this is Skye by Crown Group’s final stunning penthouse Last Word 110 Take time out to discover something new

In This Issue

Melbourne-born actress Cate Blanchett is today an internationally acclaimed star, lauded for her portrayal of a diverse set of characters. She has twice played British Queen Elizabeth I in feature films and is well known for her appearances as Galadriel in the epic Lord of the Rings trilogy, among numerous other Hollywood and arthouse film credits. She even has two Oscars under her belt, the first for Best Supporting Actress in The Aviator (2004) followed by Best Actress for her leading role in Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine (2013). Her piercing blue eyes reveal a laser focus on the world around her; she radiates intelligent command. But she is also genuinely grounded when it comes to her career success, claiming: “The Oscar is a bonus you get at the end of your journey, because you’re really interested in the work itself … it’s the journey that’s going to give you real satisfaction.” Cate’s journey has been as varied as it has been busy. Since graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney in 1992, she’s maintained an impressive film and stage career, even receiving three honorary degrees from major Australian institutions. Alongside her writer/director husband of 18 years, Andrew Upton, Cate held a co-artistic directorship at the Sydney Theatre Company

(STC) from 2008 to 2012, overseeing a green overhaul of the theatre itself and nurturing a new generation of up-and-coming actors. Cate reportedly stated that she intended to take a break from her career this year; we are hardly surprised to hear that it hasn’t quite turned out that way. The star and her husband (who continued a solo tenure as Artistic Director at the STC, due to end later this year) recently announced they would be moving to New York with their three boys—Dashiell, 13, Roman, 10, and Ignatius, 6—and adopted baby daughter, Edith. The reason for the move? Andrew wants to pursue more freelance writing opportunities and Cate has an overwhelming desire to work. “I love being at home and looking after my kids … its very grounding. But it’s hard for me to turn down great parts because [I] hate waiting for the phone to ring and not knowing when the next project [will come] along. I’ll jump at any good role. It’s hard for me to say no. “I’m happiest with my husband and kids and even if I never worked again I would still enjoy my life so much. But since I have a hard time staying still for very long, fortunately I don’t have to make that choice!”

A G L I T T E R I N G S TA R O F T H E S TA G E A N D S C R E E N , C AT E B L A N C H E T T TA L K S A B O U T W O R K , F A M I LY, BEING AN ARMANI AMBASSADOR AND HER M OV E T O A M E R I C A .

Winter 2015| Crown Group

Leadership & Investment

“ I DON’T BELIEVE IN THE NOTION THAT A WOMAN, MUCH LESS A MAN, CAN HAVE IT ALL.”

One of her latest projects is being the ongoing face of Giorgio Armani perfumes, in a contract reportedly worth a lucrative US$10 million. The latest fragrance is Sì, a modern chypre scent that Armani himself calls “a tribute to modern femininity, an irresistible combination of grace, strength and independent spirit”. It’s a fragrance Cate finds easy to front. “I often wonder if Mr Armani asked me to be the face of this wonderful perfume because my life is so full and so complete. It couldn’t be fuller, actually, as a mother, as a wife, as someone who’s very passionate about her career as well as her children [and] her friendships.” Does she ever feel pressure to be the perfect mum? “No, because there’s no such thing. I don’t believe in the notion that a woman, much less a man, can have it all. Life always involves myriad compromises and you try to provide the best possible life for your children while pursuing your goals in life. I was more worried after I went back to work after my first child, but then I saw that it wasn’t so hard to organise things after all. You discover that you enjoy being busy and figuring out ways to balance everything.” The celebrity ambassador brings it back to her fragrance: Work, family—it’s really just a matter of saying sì (Italian for ‘yes’) to life. “For me, the fragrance is very much about saying yes to life. It’s incredibly positive about all the aspects of being a woman. “You try to do your best for your kids and make their lives as secure and beautiful as you can. I’m very grateful to have a husband who is so generous and willing to help me with the children when I’m working. It’s much easier to manage a career when you know your partner is always there to support you and help you with the logistics.”

Sydney

Newcastle

Canberra

Melbourne

Perth

Adelaide

Words: Interview Hub/Alarna Haigh

Winter 2015| Crown Group

15 32

www.camerich.com.au Cate Blanchett

“People are just people. This is something I’ve taken with me and never forgotten.”

QUEEN JANINE OV E R 1 5 Y E A R S J A N I N E A L L I S H A S G O N E F R O M J U I C I N G O R A N G E S A N D C A R R OT S AT H E R H U M B L E K I TC H E N B E N C H T O B E I N G C E O O F R E TA I L S U C C E S S S T O R Y B O O S T J U I C E . J U G G E R N A U T J A N I N E S P E A K S W I T H R I L E Y PA L M E R A B O U T H E R J O U R N E Y, W H I C H H A S B E E N A N Y T H I N G B U T C O N V E N T I O N A L .

Spring 2015| Crown Group

How has your life experience helped to shape your career? Your life is a collection of every experience you’ve ever had. For instance, I spent several years working as a stewardess on David Bowie’s boat and that was a real eye-opener for me. As a girl from the ’burbs, I was completely starstruck by celebrities ... and then I met them. I realised that they’re not superhuman, but simply human. People are just people. This is something I’ve taken with me and never forgotten. As someone who dropped out of high school at age 16, what are your thoughts on formal education? Everyone has their own path. I am a fan of formal education simply for the fact that it gives you options. My education in business was on the job through Boost, and there were many times that I didn’t understand things, such as business terminology. There was nothing I couldn’t work out, but life would have been easier if I’d had that knowledge behind me that you get from a formal education. In Australia we still don’t have equality among men and women in the workplace. How have you navigated this issue? I struggle with this subject. I personally have never felt discriminated against as a woman. There is no question that the percentage of women on boards and in CEO roles in the top 200 businesses is low, but I honestly think that we are in an era that allows anyone to be successful. It’s just up to the individual. Men and women are different and we think differently, but that is where the real power lies. What’s the secret to raising four children while simultaneously developing a multimillion dollar company such as Retail Zoo? My secret weapon is my mum, who continues to help me raise my children so that I can work the hours that I need to. She is an amazing, selfless woman. I am very lucky. My husband and I also have an equal relationship with regards to the kids and the business, which is invaluable. But I think the real key is to set yourself up for success. And by that I mean to have your supports around you. For me it’s my mum and my husband, but also people like Sandra, my cleaner, who comes once a week and is an absolute godsend.

What lessons do you hope your children learn from your business success? That if you want something you have to work hard for it. And success does not simply just come your way—you make it come. How have you managed to stay abreast of changing consumer trends and competition over the past 15 years? You have to continue to have a curious mind and always, always listen to your customers. Don’t be afraid to try something new and change when needed. You have to make some very important decisions in your position. Do you have a mentor or confidant? In the early days I had Geoff Harris (the founder of Flight Centre) on the board and as a shareholder, and he helped me enormously. But my husband, Jeff, is my big sounding board. It has really been a combination of our respect for each other and our very different skill sets that has made a successful business. Retail Zoo expanded rapidly once you bought Salsa’s Fresh Mex in 2007. What’s your vision for the company’s future? To have a successful business you have to continue to grow year-on-year. The vision for the company is to grow here [Australia] and into international markets with top-quality brands that are fresh and healthy. How has the digital age changed your approach to business? The digital age is both exciting and scary; it’s a double-edged sword. You can get your messages out quickly and creatively, but you can also get viciously attacked personally and professionally. Luckily there is more good than bad when it comes to the digital age. From a business standpoint, you need to change and adapt quickly, otherwise you will fail. What achievement are you most proud of? Why? I know it’s a cliché, but my biggest achievement is honestly my family. I’m celebrating my 20th wedding anniversary this year and I still really dig my husband. I’m proud of my four kids, who are a delight (mostly!), and my house is full of laughter and love.

Leadership & Investment

STATE OF THE

ART

Winter 2015| Crown Group

A R T O W N E R S H I P H A S T R A D I T I O N A L LY B E E N R E S E R V E D F O R T H E W E A LT H Y A N D P O W E R F U L . T O D AY, A R T I S MORE CONCERNED WITH FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND C U LT U R E . I T B E G S T H E Q U E S T I O N : W I L L I N T E R E S T- F R E E LOA N S B R E A K T H E B U R E A U C R AT I C H O L D O N T H E A R T WORLD? DOMINIQUE KUHNE EXAMINES HOW WE CAN M A K E A RT AC C E S S I B L E F O R A L L . For many, art is conducive to happiness. Though, more often than not, this idea has been harboured in the shadow of aristocracy, chiefly because they have the means to patronise it. To own an artwork is to own a treasured moment in time, but art can be a tricky value proposition. Born from creativity, art has no intrinsic value and produces no cash flow. Unlike other material investments, such as property, potential buyers cannot be persuaded by the promise of income. The appeal of art is its exclusivity, opulence and ‘art for art’s sake’. But Sydney’s latest art scheme, endorsed by the City of Sydney, is shaking up this elitist monopoly on art by making ownership both affordable and immediate. Named Art Money, the scheme is a lay-by of sorts that offers

prospective art buyers interest-free loans to the value of $20,000, with a down payment of only 10 per cent. Art Money will pay the balance of the sale to the gallery within 10 days, while the buyer has 10 months to repay the loan. Similar schemes have found success in Tasmania, the Netherlands and the UK, where statistics revealed that 25 per cent of the British scheme’s users are first-time buyers of contemporary art. What is attractive about the scheme to this audience is that it removes the burden of a huge up-front payment, allowing art to be appreciated in the same breath as necessities such as furniture and homewares.

So far, more than 30 top galleries, including Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Olsen Irwin and The Hughes Gallery, have signed up to the initiative, which rolled out nationally in 2014. Director of The Hughes Gallery, Evan Hughes, is an avid supporter. “Art Money is a great way to bring people into commercial galleries, whose budget initially precluded their access,” he says. “Often, people without money, then and there, won’t visit galleries, simply to avoid the temptation. Initiatives like Art Money, beyond the obvious financial incentives, encourage people to set foot in our galleries and feel as if they genuinely consider and enjoy what’s in there.” The Hughes Gallery was born in 1969 in Brisbane and moved in the late ’80s to Sydney, where it has remained. Many of Australia’s leading painters and sculptors at one point or another have exhibited at The Hughes Gallery. Evan is adamant that Art Money isn’t only about opening access to marginalised segments of the community, but also broadening art’s penetration. “With rising costs of living and growing financial responsibilities, even traditional buyers of art can struggle to justify the expense,” he says. “Art Money is not just doing the obvious, like allowing young couples or singles to purchase art, but even granting access to

traditional buyers that in the past had the capacity to enjoy it more.” Evan says during his first week of offering Art Money a local Sydney restaurateur purchased a work by highly praised artist Jun Chen, ‘The Guy Selling Chicken’. Vibrant in colour and subject, Chen’s portraits are internationally acclaimed and have featured in the Archibald Prize. “I found it amazing to witness a buyer sharing in a story, one that was relevant to his own,” Evan says. “The tangible engagement from Art Money’s initial offering shows that it can work.” Indeed, the endorsement by the City of Sydney is a meaningful hallmark, signalling intentions for the city to be enriched by its strong cultural and creative identity. To be eligible for an Art Money loan, a buyer needs to be 18 years or over, be an Australian resident and have a clear credit history. Visit www.artmoney.com.au for more information.

Clockwise from left: ‘Untitled’ by Geoffrey Todd Smith, Grace Burzese’s ‘The Things Between’, Jun Chen’s ‘The Guy Selling Chicken’, ‘Weirdo Whip’ by Geoffrey Todd Smith and John Virtue’s ‘No. 3’.

Leadership & Investment

THE KING OF

JEWELLERS C A R T I E R ’ S B O U T I Q U E S TO R E S C A N B E F O U N D I N E V E R Y C A P I TA L C I T Y A R O U N D T H E W O R L D, F R O M N E W YO R K T O N E W D E L H I . E AC H E XQ U I S I T E S TO R E I S A T E S TA M E N T T O T H E C A C H E T O F T H I S I C O N I C B R A N D. R I L E Y PA L M E R G O E S B A C K I N T I M E A N D L E A R N S H O W O N E FA M I LY F O R G E D A N I N T E R N AT I O N A L E M P I R E .

Winter 2015| Crown Group

Echoing the footsteps of their royal clientele, the Cartier family divided and conquered the globe with their collections of pre-eminent jewellery—some functional, some simply dazzling. However, in the early 19th century, Cartier was nothing more than the surname of a diligent apprentice learning his trade in a jewellery workshop in Paris. This young man, LouisFrançois Cartier, eventually proved his worth in the eyes of his master, Adolphe Picard, and was deemed the successor of the ageing craftsman’s business. At that time, the grand narratives of Cartier’s designs—united with history’s illustrious figures and events—had not yet been told. There was a diamond-encrusted future awaiting, one that would involve, among much else, Louis-François’ son and three grandsons, some blue hope and two birds. A F A M I LY A F F A I R Cartier was as much a family business as it is now an international one. It’s true that LouisFrançois’ trademark design, a lozenge with a heart inside, established the name ‘Cartier’ as tantamount to finesse and beauty, but it was his descendants—and their business acumen and unrelenting standards—that built an empire. In 1872, Louis-François’ son, Alfred Cartier, became a partner in the family business and by 1874 he was directing it. All three of Alfred’s sons, Louis, Pierre and Jacques, were employees and they were all in agreement that expansion would be the key to success. Louis, the eldest, ran the famous 13 Rue de la Paix boutique in Paris, while Pierre opened a store in London in 1902. In 1909, Pierre opened

another subsidiary, this time on Fifth Avenue in New York. With branches now in the world’s most fashionable districts, Cartier became official purveyors to kings, dukes, princes and even the tsar of Russia. The brothers travelled abroad for inspiration, bringing back precious rubies, emeralds and sapphires from India, an ancient enamelling technique from Russia and pearls from the Persian Gulf. As well as designing exquisite jewellery, the brothers saw a need for practicality. Many will be surprised to learn that Cartier was responsible for popularising wristwatches and inventing the first timepiece folding clasp— items that are commonplace today. THE JEWELLER OF KINGS AND THE KING OF JEWELLERS Shortly after Cartier London opened in 1902, Edward VII, the Prince of Wales and future King of England, famously described Cartier— in what could be compared to a modern celebrity endorsement—as the “Jeweller of Kings and the King of Jewellers”. Cartier was later commissioned to create an Indian-inspired necklace for Edward’s Queen Alexandra using multiple pieces of royal jewellery. But it wasn’t only the monarchy that took privilege in the elegance of Cartier’s work. In 1911, Pierre Cartier sold the famous Hope Diamond to the American mining heiress Evalyn Walsh McLean. Evalyn wasn’t decorous in the least—it’s rumoured that at her extravagant shindigs she would hide the huge blue jewel somewhere on her estate and invite her guests to search for it.

Clockwise from left: A diamond-encrusted Cartier tiara; Evalyn Walsh McLean, one-time owner of the Hope Diamond; Alfred Cartier and his three sons; the iconic Cartier LOVE bracelet; emblematic Panther Clip Brooch, 1949; army tankinspired Tank wristwatch, 1920.

Leadership & Investment

astron. the world’s first gps solar watch. In 2012 we made history with Astron, the world’s first GPS solar watch. Using just the power of light, Astron adjusts to every time zone on earth at the touch of a button. In 2014 we took Astron even further, introducing a full-function GPS solar chronograph. Now with dual time display, Astron is simply the world’s finest GPS solar watch.

G I V I N G O C C U P AT I O N T H E B I R D In its 168 years Cartier has been influenced by many historical events, perhaps none more significant than the Nazi occupation of Paris during World War II. Not overtly political, yet reluctant to remain passive, in 1942 Cartier’s window displayed a now-famous brooch, the ‘Caged Bird’. A subversive statement, the brooch was fashioned in French colours—white diamonds, red coral and blue lapis lazuli—and showed a bird entrapped in a golden cage. Beautiful though it was, Cartier’s director of fine jewellery at the time, Jeanne Toussaint, was imprisoned for a number of days by the German Army. In 1944 she and fellow designer Pierre Lemarchand fashioned another brooch, the ‘Freed Bird’, which was displayed in the window at Maison Cartier to celebrate the liberation of Paris. This time the cage doors were open.

CARTIER: A TIME LINE

1847 L ouis-François Cartier (1819–1904) takes over the jewellery workshop of his master in Paris. 1874 T he direction of Cartier is entrusted to Louis-François Cartier’s son, Alfred Cartier (1841–1925). 1899 A t the insistence of his eldest son, Louis Cartier (1875– 1942), Alfred opens a Cartier store at the now-iconic 13 Rue de la Paix in Paris. 1902 P ierre Cartier (1878–1964), Alfred’s second son, opens a London branch that is later operated by Jacques Cartier (1884–1942), Alfred’s third son. 1904 C artier becomes an official purveyor to King Edward VII of England and King Alfonso XIII of Spain. 1904 L ouis creates a wristwatch with a leather strap for his friend, Alberto Santos-Dumont—an aviator who was struggling to read his pocket watch while flying. 1909 Pierre opens a Cartier store on Fifth Avenue, New York. 1926 C artier jewellery, in its signature red box, appears on Broadway in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. 1949 The Duke and Duchess of Windsor purchase a platinum panther brooch. 1972 Cartier Paris is taken over by investors. 1973 L es Must de Cartier—a more accessible line of handbags, jewellery and watches—is created to attract a broader clientele. 1979 C artier Paris, London and New York are reunited as a single legal entity. 1983 T he Cartier Collection is created as an artistic record of how Cartier has evolved throughout history. 1997 C artier celebrates its 150th anniversary with the design of several new pieces, including the now-famous serpent necklace with pavé-set diamonds.

*If there are changes in the region / time zone, manual time zone selection may be required.

2005 C artier co-founds the Council for Responsible Jewellery Practices and becomes a member of the Women’s Forum.

Winter 2015| Crown Group

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ARCHIPELAGO À GOGO Winter 2015| Crown Group

A N A L M O S T F O R G OT T E N C H A I N O F I S L A N D S O F F T H E C O A S T O F PA P U A N E W G U I N E A H O L D S A W E A LT H O F W O N D E R S F O R T H O S E W H O C H O O S E T O T R AV E L T H E R E A B OA R D L U X U R Y SMALL SHIP TRUE NORTH, WRITES RODERICK EIME. We are flying so close to the earth, I’m sure the branches of the thick jungle will slap the undercarriage at any moment. But our pilot, Rainor, keeps a steady hand on the stick, his steely gaze fixed on the ridge above us. The helicopter rises steadily to the top of the rocky outcrop that juts out from dense undergrowth, the engine straining slightly as we pull up to clear the peak. A small village is directly below and the residents are running about excitedly as we swoop overhead. I try to snatch a photo as the villagers wave furiously, but no sooner have I hit the shutter than we’re in a steep dive towards the jungle floor on the other side. By this time the traces of a cheeky smile are evident on Rainor’s face. “How was that?” his voice crackles over the intercom. No-one answers as we gather our wits, but we’d do it again in an instant. Here in the air-conditioned cabin of the Eurocopter EC130 B4, seven of us sit in leatherclad comfort as we tour the lush islands of the Louisiade Archipelago on a half-hour joy flight from the helipad of True North. Carrying just 36 passengers, the 50-metre purpose-built expedition yacht has come all the way from its homeport of Broome for an annual Papua New Guinea exploration.

This string of islands to the east of Papua New Guinea’s mainland, first sighted by Portuguese navigator Luís Vaz de Torres in 1606, is still seldom visited by any vessel, let alone cruise ships. During November and December, however, a handful of small ships may drop in for a flying visit—in our case, literally. True North, North Star Cruises’ only vessel, has been visiting the magnificent reefs and glorious tropical islands of this remote chain since 2005. Unlike the unsympathetic Portuguese, who often shot first and asked questions later, here we are greeted like royalty and welcomed ashore at unheard-of islands such as Rossel, Misima, Panapompom and the evocatively named Panasia. Fresh green coconuts are offered for our refreshment, in exchange for soccer balls and schoolbooks. The destruction of World War II didn’t affect the Louisiades too much, despite the Battle of the Coral Sea being nearby. A US submarine strayed onto a reef off Rossel Island in 1942 and the remains of a Japanese freighter, the Inaho Maru, grounded in almost the same spot in 1922. Its rusting skeleton, pounded by relentless breakers, is clearly visible from Rainor’s chopper.

But back in Deboyne Lagoon, near Panapompom, where the Japanese had briefly set up a seaplane base, there’s a solid reminder of the conflict. An almost intact Zero fighter lies on the sandy bottom after ditching when its aircraft carrier was sunk during the 1942 Battle of the Coral Sea. Pilot Okura Shigeru carefully landed just off the beach and swam the few metres to shore, leaving snorkellers a tangible relic to ‘discover’. Apart from our heart-stopping airborne excursions, we are travelling on what may well be the most luxurious live-aboard dive vessel anywhere. Ticketed divers can bring their own gear or hire it for a nominal fee and then dive to their heart’s content in water as clear as Bombay Sapphire. Our divemaster, Oliver, leads the scuba team onto the remote reefs that teem with both reef fish and the occasional pelagic (open ocean) brute, such as the nasty-looking dogtooth tuna that darts ominously through our group. And we don’t just gaze in bewilderment at the quantity and variety of fish we encounter at such unambiguously dubbed sites as ‘the fishbowl’ at the deliciously named Saru Nom Nom Island. Aboard almost every True North departure is Dr Andy Lewis, an eminent marine biologist and ecologist. Andy more than satisfies the many enquiries guests pose about both the land and marine ecosystems we encounter daily. “There are fantastic reefs scarcely seen by other travellers, with beautiful reef slopes dropping into indigo-blue water, all teeming with fish and other marine life,” Andy tells us. “The waters of the Louisiades and Papua New Guinea offer some of the best diving and snorkelling in the world and present an excellent example of highly diverse tropical marine ecosystems with very little human impact. Coral cover and fish densities are both exceptional.”

Travel & Indulge

Luxury TRUE NORTH Adventure Cruises Luxury Adventure Cruises

Our own squad of anglers heads out daily to catch the evening meal. This fun diversion is a hallmark of any True North cruise, if local permissions can be sought. Our keen anglers triumphantly return with ample snapper, cod and even a tuna to grace the chef’s table. Dining aboard True North is best described as casual gourmet. The quality of food delivered to our table by barefoot stewardesses is superb. Designed by head chef Nik Flack, it’s a creative combination of fish freshly caught by our intrepid anglers and carefully selected provisions. It’s sustainable, organic and very Australian cuisine. Braised lamb shoulder, seared king snapper, Western Australian crayfish with truffle risotto or slow-cooked wagyu beef fillet could easily appear on any day’s menu. Cabins are available in several grades and sizes, although the choice options are on the upper and main decks (Explorer Class and River Class, respectively), where space and comfort levels befit the $1000-plus per person, per day, price tag. While Ocean Class (lower deck) cabins are still comfortable, they are ‘cabins’ without the expansive picture windows, floor space and double beds. For decor and public spaces, think more along the lines of exclusive designer beach house rather than fancy boutique hotel with a relaxed, decidedly unpretentious atmosphere that quickly levels out any pretenders. As Rainor prepares to settle the Eurocopter back on the upper deck of True North, I cast my eyes one last time across the lurid waters of the bay while the ‘tinnies’ bring the snorkellers, anglers and hikers back to the ‘mother ship’. We’ll shortly pull anchor and leave this mesmerising scene behind, leaving our hosts to return to their blissful isolation and this divine archipelago to its own mysterious devices.

Winter 2015| Crown Group

GETTING THERE

The 6-day Archipelago Adventure is part of North Star Cruises’ Papua New Guinea and West Papua season that runs annually from October through December aboard the 36-berth expedition ship True North. Archipelago Adventure departs mid-December from Alotau (Milne Bay). Charter flight connections are included in the fare, plus all meals, accommodation and excursions aboard True North. Helicopter flights cost extra. A full 4-hour, 6-flight package is available for $3160, but single flights can also be purchased depending on space. Diving is available for PADI-certified divers and occasionally for beginners. Rates for 2015 and 2016 departures start at $8995 per person in an Ocean Class cabin. The writer was a guest of North Star Cruises and the Papua New Guinea Tourism Promotion Authority. www.northstarcruises.com.au

An adventure on the TRUE NORTH is one of Australia’s most revered holidays! Bigger ships cannot go where we go! Extended periods at sea are specifically excluded and daily activities can include scenic walks, fishing, snorkelling, diving, scenic flights in the ship’s helicopter and cultural events. We deploy comfortable expedition boats (not rubber boats) and discover wilderness in small groups. An AUSTRALIAN crew uniquely chaperones every experience. Beware of imitations and discover for yourself why our guests consistently remark “that’s the best holiday I have ever had!” During November and December the mighty TRUE NORTH cruises pristine island-areas of Papua New Guinea. Encounter overwhelming hospitality and unchanged village life. Snorkel the most highly regarded coral reef in the world. Climb mountains in the ship’s helicopter. Match wits with monster mackerel. Then, each night return to your floating boutique hotel! Includes return charter flights ex Cairns. Limited availability - don’t miss out!

North Star Cruises Australia Tel: (+61 8) 9192 1829 Email: cruise@northstarcruises.com.au www.northstarcruises.com.au 26

Twenty Five Years of Adventure

TH E FAC TS

SLEEPER AGENTS BEN SMITHURST INTRODUCES S T U T TG A R T ’ S S N E A K Y Q - C A R SIBLINGS: THE PORSCHE 911 TURBO AND 911 TURBO S.

Make no mistake: The Porsche 911 Turbo is a beautiful car. Its sweet curves are simultaneously arty and mathematical, firmly in the robust lineage of iconic 911s throughout the ages. Its shape alone is enough to stir whatever passes for genetic memory in anyone who appreciates classic cars. There is no more classic vehicle than the 911. Porsche’s legendary halo model is the original supercar. Even in a world bloated with preening exotics—from the ‘insectine’ likes of Sweden’s Koenigsegg, to the all-angles drama of Lamborghini, to the monochrome pizzazz of Ferrari—Ferdinand ‘Butzi’ Porsche’s golden child remains the daddy. Its point of difference is subtlety in a world of excess. Most supercar owners are not particularly modest, per se. They want to not only stand out from the crowd, but to do so as pretentiously as possible, preferably with the windows down and in conspicuous designer sunglasses. For them, any of those other marques can fit the bill. Porsche’s 911 Turbo and its even pokier sibling, the 911 Turbo S, are hugely up-specced variants of their most storied predecessor. They have no less pep, but they exude something else. That something is, at this rarefied level of the motoring stratosphere, nothing less than quiet confidence.

Don’t be fooled. The 911 Turbo and the Turbo S are supercars for a small but wellheeled cadre of buyers—those who prefer to hide their savage performance capabilities under a skin so refined it is almost sneaky. It looks like a normal, run-of-the-mill 911—a wonderful car, to be sure—but where that base model is an AK-47, this is a Howitzer. At a glance, it’s easy to miss the changes: a tarmac-scraping rubber chin and a brilliant rear spoiler, both of which extend hydraulically at the Top Gunesque press of a button. Inside, however, things get very thermonuclear, very quickly. Both are driven by an uprated version of the 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat 6-cylinder engine. In the Turbo, it is a beast so capable that it makes 383kW from 6000 to 6500rpm, with torque going all Three Mile for a thumping 660Nm from 1950 to 5000rpm. The Turbo S, even more spectacularly, gets decidedly Fukushima, with figures of 412kW and 700Nm— and more in reserve. An ‘overboost’ function, standard in the Turbo S, increases maximum charge pressure by around 0.15 bar for up to 20 seconds in the middle range. Explained simply, this means that if you keep your right foot planted for up to 20 seconds, peak torque leaps to 750Nm: a veritable Chernobyl of heft.

Engine 3.8-litre twin-turbo horizontally opposed 6-cylinder Power 383kW at 6500rpm (Turbo); 412kW at 6750rpm (Turbo S) Torque 660Nm at 1950–5000rpm (Turbo); 700Nm at 2100–4250rpm (Turbo S) Transmission 7-speed dual-clutch automatic, AWD Acceleration 0–100km/h in 3.2 sec (Turbo); 3.1 sec (Turbo S) Consumption 9.7L/100km combined (Turbo and Turbo S) Price From $359,800 plus on-road costs (Turbo); $441,300 (Turbo S)

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The exterior styling, then, screams elegance— and the mechanicals scream blue murder. The Turbo can broach 100km/h in a legitimately frightening 3.2 seconds. The Turbo S shaves that to a genuinely hypercar-worthy 3.1. For anyone unfamiliar with the sensation of being inside a Turbo S while it’s surging through its seven gears at peak power, imperceptibly juggled via a silken dual clutch, this is a difficult experience to describe. All-wheel drive helps get that avalanche of power to the tarmac, pinning the car to the road as deftly as it does the driver’s spine to the leather-trimmed backrests. Your eyes go vaguely out of shape as you surge forward, swaddled shoulder to ankle in sports luxury finishes, and in half a moment you smack into

Winter 2015| Crown Group

the horizon in a roar of adrenaline. Porsche’s Sound Symposer system is terribly named and, perhaps to purists, slightly like cheating: It pipes induction sounds from the engine into the cabin via a diaphragm. But it works, heightening the aural drama to suit the occasion. Dive into a corner and both models prove the almost hackneyed edict that Porsche’s steering is second to none. Here, that’s enhanced by rear-wheel steering, which tweaks the angle of the back wheels to allow sharper turn-in at moderate speeds and better stability when in full attack mode. Pushed extra-hard, the steering feels a pinch more leaden than Porsche’s best work, even with a pinch of understeer, but unless you’re inclined towards track days you’ll be hard-pressed to tell.

Its colossal carbon brakes grip like tetanus, no matter how hard you kick them or for how long. It’s a full-body experience and it’s remarkable. Your everyday Porsche this is not. But more impressive is how easily it adapts to being an everyday driver—provided you’re willing to part with $359,800 for the Turbo, or $441,300 for the Turbo S, just to go to and from work. The seats are 18-way adjustable; in the S, the interiors are dual-colour black and garnet-red leather. Its suspension wafts gracefully over real-world potholes. Its shape draws admiring glances rather than catcalls. Porsche knows that performance needn’t be garish. Either model might be easily lost in a car park chocked with supercars. But neither will be easily caught on the road.

There is no more classic vehicle than the 911. Porsche’s legendary halo model is the original supercar.

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AWAKENED

ASPEN

F A M O U S F O R I T S F I R S T- C L A S S C L I E N T E L E , A M E R I C A N S K I R E S O R T A S P E N I S S H E D D I N G I T S A I R S A N D G R AC E S F O R A M O R E C A S U A L A F FA I R , W R I T E S K AT E P R I D E A U X .

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If the word ‘Aspen’ conjures images in your mind of retro ski fashions and high-flying corporate execs drinking schnapps on the slopes, you’re not alone. Famous for having the most expensive real estate in the country, the American ski resort also has a well-entrenched reputation as a winter playground for the rich and famous. Almost 2400 metres above sea level in a remote area of the Rocky and Elk mountains, Aspen was one of the first towns in the US to have electricity installed when it became home to thousands of residents at the height of a silver mining boom in the late 1800s. By the 1930s, a new winter sport heralded a different monetary boom—ski tourism—and made Aspen one of America’s most well-known ski resorts. But, for local Lea Tucker, the myth doesn’t match the reality. The 42-year-old Texan relocated to Aspen, Colorado, more than a decade ago and says there’s so much more to the historical town than its lofty stereotype. “Tourists are always telling me that they love Aspen’s small-town feel,” says Lea, who is now International Public Relations Manager for the Aspen Skiing Company, which operates the Aspen/Snowmass ski resort complex. “Aspen is the sort of town where you’ll find Fortune 500 CEOs chatting with local bartenders—it’s actually a great mix of people, a real community, and that’s why people keep coming back.” The Aspen Skiing Company operates the mountain range’s four distinct ski/snowboard fields—Snowmass, Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk—and 336 marked runs, ranging from beginners to black diamond. There is inbound and out-of-bounds back country, as well as mountainside cliff faces and halfpipefilled terrain parks. It’s this global and cultural attraction, Lea says, and a burgeoning reputation for extreme sports—Aspen is set to host its 15th consecutive X Games in 2015—that has helped Aspen shed its highbrow image. While the area remains a popular winter holiday destination for both American celebrities and the general population, thousands of international tourists also flock to Aspen’s ski fields every year, many of them from Australia.

In fact, Australians have represented the largest cohort of international visitors to the historical ski resort for the past decade. “Australians come more and more every year,” says Lea. Take a walk through the streets and you’ll find tourists and locals alike enjoying the local culture. Yes, there’s an abundance of up-market shops and fine-dining eateries, but there’s also inexpensive entertainment in the town’s thriving live music scene, free guided mountain tours, cultural festivals and the Treehouse Adventure Center—a multi-level, multi-age childcare facility with its own alpine climbing room. Aspen’s charming town centre with its turn-ofthe-century architecture is an attraction in itself— many historical buildings, including the Wheeler Opera House, Community Church and Pitkin County Courthouse, date back to the 1890s. “I think we’ve successfully debunked the myth that Aspen is only for the rich and famous,” says Lea. “There are still wealthy tourists, but these days you’re more likely to find them sharing a lift with bartenders and bragging about the locals they know.” As the town prepares for the 2015/16 winter season, there’s renewed excitement around some of Aspen’s traditional haunts. Perennial ski-in ski-out favourite The Little Nell hotel has added a fresh edge with the help of designer Holly Knott, and its silver-service restaurant ‘element 47’—a tribute to the town’s silver-gilt past—serves seasonal cuisine. Also, the popular après-ski venue, The Limelight Hotel, has just completed a US$1.1-million facelift. For those looking for insider recommendations, Lea suggests breakfast burritos at Jour de Fete before heading out for a day on the slopes, followed by sunset drinks at Aspen Brewery and a casual dinner at 520 Grill to cap off a perfect Aspen day. “There’s a reason I live in Aspen and not another ski town,” Lea says.

W E H AV E L I F T- O F F

Set to open in time for the 2015/16 winter season, a new high-speed quad lift will cut the time to reach the top of High Alpine lift—one of Aspen’s highest—in half, to just 6.5 minutes. The faster lift will allow skiers to spend less time in transit and more time on the runs.

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DAZZLING

DOWN UNDER

M E R C E D E S - B E N Z FA S H I O N W E E K AU ST RA L I A I S M O R E T H A N S I M P LY A F E S T I VA L O F F R O C K S . R I L E Y PA L M E R D I S C OV E R S A U N I Q U E B R A N D O F A U S S I E C H I C .

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For the uninitiated, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is an education. Yes, it’s about spectacular gowns, lawless hemlines, riveting colour palettes and rich fabrics, but it’s also about so much more. There’s a story behind every chain stitch, every buttonhole, and a history that’s instilled in every design element paraded before our eyes. Caught up in the spectacle of the event, these nuanced stories are too often overlooked—the beautiful people and big names stealing our attention away from the finer details of the fashion itself. But this year, the 20th anniversary of Australia’s Fashion Week, was as much about our particular fashion culture as it was a celebration of beautiful clothes. In fact, the overarching story Fashion Week told this year was of a nation no longer scrambling for an identity in the wake of Paris and Milan. As a 20th birthday present from our world-class designers, we were gifted with ‘Aussie chic’. The designers divested themselves of the Parisian beret and replaced it with the akubra; and far from gaudy or trite, they struck a balance we embraced voraciously. This was never more obvious than when Romance Was Born staged its ‘Cooee Couture’ collection at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Design duo Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales, who launched their label 10 years ago, collaborated with local textile legend Linda Jackson for a bold display of nationalism. Calling on the accessorising expertise of Dinosaur Designs, this posse of creatives saw models clad from head to toe in Australiana, sashaying against a backdrop of 19th-century Australian artworks—among them Tom Roberts’ iconic ‘Shearing the Rams’. The vibrant ensembles showcased Australia in all its glory—there was inspiration taken from Ned Kelly, cockatoos, waratahs and bushfires. Not to say that there were any ‘cooee’ catchcries heard in the gallery—that might have been uncouth—the wearable artistry drew enough attention by itself. But what is Australia if not the sand, sun and sea? Cashing in on our nation’s natural beauty, Ten Pieces’ Maurice Terzini and Lucy Hinckfuss drained the Bondi Icebergs pool and transformed it into a catwalk for a day. Composed of just 10 garments, the unisex, monochrome collection—black drapery offset by bold white stripes—celebrated Australia’s sports culture.

Surrounded by scores of beautiful Bondi locals milling about in their athletic attire, it wasn’t hard to understand why a collection inspired by parkour, boxing and Japanese punk would find its home on our sunny shores. Also at Bondi and with a touch of Japan, founder of swimwear label Bondi Bather, Kerry Cusack, captured an unlikely blend of Australiana and Harajuku. Closing Fashion Week’s swimwear show, Cusack’s signature look—textiles imprinted with photographic imagery of Bondi Beach—was offset by her collaboration with Hello Kitty. The collection was inspired by Hello Kitty’s day at Bondi Beach and featured holographic platform Ugg boots and the occasional surfboard. Of course, Carriageworks—the hub of this year’s Fashion Week—exudes an old-world history and charm of its own. Formerly the Eveleigh Rail Yards, this revamped industrial space speaks of Australia’s railway heritage and the thousands of people who worked here in the 19th century. Now a major arts centre, its high-ceilinged chambers, industrial brick features and prodigious size helped bring Fashion Week to life, its antiquated character contrasting with the bright lights and grandiosity of the present. There were plenty of other notable moments. Kym Ellery paired with The Australian Ballet for a charming opening to Fashion Week. Her Ellery show was full of dramatic silhouettes and elegant prints and starred everyone’s favourite Perth girl, Gemma Ward. Other brands that wowed the front row included by johnny, whose edgy women’s wear featured cut-outs and splashes of colour; and Bec & Bridge, who couldn’t put a high heel wrong with their Moroccan-inspired collection and first-ever swimwear range. Nationalism has never looked so fashionable.

Arts & Fashion

Did you know ... 2015 marks the 20th anniversary of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia.

U N FO RG E T TAB LE

M O M ENT S

A luxurious solution for living areas and bedrooms, Luxaflex Luminette Privacy Sheers offer the benefit of translucent or room darkening fabric vanes between sheers that

1996 A kira Isogawa couldn’t afford to buy shoes for his models so he bought red socks for them to wear instead. 1997 S upermodel Linda Evangelista couldn’t fit into her bridal gown and had to be sewn into it backstage by designer Alex Perry.

rotate to provide perfect light and privacy control. Available with the latest PowerRise Platinum Technology motorisation, Luminette Privacy Sheers are easily operated with the simple touch of a button or turn of a wand. For the largest product range of blinds, shutters and awnings in Australia ideal for apartment living, visit your local Luxaflex Gallery and discover why smarter design begins with us. Exclusive SOFTRAK® enables 180 degree rotation

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2000 J erry Hall carried a chihuahua down the runway as part of her Charlie Brown ensemble.

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2001 Tsubi (now known as Ksubi) infamously released 169 live rats down the runway. 2006 T he provocative backdrop to Wayne Cooper’s show: a mural that read “Who the f#&k is Versace?”

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UXAFLEX LUMINETTE PRIVACY SHEERS. SIMPLY SMARTER BY DESIGN.

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PRE~ FALL 2

Enveloping shapes, architectural cuts and tactile surfaces, the Giorgio Armani Pre-Fall 2015 Collection expresses a search for elegant dynamism.

Winter 2015足| Crown Group

Arts & Fashion

Scaled lace on little dresses, woven braids in pony skin and hot-stamped leather flowers on short jackets create an extremely feminine counterpoint. The colour palette is basic with unexpected touches: Shades of midnight blue, black and white and accents of eau de Nil, cobalt blue and magenta are used in a pure or veiled form in pictorial prints on trousers and tights.

Winter 2015足| Crown Group

Arts & Fashion

Winter 2015足| Crown Group

Arts & Fashion

The trouser suit features a relaxed silhouette. Trousers present an unexpected fabric twist on the front and jackets are fluid like shirts.

Coats and jackets are made of lined wool and doubled cloth. They have pure shapes, the design of which is underlined by cordonetto or felled finishes and rough cuts, and is accentuated by exclusive closures incorporating large frogs, leather and felt buttonholes, and buckles that form new, elegant hardware.

Winter 2015足| Crown Group

Arts & Fashion

QUALITY & STYLE

Beautiful handmade furniture from some of the world’s best manufacturers Available at Laura Kincade Winter 2015| Crown Group

80 O’Riordan Street, Alexandria NSW Telephone: 02 9667 4415 Email: sales@laurakincade.com Website: laurakincade.com Open Mon to Sat 10am to 5pm and Sun 11am to 4pm

Clockwise from right: ‘Crash Landing’ by Bode Helm, Abel Alejandre’s ‘Camping In Style’ (photo credit: Tomas Muscionico) and ‘Ricky’ by Tomas Muscionico.

B LO W I N G O P E N THE DOORS TO D I S C U S S TA B O O T O P I C S T H AT O T H E R S W O N ’ T, N E W P H OTO G R A P H I C A RT S U B S CR I PT I O N FRANK LA IS BREAKING NEW GROUND IN THE PUBLISHING W O R L D, W R I T E S K AT E P R I D E A U X .

FRANK IN THE CITY

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Take a walk through downtown Los Angeles and it’s impossible to ignore the vast discrepancy between wealth and poverty. The largest community of homeless individuals in the country, known as ‘Skid Row’, lies just 15 kilometres east of Rodeo Drive, one of the world’s most affluent shopping districts. While there’s no shortage of statistics on the homelessness issue, more than one person has found an original platform to shed new light on the problem—and other issues the city faces. An initiative of publishing executive Alison Miller, the aptly named Frank LA is a combination of art, print media and fundraising. The tri-annual publication has a limited print run per edition—only 1000 copies are produced —and is a collaboration between local artists and contributors that displays photographic artworks relating to a topic. The inaugural edition, titled ‘No place like home’, features a set of 36 30cm x 40cm art prints encased in a linen box. “In a nutshell, it’s a new way to distribute art … one in which we create a framework for a candid or ‘frank’ conversation in an environment that is unconstrained by the needs of advertisers,” Alison explains of the publication she established with award-winning ad agency founder Patrick Gill and successful Los Angeles housing developer Cindy Troesh.

The trio share a passion for art and fine photography and a respect for design. Their target audience is “those who appreciate fine art and candid conversations about our fair city”, Alison says. For ‘No place like home’, artists produced the first known fashion shoot to directly examine the dichotomies between the haves and the have-nots living side by side in downtown LA. One artwork, titled ‘Midnight Omission’, staged a luxurious bacchanal-style meal where models dined, blindfolded, in front of a Midnight Mission lunch line. Tackling some of the less-than-pleasant monikers often given to the homeless, ‘Bag Lady’ features a Beverly Hills shopper clutching designer label shopping parcels. Behind her are actual Skid Row residents in a temporary encampment eating their lunch. “It isn’t a collection of statistics—each and every one are people with challenges, who need thoughtful solutions from our residents and community leaders,” Alison says. “The project [also] brings to light some of the other at-risk segments of the community, including single mums, returning veterans and transgender people.

Arts & Fashion

Above: ‘Midnight Omission’ by Bode Helm Below: Tomas Muscionico’s ‘Taylor’

“We hope that by addressing the topic in an artful and highly unusual format, it will be a disrupter in the conversation and will make people pause and look at it differently than they have previously. “It is widely believed, for example, that homelessness is primarily an African-American problem in our city. By exploring the issue through the use of portraiture and profiles, we hope to have humanised the issue, expanded the understanding of what it is and is not.” A big advocate for the arts, Alison sits on several boards and committees in Los Angeles, including the Museum of Contemporary Art Directors Council and LAND Nomadic Council. “At the same time, we don’t take ourselves too seriously and are a bit tongue-in-cheek with our editorial approach,” she says. Revenue is generated not by traditional sales of art or direct donation, but via subscriptions to Frank LA’s art-filled publications. Subscriptions cost $775 per year and single issues are available at $295 each. “We wanted to appeal to a demographic with the highest discretionary income— key influencers with political clout and great potential to contribute to the challenge in a positive manner,” Alison says. But why print as opposed to, say, putting on an exhibition?

Winter 2015| Crown Group

“I suppose we are paper nerds at our core. The permanency of something collectable that one can revisit over and over, share with others and display for a longer period of time appeals to us. It’s also a new avenue for distributing art. World-class artists are available in a new way, rather than procuring and owning a painting or a sculptural work. “It’s an easy price point as well, which makes it more accessible to a larger population than what has previously been the exclusive domain of more established art collectors.” The second edition, out in mid-2015, uses a phenakistoscope—an early animation device that uses a spinning disk to create an illusion of motion—to depict the ever-present issue of traffic and is called ‘Ways to die trying’. As the initiative attracts more attention, those behind Frank LA remain focused on why it began. “Our number-one mantra is to be fearless. Our goal is to be unabashedly candid regarding social issues and other, often tongue-incheek topics that are singularly unique to Los Angeles,” Alison says. “If people are talking about our work, regardless of whether they love it or hate it, I believe we will have been successful in meeting our objective.”

“Our goal is to be unabashedly candid regarding social issues and other, often tongue-in-cheek topics that are singularly unique to Los Angeles.”

Armani

The world of horology is as interesting as it is peculiar. Defined as the art or science of making timepieces and measuring time, horology has survived wars and tech revolutions to take its place in the luxury goods market. Lauded as a prestigious mechanical device for more than 500 years, watches were once the epitome of high society. Today, although a simple watch can be purchased for the price of cake and coffee, a well-made watch remains a sought-after piece of functional jewellery. The eponymous J Farren-Price brand has pioneered the European watch market in Australia since 1942, when skilled watchmaker John Farren-Price set up a business importing sophisticated timepieces to Australia to satisfy what he saw as a dire watch shortage. By the 1970s, J Farren-Price was building a first-class reputation in Australia’s luxury goods market. Under the direction of John’s wife, Krysten Farren-Price, the company became Australia’s first agent for exalted Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe and began to create its own collection of exquisite jewellery using world-class gems and traditional techniques. As well as being Australia’s longest-running agent to Patek Philippe, J Farren-Price is a purveyor of such esteemed brands as Rolex, Chopard, Vacheron Constantin, Greubel Forsey,

Jaeger-LeCoultre, Panerai and Tudor, and houses one of the most extensive collections of rare and coveted timepieces and handcrafted jewellery in Australia. Perhaps a key to its success is that J Farren-Price understands the barometer of exclusivity and prestige that comes from owning ultra-luxury items. The company’s director and founder’s son, Julian Farren-Price, believes that discerning customers are attracted to J Farren-Price because of the company’s unwavering expertise in choosing only the excellent and the extraordinary. “We are committed to upholding the legacy of luxury timepieces by providing our watch connoisseurs with opportunities to purchase some of the world’s most rare and superb timepieces,” Julian says. “Some of our most impressive sales demonstrate extraordinary enthusiasm for rare and exceptional watches, undoubtedly paving the way for the industry to grow here in Australia, and that’s really exciting. I’m confident we will continue to see interest in significant timepieces for years to come.” For J Farren-Price there are many gateways to the finer things in life, but a true sign of ‘having it all’ is a luxury timepiece, a timeless classic.

A PHENOMENON TO

WATCH I C O N I C A U S T R A L I A N F A M I LY F I R M J F A R R E N - P R I C E I S R E N O W N E D F O R I T S U N R I VA L L E D S E L E C T I O N O F T H E F I N E S T E U R O P E A N WAT C H E S A N D M AG N I F I C E N T H A N D C R A F T E D J E W E L L E R Y. L A R I S S A M A S S I H C A U G H T U P W I T H S E L F - C O N F E S S E D WATC H E N T H U S I A S T A N D C O M PA N Y D I R E C T O R J U L I A N FA R R E N - P R I C E , W H O R E V E A L S W H AT M A K E S A WATC H R A R E , C O L L E C TA B L E A N D U LT I M AT E LY D E S I R A B L E .

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W H AT M A K E S A WAT C H R A R E A N D P R E S T I G I O U S ?

Collaboration Luxury brand collaborations raise the prestige stakes, as well as talent collaborations such as those with popular artists or sports stars.

According to Julian Farren-Price, a truly rare and collectable timepiece must combine several factors: Demand A watch becomes rare and prestigious if there were very few manufactured of a particular piece.

Limited edition Numbered series, anniversary editions, philanthropy editions or watches limited by the scarcity of materials used (coloured gems, for example) or rare skills (such as cloisonné enamelwork) are usually sought after.

Complexity At the pinnacle of watchmaking, there are only a handful of watchmakers who hold the skills to craft pieces at the highest level. Anything a watch does beyond simple time-keeping is called a complication, and the more highly engineered a watch is, the more prestigious it is considered.

Heritage or provenance The brand name, if illustrious, can define the degree of rarity.

Arts & Fashion

S TAY C A L M A N D C O L L E C T

“WE ARE COMMITTED TO UPHOLDING THE LEGACY OF LUXURY TIMEPIECES BY PROVIDING … SOME OF THE WORLD’S MOST RARE AND SUPERB TIMEPIECES.” Winter 2015| Crown Group

We take a look at a highlight of J Farren-Price’s collection of illustrious timepieces. Heir to the Tour de l’Ile As the descendant of the Tour de l’Ile watch—the masterpiece flagship watch of the brand’s 250th anniversary in 2005—the Patrimony Traditionnelle Calibre 2755 is the most complicated model in Vacheron Constantin’s current catalogue and took three years to develop. Its movement consists of no fewer than 602 parts fitted into a 33.30-millimetre diameter and 7.90-millimetre height. This feat of watchmaking prowess also delivers more than 55 hours of running time, indicated through the sapphire-crystal case back. The Patrimony Traditionnelle Calibre 2755 belongs to the super-complication category of timepieces. In fact, it harbours three of the most sophisticated complications in the universe of high-class watchmaking: the tourbillon, the perpetual calendar and the minute repeater.

Visit www.jfarrenprice.com.au/calibre2755 for more information.

Arts & Fashion

V I V I D SY D N E Y I S T H E W O R L D’ S L A R G E S T F E S T I VA L O F L I G H T, M U S I C A N D I D E A S . F O R 1 8 DAY S I N M AY/J U N E I T TRANSFORMS THE HARBOUR C I T Y I N TO A C O LO U R F U L , C R E AT I V E C A N VA S .

LIGHT

MASTER OF LIGHT Dominique Kuhne caught up with Jeremy Garling, an installation engineer from leading events company, Fourth Wall—in charge of Vivid Sydney’s Game Zone at Pyrmont and The Star—to find out how a festival that attracts more than 1.43 million attendees each year continues to get bigger and better.

LET THERE BE

Why was the Game Zone at Pyrmont and The Star special for visitors this year? This year The Star had an expanded footprint of interactive activity, including the Game Zone at Pyrmont and The Star. The harbourside precinct transformed into a buzzing multisensory space that brought the essence of Vivid to life like never before, using interaction, sound projection and lighting to make each guest’s experience their own. Working with The Star and Destination NSW (DNSW), we engineered a brand-new series of installations for this year’s event on a scale not seen before.

Vivid Sydney was bigger and better than ever this year, bringing art off the walls and onto our city streets. With new precincts and some of the program’s most jaw-dropping installations, Vivid Sydney Game Zone at Pyrmont and The Star led the way with innovative light installations and grand-scale projections. PYRMONT PYRO Located in Pyrmont Bay Park, an interactive digital fireworks display let guests trigger fireworks by playing on musical drums. Those with the best rhythm could sit back and admire their handiwork as the fireworks came to life. Over the 18 nights of the festival, the equivalent of more than $250 million worth of fireworks were digitally triggered. MISSION CONTROL The largest audience-operated light show in the world captivated crowds this year. Participants were invited to select a song and use a touch screen to control more than 50 searchlights atop The Star rooftop—all to the beat of dramatic music.

Can you share some of the creative inspiration behind the installations at the Game Zone? We worked with The Star and DNSW to engineer installations that would engage the community and connect Pyrmont with Darling Harbour and the Sydney CBD. We achieved this by installing a connective light walk to guide visitors from Darling Harbour to the Game Zone precinct, creating a wonderland-style walkway that made Murray Street’s famous fig trees come alive with light, colour and movement. How are these installations putting Sydney on the global stage when it comes to art and culture? Vivid is a leading creative festival worldwide and this year’s innovative installations are a testament to that, offering visitors unique experiences unlike any other. Mission Control is the largest audience-operated light show in the world. Pyrmont Pyro is the first digital fireworks show projected onto trees. Vivid Lounge on the Sky Terrace leads the way in creative cut-through and risk-taking.

V I V I D T R E AT S A coup for The Star’s Executive Pastry Chef, Buddika Gunawardana, an indulgent degustation dessert bar enhanced The Star’s buzzing retail arcade. A selection of treats— from chocolate crepes to flowing fountains of chocolate and fairy floss—won over the crowds, tantalising every sense heightened by the Game Zone.

Did the types of crowds expected dictate the installations for this precinct? In its seventh year Vivid is more popular than ever before, so we designed to account for the biggest numbers that we could ever expect, to ensure a great guest experience. Numbers doubled almost every day from opening night. Tell us about the approach to the themes for the different Vivid precincts across Sydney. The approach is very collaborative with a focus on connectivity and collective visitation. Each precinct of the festival has a unique offering and we have worked closely with The Star and DNSW to enhance and expand the Vivid experience. We are very proud of the installations at Pyrmont and The Star, which are proving to be hugely successful.

V I V I D L O U N G E AT S K Y T E R R A C E Sky Terrace, located on The Star’s rooftop, was brought to life by light and music through a fusion of DJ mechanics and lighting design, named LightJ. Visitors were invited to participate in a bespoke new-world ‘light beam’ karaoke experience called Face Off, which projected their light-fuelled live music performances onto an exterior wall of The Star Event Centre.

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If you could describe the installations at the Game Zone at Pyrmont and The Star in just one word … Interactive.

Arts & Fashion

SUSTAINABLY STYLISH R A C H A E L C A S S A R I S L E A D I N G T H E WAY I N E C O F A S H I O N W I T H H E R C O U T U R E C O L L E C T I O N S T H AT S H O W S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y C A N B E S T Y L I S H — A F A C T S H E ’ S B E E N P R O V I N G S I N C E S H E W O N T H E I N T E R N AT I O N A L M I T T E L M O D A F A S H I O N AWA R D I N 2 0 0 7. G A B R I E L L E O ’ L E A R Y S H A R E S T H E S T O R Y B E H I N D T H E D E S I G N E R ’ S S I N G U L A R A P P R OA C H . Spring 2015| Crown Group

Rachael Cassar’s collections show that fashion doesn’t have to be new to be beautiful. When the designer seeks out vintage fabrics or stumbles upon an end-of-roll sample that fits in with her sustainable vision, she turns her back on the world of mass production and forges ahead with her individual take on couture. “I’ve tried to redefine what eco fashion means. It doesn’t have to be daggy. You don’t have to only use hemp, or other boring materials wrongly associated with environmentally friendly products,” Rachael says of her Rachael Cassar label. “That’s why I choose couture and handmade, as they give an element of luxury and distinctiveness to the end product.” As a child who loved to find and fix broken jewellery, Rachael has always had a knack for making something out of nothing. Now she dedicates time and skill to every exclusive piece she makes out of upcycled materials. She has already spent 24 hours beading a skirt for her upcoming collection, yet insists it isn’t even half finished. Each garment in a collection is painstakingly handmade, which means she only produces one collection a year. “It’s a limited collection, but the pieces are of premium quality. They’re finely detailed and of a high standard, if I do say so myself.” Her relentless drive for quality was recognised very early in her career. She won the Mittelmoda award for international emerging designers in Italy in 2007, just four months after graduating from the University of Technology, Sydney. Now standing at the forefront of sustainable couture, Rachael has added numerous awards to that first one she received. She’s also internationally renowned for her one-off pieces, which have been worn by celebrities such as Tyra Banks, Kristen Stewart and Isabel Lucas. She says that the exposure is fantastic for boosting her profile, but it never causes her to compromise her vision, even if it could result in more sales. A recent appearance by Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. actress Chloe Bennet in an oversized gold jumper dress resulted in the designer receiving a flood of emails from fans requesting similar items. But she didn’t waver on what she stands for. “It was one of my most wearable pieces and my agent asked if I could create more in that

vein, but that’s not really what I’m about,” she muses. “I only ever make one of each piece per collection, and I’d rather produce a variety of distinct works than churn out the same thing every season. “A lot of people ask, ‘Can you make this for me?’ and I just say, ‘It’s not my philosophy.’” Instead, Rachael creates bespoke pieces for each client and asks to be given free rein to realise her vision, while taking into account what sort of silhouette the client likes. “I sculpt my pieces on the stand, which is why they can only be one-offs. It’s not a linear process. It’s one of intuition and discovery,” Rachael says. “I often have clients who come to me and want something specific made for an event or function. This is a service I happily offer and it adequately suits my process. But I’m not a seamstress, so you can’t bring me a picture and tell me to re-create it.” Rachael’s inspiration for each collection comes from some interesting places. Last year she was inspired by a butterfly that was halffemale half-male, while her first collection was inspired by the 1986 fantasy film, Labyrinth, starring David Bowie. For her upcoming collection, Rachael will only give a one-word hint as to what her theme will be. “Horses,” she says, coyly. She’s not so shy about her next goal, however. “The plan is to have a concept store in Sydney some day, or some place where I could just house all my own pieces and people could actually come in,” she says, adding that she wants potential clients to be able to get up close and personal with her work and even see her in action. “I mean it’s so different seeing a piece in real life compared to seeing it in a photograph,” she says. “There’s so much detail involved, so I would just love to create a store that would really show the process just as much as the final piece.” But, for the time being, Rachael will remain focused on creating her next collection, piece by piece. And while the final product remains a mystery, with Rachael’s award-winning talent it is guaranteed to be as environmentally friendly as it is utterly beautiful.

Rachael Cassar

Arts & Fashion

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C H A M PAG N E : A H I STO RY

The oldest recorded sparkling wine is Blanquette de Limoux, which was invented by Benedictine monks in the south of France in 1531. Many of the standing rules around champagne production date back to the 1600s and a monk called Dom Pérignon.

CHAMPAGNE’S I T ’ S A F A C T: A U S T R A L I A N S H AV E A N U N Q U E N C H A B L E T H I R S T F O R C H A M PAG N E . W I N S O R D O B B I N E X A M I N E S O U R LOV E A F F A I R W I T H P R E M I U M B U B B L E S .

competitive global market. Italy is going gangbusters with prosecco, Spain sells a lot of cava, and Australia is now producing world-class sparkling wines, mainly from Tasmania. As a general rule, the cooler the region, the higher the quality, so even chilly England now has a burgeoning sparkling wine industry. Australian consumers, however, are clearly happy to pay for the cache from Champagne. So, what exactly is champagne, and what sets it apart? For a start, champagne is exclusively produced from grapes grown, harvested and made into wine within the Champagne region—a legally defined area covering some 34,000 hectares of vineyards. While many drinkers use the word ‘champagne’ as a generic term for sparkling wine, that is wrong—champagne can only come from Champagne. There are no fewer than 15,800 winegrowers and 300 maisons de champagne (champagne houses) across the Marne, Aube, Aisne, Haute-Marne and Seine-et-Marne regions, cultivating only three varieties: pinot noir (38 per cent), pinot meunier (32 per cent) and chardonnay (30 per cent). The houses (among them, Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Bollinger, Laurent-Perrier, Piper-Heidsieck and Taittinger) are responsible for more than 70 per cent of all champagne production. The houses rule, but demand for grower champagne is rising.

It’s a beverage that is synonymous with style and celebration. Champagne—real champagne—made in the cool north-eastern French region of the same name, is the drink preferred by rap stars, Formula One racers, casino high rollers and, increasingly, everyday Australians seeking a taste of exclusivity. Whether it be Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill, PerrierJouet Belle Epoque Brut, Krug Clos du Mesnil, Dom Pérignon or tiny-volume bubbly from a boutique grower’s own label, we simply can’t get enough of the world’s most prestigious sparkling wine. The latest statistics from French trade organisation Comité Champagne confirm that Australians are now the sixth-biggest consumers of champagne in the world—and import figures are rising year after year. “Australians are becoming much more knowledgeable about champagne—and champagne grows in popularity every year,” says Elisabeth Drysdale from Comité Champagne’s Sydney Champagne Bureau. Australia imported more than 6.5 million bottles in 2014— an increase of 8.3 per cent on the previous 12 months—ranking Australia behind only the UK, the US, Germany, Japan and Belgium in our love of bubbly. In total, more than 307 million bottles of champagne were exported from France last year, a remarkable performance in a

Winter 2015| Crown Group

When champagne consumption soared in the 19th century, it was far sweeter than it is today. Perrier-Jouët started the dry wine trend when he decided not to sweeten his 1846 vintage that was destined for London. Hence, the designation ‘brut champagne’, the modern style, was born.

FINEST

“We are seeing a big increase in sales of grower champagne,” says Philip Rich of the Prince Wine Store in Melbourne, who sells wines from the likes of André Clouet and Laherte Frères. “This is partly because of the interest in all things champagne and partly because of the amount of good grower champagne being imported.” Neville Yates, proprietor of boutique importing company Eurocentric, agrees, naming Henri Billiot, Ployez-Jacquemart and René Geoffroy as examples of growers who are experiencing increasing demand. “There is always a market, in the restaurant trade particularly, for something a little bit different that’s also of high quality.” In Champagne the pursuit of quality is tightly controlled. There are strict rules surrounding any wine sold as champagne, among them: vines must be pruned in a particular manner; there is a limit to the grape yields per hectare; wine must be produced by natural secondary yeast fermentation in the bottle, a process known as méthode champenoise; and bottles must be stored for a minimum 15 months before shipment. While it may seem overbearing, it’s these legal parameters that protect champagne’s reputation for excellence. There are many styles of champagne. Blanc de noirs is a wine made purely from pinot noir, while blanc de blancs signifies

a wine made from chardonnay. RD means recently disgorged, and presumably fresher, and there are many different levels of sweetness. Extra brut on a label indicates less than 6 grams of residual sugar per litre; brut less than 12 grams; extra sec between 12 and 17 grams; sec between 17 and 32 grams; demi-sec between 32 and 50 grams; and doux more than 50 grams. Mike Aylward, winemaker at Ocean Eight on the Mornington Peninsula, has studied the factors that he believes enable the top producers to lift “ordinary champagne to the extraordinary”. It all comes down to “careful selection of just-ripe grapes grown in cool vineyard sites; extended bottle maturation with yeast lees; careful handling of the bottles; and, most importantly, patience in letting nature take its course”. If that’s what it takes to create a good drop, we’re all for it.

Wine & Dine

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WINE TITANS

BATTLE OF THE Winter 2015| Crown Group

Penfolds Grange and Henschke Hill of Grace are the two most famous Australian wines—both made from shiraz grapes, both expensive, and both upholding global reputations for excellence. So, should you be buying the more famous Grange or its upstart rival for your cellar? While both wines retail for about $700 a bottle, have long pedigrees, are released at five years of age, are much sought after by collectors, and cellar well for decades, there are more differences than similarities between the two wines and their production. First of all, Grange, previously known as Grange Hermitage and long-regarded as Australia’s most cellar-worthy wine, is owned by Treasury Wine Estates, the country’s largest wine company. Grange is made from a blend of shiraz grapes from several regions across South Australia and sometimes contains a small percentage of cabernet sauvignon (usually less than 8 per cent). It is vinified at Magill Estate, just outside Adelaide. The first vintage of Grange, in 1951, was an experiment by Max Schubert, Penfolds’ Chief Winemaker at the time, who was inspired by what he had seen and tasted on a trip to Europe a year earlier. At a time when Australians drank more fortified wines than table styles, Schubert wanted to create a red that was as good as any in Bordeaux in terms of quality and ageing potential.

But negative reviews by wine critics and poor sales led to management forbidding Schubert from producing Grange. He continued in secret, however, hiding away small batches in the cellars at Magill. As the wines matured, their quality became obvious, and in 1960 management instructed Schubert to restart production, oblivious to the fact that he had never stopped and had not missed a vintage! In six decades only four men have ever made Grange: Schubert, Don Ditter, John Duval and current custodian Peter Gago, who heads a team of six winemakers. “We have one foot in the vineyard—we’re pseudo farmers,” Peter Gago said in a recent interview. “We come into the winery and we’re making things—we’re pseudo part-time manufacturers. We make it, bottle it and then tell the world about it—in some ways we’re [salespeople]. There are so many elements to the whole thing … I’m just so lucky that I work here.” Because the composition of Grange changes from year to year, it is the expertise of the winemakers that purchasers value, rather than where the grapes are grown or the particular vines. The 1990 vintage was named Wine of the Year by influential US magazine Wine Spectator when it was released in 1995, boosting the brand’s international profile. On the other hand, Hill of Grace is made entirely from fruit grown in one 4-hectare vineyard (also called Hill of Grace) at Keyneton, in South Australia’s Eden Valley. The vineyard is farmed organically and biodynamically and its size means the number of bottles produced each year will always be tiny. Some of the vines are 150 years old, producing intense flavours and tiny yields, making Hill of Grace one of the great single-vineyard wines of the world.

Wine & Dine

Hill of Grace is owned and run by the Henschke family, who have been turning grapes into wine in the valley since 1862—although Hill of Grace was first vintaged almost 100 years later, in 1958, by fourth-generation winemaker Cyril Henschke. Today, Cyril’s son Stephen is the winemaker, his wife Prue the viticulturist, and several of their children are actively involved in the family business. And while Henschke is family-run, it is not scared to blow its own trumpet. The Henschkes recently hosted a high-profile launch of the current 2010 vintage at their Hill of Grace restaurant, a new fine-dining attraction at Adelaide Oval that is themed around Hill of Grace wines and history. The launch was complemented by other personal touches; each new Hill of Grace release is matched to an artwork—this year a triptych of old vines by leading Barossa artist Rod Schubert. A replica of the painting titled ‘A Year Graced By Radiance’ is included in each timber gift box of 2010 Hill of Grace.

For both Grange and Hill of Grace, the current 2010 vintage is one of the most remarkable to date. While Henschke has already announced that there will be no release in 2011—an extremely difficult year in South Australia—Stephen Henschke describes 2010 as “a year blessed by nature”, adding, “The 2010 is a beautifully balanced wine from a season that was perfect in many ways. These amazing old vines really delivered.” Meanwhile, Peter Gago, known for his great enthusiasm, describes the 2010 Grange as “a kaleidoscopic sensorial unfolding” from a year “in which absolutely nothing went wrong”. Despite their differences, both 2010 Grange and Hill of Grace have been given ratings of 100/100 and 99/100 by leading critics, so you’ll no doubt be satisfied, whichever wine you choose.

“We come into the winery and we’re making things—we’re pseudo part-time manufacturers. We make it, bottle it and then tell the world about it ... There are so many elements to the whole thing.”

Winter 2015| Crown Group

Yet Seidler’s journey was unlikely, to say the least. Born in Vienna on 25 June 1923 to Rose and Max Seidler—an upwardly mobile Jewish couple—his happy, disciplined childhood was disrupted in 1938 when Adolf Hitler invaded Austria. Unlike many others, Seidler and his immediate family survived the Holocaust. First he, then later his parents, fled to England, where Harry’s older brother, Marcell, was living at the time. Seidler lived at Cambridge, learning English and attending a polytechnic school until, in 1940, the 16-year-old refugee and his older brother were interned as enemy aliens by the British. He kept diaries—searing accounts of his traumatic incarceration for a year and a half, first in England and then Canada. While imprisoned he studied architecture with fellow inmates and was released ‘on parole’ in October 1941 to study the subject at the University of Manitoba—a day he described as the “greatest … of my life”. Seidler fast became entranced by modern architecture. He won a scholarship to study with Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design before seeking out tuition from another Bauhaus master, the artist Josef Albers, at Black Mountain College in North Carolina. He then began working with architect Marcel Breuer in New York. Max, Rose and Marcell Seidler had moved to Sydney in 1946. Keen to reunite the family, they lured the young architect with the promise of a commission. He agreed, but made sure he broke his journey in Rio de Janeiro to spend time working with modernist maestro Oscar Niemeyer. Seidler arrived in Australia in 1948 and quickly built Rose Seidler House, a radical modern home that had a huge impact on architects and the public alike. Other talented modern architects worked in Australia, but none seemed to have Seidler’s ferocious determination. Awash with commissions for other houses, he decided to stay. When his brother became unable to continue photographing his work, he commissioned Max Dupain, another modernist master— the first of a series of crucial collaborations. Others included his relationship with developer Gerardus Jozef ‘Dick’ Dusseldorp, the Dutchborn founder of Lend Lease, who enabled Seidler to build groundbreaking structures in Sydney, such as Blues Point Tower (completed

GRAND DESIGN TO I N F LU E N T I A L ARCHITECT HARRY SEIDLER, T H E R E WA S N OT H I N G M O R E I M P O R TA N T I N THE WORLD THAN ARCHITECTURE AND MODERNISM, WRITES HELEN O’NEILL. Harry Seidler once responded to the question, “If you were not an architect what would you be?” with the seemingly instinctive one-word answer: “Nothing.” As I researched A Singular Vision: Harry Seidler, my biography about this remarkable man, his curt reply echoed in my ears. By the time Seidler died in 2006, he had become arguably the most well-known architect Australia had ever seen. A passionate, at-times controversial champion of modernism, his career spanned well over half a century and his architecture had been built everywhere, from Australia and Europe, to Hong Kong and Mexico. He and his work had won prestigious awards at home and abroad, yet he continued to polarise opinion—particularly in Sydney, the city he had made his home. Edmund Capon, long-time Director of Sydney’s Art Gallery of New South Wales, told me that Seidler was a creative of “outstanding” vision. Capon vividly recalled Seidler claiming, “I am surrounded, awash in mediocrity,” and he judged the architect to be absolutely right. “To achieve what you want to do, there has to be a strong sense of anarchy about the present conditions,” Capon said, “and he had that.”

Winter 2015| Crown Group

AN ARTISTIC LEGACY in 1962, becoming Australia’s tallest residential building), Australia Square (opened in 1967, becoming Sydney’s tallest building) and MLC Centre (which opened in 1977 and was Australia’s tallest building until 1986). In 1958, Seidler married Penelope Evatt, daughter of the politician Clive Evatt. She dropped out of her arts degree to qualify as a fellow architect and worked with Seidler for the rest of his life. Penelope’s sister, Elizabeth Evatt, told me that understanding Seidler involved realising that nothing was more deeply personal to him than architecture. He entered the 1950s design competition to build Sydney a new opera house and then went to war for the competition winner, Danish architect Jørn Utzon, after his politically contentious resignation from the landmark project in 1966. Seidler’s own designs would be tremendously varied, incorporating input from engineers such as Italy’s Pier Luigi Nervi and the work of a series of internationally recognised artists. He took particular pride in returning to Vienna in the 1990s to create Wohnpark Neue Donau, a subsidised social housing community, but he was always looking ahead to the next project. Many outside the design community knew him from newspaper headlines about legal spats and public disputes, but Seidler’s true legacy would come to lie in the indelible mark he left across Australia’s landscape. British architect Lord Richard Rogers told me, “I think Harry is one of the world’s greatest architects. There are not many like him.”

Harry Seidler’s stunning buildings often featured pieces in common areas by renowned Danish artist and textile designer Lin Utzon, daughter of Sydney Opera House architect Jørn Utzon. Her artworks can be seen in many Seidler-designed buildings around the globe, including 9 Castlereagh Street in Sydney and Wohnpark Neue Donau in Vienna. Crown Group is thrilled to announce that Lin’s son and celebrated artist Mika Utzon Popov (featured in the Autumn 2015 edition of Crown Group Lounge) has been commissioned to create the public art at our newest development, Crown on the Park in Waterloo.

Helen O’Neill is the author of A Singular Vision: Harry Seidler, published by HarperCollins, $39.99.

Architecture & Design

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J A PA N E S E - B O R N , A U S T R A L I A - B A S E D A R C H I T E C T KO I C H I TA K A D A’ S D E S I G N S S E E M T O E N C A P S U L AT E T H E B E S T O F O P P O S I N G F O R C E S : BALANCING IDEAS OF THE FUTURE WITH THOSE OF THE PRESENT; A N U R B A N I S E D L I F E S T Y L E W I T H T H E W O N D E R S O F N AT U R E .

Why did you become an architect? To me, architecture has always been a way of discovering the world. I have travelled extensively since childhood and lived in Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, New York, London and now Sydney. I was always fascinated with how architecture can define our first impression of cities, especially Manhattan in New York. The image of Manhattan gave me such an electric impulse that I decided to move to New York so that I could become an architect. I was only 16 years old. My feelings grew so powerful that no-one could stop me from going to New York; I had to know the reasons for my passion. For how many years have you been in the industry? I have been practising architecture for almost 18 years, but I am still considered a ‘young’ architect. Since I started my practice, I have never felt bored, even for a moment, because we constantly face new challenges—it’s similar to going on an adventure. Imagine how exciting it is when a new creative concept or technological solution is discovered that no-one ever imagined was possible. What were your first architecture jobs like? My career did not take off smoothly. I was working in a famous architect’s offices and I never even understood my first architectural jobs. I was either getting coffee or newspapers for my boss or cleaning the toilets and watering the plants. Perhaps many young graduates these days would have quit my first job, especially after just completing their hard-earned degrees; and, believe me, I was no different until I ‘got it’. I almost quit my first job after only eight months. It was a cold winter morning in Tokyo and I was unhappily cleaning the toilets. I felt humiliated and hopeless, and then I had an epiphany. I started to see this beautiful toilet that my boss designed. I cleaned it again and again, tracing the line of every element as if I was drawing his details, and with every stroke I started to appreciate the toilet. Ironically, I have never studied formally or earned a degree in interior design.

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When did you establish Koichi Takada Architects, and what led you to set up your own business? Within our busy lives and fast-growing economy I encourage people to slow down and think more before we make rushed decisions. It was during the GFC in 2008, when the world literally ‘slowed down’, that I established my practice. Design and construction businesses were generally struggling, which levelled the playing field. Many people said I was bold to start at such a difficult time, but I saw it as a huge opportunity and the timing has since proved perfect. As a result, my office has grown from three people to 35–40 people within five years, and we are now expanding internationally. Do you have a business philosophy? Believe in your dream and never give up. Crown Group CEO Iwan Sunito—an architect himself—describes your talent as “phenomenal”. How is it to work with Crown Group? We work very closely with Iwan and his development team; we share the same vision and ambition. Iwan is one of a few clients who push us to explore new possibilities in architectural design and we love every challenge. We also maintain close communication with Paul Sathio and his construction team. Staying focused on a single goal is a key to our successful collaboration. I believe that this close communication plays a very important part in realising our design and our aspiration for an excellent-quality outcome. What do you do to encourage creativity? I am fascinated with nature and use it to find my balance, as well as inspiration for projects. Nature teaches us that there is more to architecture than just creating beautiful forms. The feeling of a soft breeze, the acoustics in a cave, the ambience of natural light through a tree canopy—these are elements we cannot draw but try to involve in the experience of a design, in particular how an experience changes over time. I hope that our signature design is recognised for respecting nature and working in harmony with the environment. We also hope to create a sense of retreat through our design, an escape from our demanding urban lifestyle, similar to the effect that nature has on lifting your energy and recharging your mind to find balance in life.

Architecture & Design

I N FI N IT Y BY CROWN G RO U P

SYD N EY BY CROWN What inspired your design at Sydney by Crown? What elements of the site did you work with? The concept for Sydney by Crown was inspired by the historical context of the site and the idea of creating a new dialogue between the past and the future of Sydney. We wanted to visually connect the podium element to the heritage building. We then thought of adding something absolutely contrasting—a futuristic structure— directly on top of the podium. How did you select the materials, colours and textures? The main materiality is brick, steel and glass. Brick is a traditional material and we selected a colour and texture to blend into the street wall of podium expression along both Clarence and Kent streets. The combination of steel and glass gives the tower a finer, lighter, more high-tech and slimline materiality. What elements of the building are you particularly proud of? I was particularly proud of our design strategy, which won us the Design Excellence competition in 2013. We were the only entrants who designed from the bottom up and the top down at the same time. For us, it was defining two elements: the history and the future. We spent a lot of time designing the roof— the crowning feature—because we saw it as an opportunity to change Sydney’s skyline, which is currently fairly banal.

Last year Koichi Takada Architects was charged with the exciting task to design a building for a landmark site within the new Green Square Town Centre. The final design, Infinity by Crown Group, was awarded one of the property industry’s most prestigious design awards, the 2014 UDIA NSW Concept Design award. Tell us about the concept for Infinity by Crown Group? For Infinity by Crown Group we were able to start with a blank canvas and strive to create something new and exciting. Unlike other new developments that are surrounded by wellestablished town centres, Infinity by Crown Group is an opportunity to showcase the future of Sydney. The result is a fluid and futuristic concept, inside and out. The final design included significant consideration of public benefit and the future needs of the area with the inclusion of a central public plaza and a smooth transition from the private space to the public domain. What elements of the site did you work with? We paid particular attention to natural light and public space. The building’s unique looped shape, along with a void in its northfacing facade, allows natural light to penetrate a central landscaped plaza, which would otherwise be shaded. A tiered apartment structure on the development’s south side, complete with cascading external gardens, will provide year-round sun to the public plaza, while a north-side lounge and function room, The Sky Lounge, will capture northern views and sunlight. At its heart, Infinity by Crown Group’s 1180m2 open-air plaza features mounded gardens, trees and outdoor bench seats skirted by retail outlets, restaurants and cafés. How would you describe the overall style of Infinity by Crown Group? It’s about bringing the future into the present.

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PETERSON HOUSE PREMIUM SPARKLING WINES

COLLECTIVE

C MMONS I T ’ S A P R E C O C I O U S AC T T O B A L A N C E F U N C T I O N A N D F O R M , T H O U G H S O M E O F T H E W O R L D ’ S B E S T P U B L I C S PAC E S D O S O W I T H E A S E . D O M I N I Q U E K U H N E E X P LO R E S H O W T H E P H Y S I C A L A N D S O C I A L DY N A M I C S O F A P U B L I C S PAC E P L AY A C E N T R A L R O L E I N T H E F O R M AT I O N O F A C I T Y A N D I T S C U LT U R E . Winter 2015| Crown Group

It’s not enough to live in a beautiful home or neighbourhood. We must also interact in our local spaces and partake in public life. It’s a precocious act to balance function and form, and few places spring to mind when considering the successful ecosystem that underpins a public space. How do the physical and social dynamics of a public space play a central role in the formation of a city and its culture? In an era characterised by enduring inertia, long working hours, chaotic traffic and instant digital connectivity, there is new-found focus on making sure lively public spaces, and the physical experience that underpins the bond between people and place, don’t disappear. Piazza Navona, Rome, Italy Piazza Navona, an expansive public space since the late 15th century, is one of the most famous piazzas in Rome for its three magnificent sculptural fountains. Once a city market and stage for theatrical performances, today it’s an enduring—and very busy—social hub where people gather simply to be a part of its lively atmosphere. Bustling cafés and restaurants border the square, music hums from buskers’ instruments, children dart and shriek as tourists snap photographs of the towering fountains—the most famous being Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi topped by the towering Obelisk of Domitian—which makes Piazza Navona a perfect space to sit and watch daily life unfold.

La Rambla, Barcelona, Spain Of all Barcelona’s attractions, La Rambla is perhaps the most beloved. This 1.2-kilometre tree-lined promenade is the animated artery of the city and has been for almost 600 years, since city planners turned it from a stream bed into a street. Today the boulevard is a kaleidoscope of activity, from the colourful flower markets, kiosks and souvenir hawkers, to the buskers, pavement artists and living statues. La Rambla connects the city centre at Plaça de Catalunya to the Christopher Columbus Monument at the city’s old port, Port Vell, so it’s important for foot traffic, but it’s also a living museum lined with historical monuments and buildings.

From top to bottom: Piazza Navona, Rome, Italy; La Rambla, Barecelona; street signs in the Old Town of Krakow, Poland; Rynek Glowny.

Rynek Glowny, Krakow, Poland At 40,000m2, Rynek Glowny (meaning ‘Grand Square’ in Polish) is one of Europe’s largest squares and arguably its best. It seems that all roads in Krakow lead you here, and that the closer you get, the livelier the street life becomes. Dating back to the 13th century, World Heritage-listed Rynek Glowny is rich in cultural heritage, bordered by original townhouses, palaces and churches. Despite the often-bitter temperature, it is lively yearround and is still the most popular focal point in the city for public events, festivals, markets, concerts and parties.

Architecture & Design

From top to bottom: The National Gallery and Trafalgar Square, London; Rockefeller Plaza, New York.

From top to bottom: V by Crown’s bustling Piazza; The Abbey in Sydney by Crown, which adjoins existing Skittle Lane.

Trafalgar Square, London, England Its origins as a public space date back to the Middle Ages, but modern-day Trafalgar Square is an ode to British military triumphs. Located in central London, Trafalgar Square is itself centred by Nelson’s Column and its four lion statues, built to commemorate Admiral Nelson’s victory over the French and Spanish at Trafalgar in 1805. This history has made Trafalgar Square an important space for the city’s military remembrances and political demonstrations, as well as the more celebratory gatherings for Christmas, New Year and huge sports events. More than 30 million people visit the square annually.

C R OW N I N G S PAC E S F O R A L L An inviting public space is not an afterthought, nor is it simply an open area; it requires amenity and activity, an abundance of things to see and do. Growing interest in the public domain reflects the move towards city-centric living. Recognising people’s need for both tranquillity and activity, resort-style living has become Crown Group’s signature stamp and a key consideration when activating spaces for the public.

Rockefeller Plaza, New York, USA If there’s a surname synonymous with New York, it would have to be Rockefeller. Not so much a landmark as a series of landmarks, Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings spanning 89,000m2 in Midtown Manhattan. It’s possibly the numberone tourist hotspot in this massive city and a visit leaves you with no doubt as to why: The complex boasts an ice-skating rink, the NBC TV studios, an underground shopping and dining concourse, and unbeatable views of the New York skyline from the observation decks at Top of the Rock. When the festive season rolls around, Rockefeller’s iconic Christmas tree and its annual Lighting Ceremony attract celebrities, locals and tourists.

Winter 2015| Crown Group

Skittle Place & The Abbey, Sydney by Crown, Sydney CBD Sydney by Crown, the 25-storey, 220-apartment development at 161 Clarence Street, is set to take its place among Sydney’s skyline. The front porch of Sydney by Crown will be a triptych paved historical laneway called Skittle Place. For pedestrians only, Skittle Place will connect off King Street to create a new T-shaped laneway into The Abbey. Flanked by new cafés, restaurants and retail fashion stores, the laneway is tucked away from the road, offering respite from the metropolitan hustle and bustle. From street level, pedestrians will be able to gaze up and admire the striking

silhouette of the 25-storey building and its curved steel roof. The Piazza, V by Crown, Parramatta Expected to be among Parramatta’s tallest buildings, V by Crown will be a $309-million, 29-storey residential apartment building with resort-style amenities, including a pool, gym, conference facilities, music room, theatrette and library. The Piazza at V by Crown will be home to two iconic V-shaped columns, each standing a striking three storeys tall, as well as nine dining and retail tenancies and a state-ofthe-art archaeological showcase. Bordered by the heritage-listed Parramatta Park and Parramatta town centre, The Piazza will be less than 200 metres away from Parramatta Square, the focal point of Parramatta City Council’s multibillion dollar revitalisation of its city centre. Koichi Takada Architects and Allen Jack+Cottier Architects—the teams behind the stunning concept design—have woven natural elements of granite and wood throughout the space, creating a seamless transition from the pavement, through The Piazza and into V by Crown’s grand foyer.

Architecture & Design

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SEE

SAW SYDNEY

S Y D N E Y LO C A L R I L E Y PA L M E R C H A L L E N G E S H E R J A D E D P E R C E P T I O N S O F T H E C I T Y O N A SY D N E Y A R C H I T E C T U R E WA L K . D U R I N G A N I N S I G H T F U L U R B A N M E A N D E R , S H E D I S C OV E R S T H E I N T E R S E C T I O N B E T W E E N SY D N E Y ’ S A R C H I T E C T U R E , C U LT U R E A N D H I S TO R Y.

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“Nature never does the excessive or unnecessary thing,” says Eoghan Lewis, referring to the inspiration behind Jørn Utzon’s iconic Sydney Opera House. “His work was so simple, so rational, but also so poetic … But there is a big difference between simple and simplistic.” More inclined to notice Sydney’s traffic congestion than its architectural marvels, for me, a Sydney Architecture Walks (SAW) tour is an experiment in shirking my urban passivity. Eoghan Lewis, registered architect, fervent urbanite and founder of SAW, is my guide. He’s conversational and warm and his voice provides an insightful soundtrack to the day. We start at Circular Quay, watching as the sun glints playfully on the Sydney Opera House’s ceramic tiles. “Utzon’s design was inspired by Sydney’s geology,” explains Eoghan. “The platform is an abstraction of Sydney sandstone, and hovering above it are the three clouds.” I remember learning at school that the triangular shapes represented the sails of yachts bobbing up and down on the harbour. But before I can contest him, Eoghan adds, “They’re not sails, they’re not shells— conceptually they’re clouds. “Utzon wanted the building to last 2000 years, so he stole his ideas from precedents that had withstood the test of time. The stone base of the Opera House was inspired by Mayan platforms and Greek amphitheatres; the vaults, by gothic cathedrals; Persian mosques inspired the ‘clouds’ and their glistening ceramic skin. Utzon’s work was utterly contemporary yet drew its inspiration from the work of the ancients.” We cross the quay and make our way inside the sandstone edifice that is Customs House. I feel omniscient standing on the glass floor atop a scale model of Sydney’s CBD. How can I not appreciate the history of our cityscape? “Governor Phillip stumbled into Sydney Cove by pure chance, and the ancient network

of Aboriginal walking tracks clinging to the sandstone ridges gives Sydney its urban fabric,” says Eoghan, pointing at different places on the model. “Every other Australian city was planned.” I think of grid-like Adelaide and circular Canberra, and contrast it with the sprawling, hodgepodge framework of Sydney. Eoghan’s insights must already be doing wonders for a jaded local such as myself, because I’m finding this new knowledge of Sydney quite charming. After some minutes examining the model, we head to the Museum of Sydney on the corner of Phillip and Bridge streets. Despite walking past this corner countless times, I’ve never known it sits atop the latent ruins of Australia’s first Government House. “The components of Phillip’s house were loaded on the First Fleet as ballast: cast iron balustrades, glass and bricks,” explains Eoghan. “So, the three ingredients of this culture are entombed beneath the museum: British bricks and local sandstone glued together with crushed and burnt midden.” We peer through a glass portal that’s been erected on the forecourt and, all of a sudden, history feels tangible. I can see crumbled and eroded sandstone blocks that reveal the foundations of the original building. Contrasting with the dark granite of the footpath is a series of seemingly random salmon-coloured pavers that, in fact, demarcate the floor plan of the first Government House. Eoghan motions in the direction of a suited man talking on his phone. “That man there just walked through a skillion addition to Phillip’s house.” I laugh, thinking of all the times I’ve unwittingly done the same thing. At the front of the museum I’m met with its sandstone facade—a quiet homage to Phillip’s house—and I’m immediately struck by the contrast of the sleek, soaring skyscrapers emerging from behind it. “Architects Denton Corker Marshall tried to find a way of incorporating the two skyscrapers and the museum with the 19th-century nurses’ quarters and the ruin of Government House,” says Eoghan. “It’s a game of counterpoint, where the architecture responds to the layout of the ruin and its historic context materially, geometrically and functionally.” We turn away from Governor Phillip and Macquarie towers, whose masculine designs

Clockwise from left: Aurora Place, 1 Bligh Street and Customs House.

Architecture & Design

Eoghan likens to a Hugo Boss suit, for a glimpse into the future: the poetic and low-key elegance of Renzo Piano’s Aurora Place and the environmental intelligence of Christoph Ingenhoven’s 1 Bligh Street. Awarded 6 Star Green Star status by the Green Building Council of Australia, this office tower is so efficient and light that it seems to breathe. Cutting-edge environmental technologies are everywhere, yet they’re effortlessly incorporated in the design. The aluminium louvres, for instance, automatically adjust in response to the sun’s orientation to help conserve heating and cooling energy. “This is the passively ventilated glass atrium, which is actually a big chimney,” says Eoghan, looking towards the ceiling of this 30-storey building. “It’s open at the top and the bottom, which provides air movement throughout the building and reduces energy consumption.” I’m too intoxicated by the crystalline glass lifts jetting up and down the atrium to appreciate much else.

Coming full circle, or thereabouts, we visit the Capita Centre on Castlereagh Street, a skyscraper designed by famous Austrian émigré Harry Seidler. Less focused on the architecture, however, we head into the lobby, where an oversized ceramic mural—navy, ivory and platinum in colour—takes centre stage. In the left-hand corner is the artist’s signature: Lin Utzon. “Similar to her father, Jørn, Lin’s work is very much informed by nature and place,” says Eoghan. “Like the Sydney Opera House, this mural is inspired by the geology and landscape of Sydney Harbour and represents its various fingers [coves and points].” Looking at this work of art, I’m struck by the narratives that our city’s architecture tells; the secrets these structures harbour. While I still cling to my identity as a jaded local, I must admit that it’s delightful to have my sense of wonder and awe roused.

From top to bottom: View from the Sydney Harbour Bridge; the Sydney Opera House and the architect Jørn Utzon.

FAST FACTS

Jørn Utzon was commissioned to design the Sydney Opera House at the age of 38 after winning an international architectural competition. At the time he hadn’t built anything larger than a family home.

Collection THE CROWN GROUP

R E D E F I N I N G T H E PA RA M E T E R S At Customs House the 1:500 scale model of Sydney’s CBD covers 10km2 of the city and features more than 5000 trees.

Winter 2015| Crown Group

O F I N N OVAT I O N

Architecture & Design

A NIGHT OF LUXURY

IT’S A WINNER

Winner of some of the most coveted industry awards, including the 2014 UDIA NSW Best Concept Design, Crown Group has earned a reputation for outstanding residential developments featuring five-star resort-style facilities. After the successful launch of Sydney by Crown, which saw sales reach $173 million in four hours, Crown Group announced plans to launch its very own collection of luxury suites in Sydney within the next three years.

A H E A D O F T H E H I G H LY A N T I C I PAT E D L A U N C H O F C R O W N G R O U P ’ S H OT E L - S T Y L E S U I T E S I N S Y D N E Y, W E H I T T H E ST R E E T S O F T H E H A R B O U R C I T Y TO H E A R A B O U T YO U R B E S T H OT E L E X P E R I E N C E S .

What do you love most about staying in a luxury hotel? ˇO ndine Purinton, Kirribilli, NSW When I was six years old I lived at the Hilton Hotel in Dallas. I’ll never forget how exciting it was to get up in the morning and go to a big buffet breakfast.

ˆ Kamila Abutalieva, Ultimo, NSW To me, the best hotels are the ones with the best views. I like to be able to look out across the city. I recently stayed in a hotel with a beautiful view of Sydney.

Winter 2015| Crown Group

ˆ Olga Popykhina, Haymarket, NSW Friendly staff who are willing to help make all the difference. Good service is important.

ˆ Giti Zaki, Parramatta, NSW I love that everything’s neat and I don’t have to worry about cleaning. I also love the bathrooms in luxury hotels. We all appreciate a nice bathroom, especially us girls because we tend to spend more time there!

ˆ Josh Yanto, Sydney, NSW I like hotels that pay attention to the details, like the atmosphere and the way it smells. The amenities are also important. Luxury hotels should have a pool and free wi-fi.

ˆ Anthony Thompson, Sydney, NSW For me, the hallmark of a good hotel is pillow options, powerful showers and great guest service.

ˆ Ngaire Hempoo, Peakhurst, NSW I’m an outdoors person, so a nice view is important to me. I like hotels with a view of something special, whether it’s a city skyline or the countryside.

ˆ Christine Spinoulos, Earlwood, NSW Putting on the hotel robes, kicking back and doing nothing.

ˆ Thang Yin Heng, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia After a long day at work, having a good hotel bathroom, a good shower and good towels to come back to makes a big difference.

The Crown Group Collection

STEP BACK IN T H E S O M E T I M E S O M I N O U S E X P R E S S I O N ‘ W H AT L I E S B E N E AT H ’ H A S B E E N T U R N E D O N I T S H E A D AT T H E 2 9 - S T O R E Y V B Y C R O W N , W H E R E A N E XC AVAT I O N H A S R E V E A L E D S O M E E XC E P T I O N A L LY R A R E A N D I N TA C T A R C H A E O LO G I C A L R E M A I N S DAT I N G F R O M T H E F I R S T P H A S E O F T H E C O LO N I A L S E T T L E M E N T I N PA R R A M AT TA . D O M I N I Q U E K U H N E E X P LO R E S H O W A R E S I D E N T I A L TO W E R I S S H A P I N G T H E F U T U R E S K Y L I N E O F PA R R A M AT TA W H I L E I T S C O N S T R U C T I O N U N C O V E R S A H I D D E N PA S T.

TIME

Winter 2015| Crown Group

Under the ground, on the corner of Macquarie and Marsden streets in Parramatta, laid forgotten brick floors from what appeared to be an 1840s house and the foundations of an artisan’s workshop, plus the sandstone-rubble masonry of a hotel cellar. These remnants, it turns out, would later be identified as the resting place of an underlying convict hut, later a skilled wheelwright’s workshop, and the cellars of the Wheatsheaf Hotel (later called Shepherd Inn), which was, in its heyday, a popular watering hole for locals. Founded in 1788 just 10 months after Sydney, the historical settlement of Parramatta is home to a collection of fascinating archaeological sites dating back to the 1700s and 1800s, marking the arrival of British colonists to a region inhabited by the Indigenous Burramattagal people for the previous 60,000 years. The establishment of a penal colony in New South Wales was an experiment of the British Empire—there are no other known instances of the British establishing a colony principally for the reception of convicts. For this reason, Parramatta’s colonial heritage sites are of international significance. Strong elements of Parramatta’s original urban fabric remain today in the Georgian street layout and historical buildings, including Government House, St John’s Church, Lennox Bridge and the state-heritage-listed Parramatta Gaol. Today, Parramatta City is widely regarded as Sydney’s second CBD and the hub of Greater Western Sydney, with a population forecast to grow by up to 40 per cent in the next 20 years. Rising up on two V-shaped columns, each standing three storeys tall, V by Crown, a new residential development in the heart of Parramatta, will preserve and honour the archaeological remnants of the area’s

historical and cultural past. The $309-million residential apartment building will feature 519 luxury apartments and resort-style facilities, including a pool, gym, conference facilities, music room, theatrette and library. By its completion in late 2016, the development will also showcase a lively Piazza, buttressed by the magnificent heritage-listed Parramatta Park and the thriving Parramatta town centre. The Piazza will be home to nine premium dining and retail tenancies, which are expected to attract restaurants and cafés, and an exciting state-ofthe-art archaeological interpretation centre. V by Crown will represent a significant chapter in the built history of one of Australia’s most historical communities, says Crown Group’s Development Director, Chris Pope. “Archaeological remains will be safely guarded, interpreted and included in the building design, to protect those remains,” he says.

Clockwise from far left: V by Crown’s archaeological interpretation centre; excavations in progress in 2005; the brick floor of the convict hut and the Wheatsheaf Hotel cellar.

The Crown Group Collection

LO O K I N G F O R WA R D TO T H E PA S T

Clockwise from above: An ironstone china plate; Holbrook & Co. sauce bottle from circa 1872; an incised bone used for gaming; V by Crown retail space; Dr Edward Higginbotham.

V by Crown will offer residents and the public alike a window in time, sitting atop a surviving pocket of Australia’s convict past. To celebrate its rich heritage, Crown Group has pledged to deliver a state-of-the-art archaeological showcase to the development’s ground floor, to display artefacts uncovered during the site excavation. Remnants will be displayed in situ, allowing the people of Parramatta to share in the local history. “We’re conscious of the need to maintain and preserve the area’s heritage,” says Chris. Installations will include categorised classes of artefacts, a recovered well, unique interpretation pieces as well as thoughtprovoking wall displays. Curated and presented in a design series, the artefacts will take visitors on a journey through the site as they pass through the building’s Piazza, grand lobby and ground floor spaces. “It’s interesting to be able to add value to the site and I think that reflects our concern for quality that we’re keen to uphold,” says Chris. ARCHAEO LO GY MEETS ARCHITECTURE Often prescribed the cliché of Indiana Jones, archaeologists face a difficult task when explaining their role in recovering and re-creating the past. But, today, the dedicated work of archaeologists provides a fascinating insight into the thriving communities and societies that have preceded us. Dr Edward Higginbotham, Consulting Archaeologist on the V by Crown site, spoke with us about the importance of archaeology and embracing our history, and why V by Crown was an exciting site to uncover.

Winter 2015| Crown Group

In your experience, why is V by Crown a special site? V by Crown is undoubtedly one of the best sites I’ve excavated. It’s the first time we’ve recovered the remains of a convict hut that’s intact enough to display the findings. Typically, timber structures deteriorate or rot away; however, in this case, the brick floor of the hut allowed it to survive over time. This is a rare opportunity for conservation of one of the earliest buildings in Parramatta and that’s special because the community can share in the discoveries for years to come. You have been involved in a number of significant site excavations over the years. In your opinion, what’s the benefit of archaeological excavation to the local area and its community? The historical conservation at V by Crown will add to the already rich fabric of Parramatta’s past. Parramatta Park and Old Government House are UNESCO World Heritage-listed sites that have been found to not only increase cultural tourism but to actually nurture interest and activity in the surrounding area. Activities such as self-guided walking tours of archaeological sites and events such as Archaeology Week are all great promotions for Parramatta. In the future, I expect V by Crown’s relevance as a heritage site to add to the local story and garner even more attention for the area. Are you pleased with the outcome and the inclusion of a historical interpretation centre? It’s very exciting and a great outcome, not only for archaeology but also for the developer and the local community.

LOST AN D FO U N D Seeing history through glass Beer, wine, champagne, gin, ginger beer, cordial, schnapps, soda water—it’s a selection of beverages you might expect to consider on your next night out. But, remarkably, glass remnants discovered at V by Crown reveal that the availability of these drinks has spanned the past two centuries. Glass shards covering a vivid colour spectrum—from deep-blue and turquoise to rich green—and opalescent and transparent objects share important information about how glassmaking has changed since the 18th century. The influence of global trade A number of ceramics were discovered on V by Crown’s site, including plates, teacups and crockery. Makers’ marks suggest some of the ceramics originated in China—evidence of Asian trade networks in Australia’s early history.

“ THIS IS A RARE OPPORTUNITY FOR CONSERVATION OF ONE OF THE EARLIEST BUILDINGS IN PARRAMATTA AND … THE COMMUNITY CAN SHARE IN THE DISCOVERIES FOR YEARS TO COME .” 95

The Crown Group Collection

OLAC

INVESTMENT FROM THE MOMENT SIMON MILLS LAID EYES ON SKYE BY CROWN G R O U P I N N O R T H SY D N E Y, H E K N E W H E WA N T E D T O O W N A P I E C E O F T H E I C O N I C D E V E LO P M E N T. TWO YEARS ON, THE BANKING PROFESSIONAL SPEAKS WITH K AT E P R I D E A U X A B O U T H I S C R O W N G R O U P P R O P E R T Y I N V E S T M E N T.

Simon Mills

What attracted you to buy in the North Sydney area? I have always liked North Sydney because of its central location, train station and proximity to the city. Over the past five years the North Sydney market has grown considerably in depth and desirability and, as a result, it is rapidly transforming from a purely business district to a premium residential location as well. There’s a strong underlying demand in both the purchase and rental market, which gives me confidence that I can either rent or sell the apartment if I want to.

Do you feel Sydney property has a strong future, and why? Yes. Sydney is a very unique market in that it is geographically constrained by water, mountains and national parks. It offers many premium locations within proximity to the harbour and beaches, which means it’s able to sustain higher property prices. Sydney is a globally recognised and desirable city and this means that local demand is supplemented by international interest.

What was it about the Skye by Crown Group building that appealed to you? Koichi Takada’s architecture is distinctive and differentiates the building from others in the area. Also, the rooftop infinity pool is a premium feature. I expect this to translate into a strong return in both rental income and capital growth.

What is your ideal day out in Sydney? An ideal day in Sydney for me has to involve the water. A morning run along the coast somewhere, like Bondi to Bronte, followed by a swim and a coffee. Then I might meet friends late morning for yum cha. The afternoon would involve swimming in a harbour pool with my kids and enjoying dinner outdoors.

Being a Sydney resident with an interest in property, what changes have you noticed about Sydney’s property market? Sydney is moving towards higher-density housing and an increasing number of people are satisfied with apartment living. This shift in attitude is supporting the apartment market. Higher-density residential areas can support a more diverse range of local businesses, which increases the local feel of a suburb. I suppose you could call it a ‘vertical village’ effect.

Winter 2015| Crown Group

What is your favourite ‘hidden gem’ in North Sydney? I would say the Blues Point Hotel. It’s a fantastic, quiet, unpretentious little pub with a very pleasant outlook and a good menu. It’s certainly good enough for the cat that’s usually asleep on the footpath out the front!

The Crown Group Collection

COMMUNITY Winter 2015足| Crown Group

From left to right: 1. Rachel Delaney and Aoife Royston 2. Phebe Chan and Rory McDonald 3. Evie Hillar, Iwan Sunito and Herry Tjandrasusilo 4. Prisca Edwards, Yayan Mulyana and Virginia Judge 5. Haig Conolly, Spiro Prevezanos and Pierre Abrahamse 6. Ashley Heasman and Joe Campbell 7. Michael Romano and Jesse Cheung 8. Bagus Sukmana, Herman Suwito, Jane Hanfong, Monica Sembiring, Fauzia Sudaryomo and Michael Ginarto

From left to right: 1. Kirsty Bradley, Ellie Corrigan, Giverny Reid, Iwan Sunito, Lisa Clark, Emma Campbell and Dominique Kuhne 2. Joanna Gomulka, Bonnie Boezeman and Jonathan Kavanaugh 3. Zac Zaharia and Tony Berland 4. Bonnie Boezeman 5. Mary Botto, Anthony Caudullo and Andri Tjung 6. Elliot Garnaut and Holly Asser 7. Iwan Sunito, Chris Waite, Geoff Campbell and Faye James 8. Kate Prideaux and Dominique Kuhne 9. Tigor M. Siahaan and Arie Mentari

The Crown Group Collection

COMMUNITY Winter 2015足| Crown Group

From left to right: 1. Liyin Han 2. Fauzia Sudaryomo, Prisca Edwards and Kate Prideaux 3. Roselle Payuran and Katrina Pa 4. Renee Cosgrave and Lisa Clark 5. Xiaoxi Ren 6. Emma Surtees and Lynda Ford 7. Julian Eka Wardhana, Michael Ginarto, and Joey Sutedja 8. Paula Verhoeven, Sukardi Dharmawan, Iwan Sunito, Lianita Ruchyat, Luluk Lukmiyati and Bams Reguna Bukit

From top left to right: 1. Thi Sang Chau and TT Van Tran 2. Varvara Sellies, Olivia Shead and Olivia Mciver 3. Crown Ashfield model 4. Philippa Schroeder and Natalie Codega 5. Grace Chamia and Emily Hutchinson 6. Hamish Stephenson and Jon Ford 7. Paula Verhoven

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M MENTS TO REMEMBER

The development team The dynamic powerhouse behind Crown Group’s project portfolio is an 11-person team that lives and breathes property. On track to launch, the development team is poised to deliver the architecturally innovative Infinity by Crown Group in August. A passionate architect by background, Development Manager Peter Mullen couldn’t be more excited as he approaches the last leg of preparation. “The construction of such a unique form is going to be complicated, but also exhilarating,” he says. A pragmatist by nature, Peter doesn’t underestimate the task ahead.

The team also covers other developments under construction or near completion, such as V by Crown at Parramatta. Development Manager Melody Kazzi works closely with Koichi Takada Architects and Allen Jack+Cottier Architects—the teams behind V by Crown’s stunning design—to ensure it’s delivered on time. Melody, what are you next looking forward to at Crown Group? I can’t wait for the design development and subsequent launch of Crown Eastlakes. The apartments are going to be really unusual and highly sought after. With design underway for the spectacular Crown Eastlakes development, the team can’t wait to share the highly guarded details and reveal what’s next. Clockwise from above: Artistic Consultant Ellie Waterhouse and David Mitchell, Michael Romano and Gavin Rea.

VIEW ALL THE CROWN GROUP MOMENTS ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA

Clockwise from left: Jesse Cheung and Melody Kazzi, Vince Bristow and architect Georgia Wilson, Michael Romano and Pierre Abrahamse.

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M2 MOTORW

AY (TOLL R OAD)

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Eko, Newington

Millennium, Homebush

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Y HW

HUME HWY

M AN ST

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WAY FREE

12 6

AIRPO

Y ST FREEWA

MALABAR RD

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Citiview, Ashfield

Norton Terrace, Ashfield

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Water Street, Strathfield

Icon, Homebush

The Crown, Bondi Junction

Offers Crown Suites

SOUTHERN CROSS DRIVE

Sanctum, Rhodes

BONDI BEACH

10 GREAT WESTERN HWY

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Crown Eastlakes, Eastlakes

The Bondi, Bondi

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Gallery, Parramatta

Crown on the Hill, Pennant Hills

Y SYDNE CBD

FIVE DOCK

18 O’Dea Avenue, Waterloo

Viking by Crown, Waterloo

Crown Ashfield, Ashfield

Completed Projects

E STE RN MO 16 PAR TO RAM RWA ATT Y A RD

Infinity by Crown Group, Green Square

Viva by Crown, Top Ryde

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Genesis, Epping

Coming Soon

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Sydney by Crown, Sydney CBD

Axis, Rhodes

OPERA HOUSE

Parramatta Road, Five Dock

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SILVERWATER RD

Skye by Crown Group, North Sydney

48 O’Dea Avenue, Waterloo

Now Selling

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V by Crown, Parramatta

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NORTH SYDNEY

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Crown Group Collection

The Crown Collection

T H E E L E VAT O R R I D E T O T H E P E N T H O U S E S AT S K Y E B Y C R O W N G R O U P W I L L TA K E A B O U T O N E M I N U T E . W H I C H , I T T U R N S O U T, I S A L S O R O U G H LY T H E A M O U N T O F T I M E YO U N E E D T O S I N G T H E THEME SONG FROM THE JEFFERSONS: “WELL, W E ’ R E M O V I N ’ O N U P … T O A D E E - L U X E A PA R T M E N T IN THE SKYYYY …” A sign of strength within Sydney’s prestige property bastions, Crown Group has sold the final penthouse apartment in its luxury Skye by Crown Group development in North Sydney. The final penthouse boasts breathtaking views over North Sydney and the leafy Lower North Shore, extravagant finishes and technology inclusions geared for entertainment, such as an integrated Bang and Olufsen sound system. In total, Skye by Crown Group includes five luxury penthouses positioned on level 20. The lavish penthouses offer purchasers premium high-rise living combined with the sought after benefits of a spacious backyard. Designed by Japanese-Australian architect Koichi Takada, the 20-storey building features 232 apartments endowed with luxury inclusions such as glass facades, balconies and winter gardens. Set to entice residents are the private, greenery-enriched rooftop gardens, outdoor seating, barbecue areas and sprawling landscaped terraces. Luscious mature plants, such as dragon, frangipani and olive trees, add to the tower’s resort-style feel, promising to keep the gardens verdant across the seasons. Crown Group’s Project and Commercial Sales Director, Roy Marcellus, is a passionate advocate of the up-market lifestyle on offer in Skye by Crown Group and he isn’t shy about sharing this with his clients. “There will be nothing else in North Sydney like Skye by Crown Group,” he says. “The rapid sale of all five penthouses reflects the demand for luxury apartments with a private, luxury oasis on the upper floors of the building. These penthouses are enhanced by the high level of design throughout the building, its generous residential amenities and its outstanding location in North Sydney.” The building’s design includes an abundance of cylindrical forms, shaping the grand foyer and encasing the building in a vertical ‘veil’ rising more than 60 metres high.

SKYE’S THE LIMIT

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The $236-million luxury apartment tower also comprises resort-style amenities, including a top-floor gym, an infinity-edge rooftop pool and views to complement an inner-city lifestyle. “Skye by Crown Group has been very popular among our affluent purchasers searching for state-of-the-art living,” Roy says. Boasting architectural elegance and proximity to quality schools, shops and North Sydney train station, Skye by Crown Group struck a chord with buyers from its launch day in 2012. More than 100 apartments sold on launch day, totalling more than $110 million. An oasis amid the bustle of daily life, Skye by Crown Group promises a seductive mix of fast-paced city life coupled with tranquil respite— conveniently nestled in the comfort of an iconic building. Roy smiles when he says, “Our penthouse buyers can now sit back and look forward to the delivery of their luxury residence.” In Roy’s words, after the building’s six-level car-space basement excavation was completed earlier this year: “Let’s roll.” Skye by Crown Group is expected to complete in late 2016. Visit www.skyebycrowngroup.com.au for more information.

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The Crown Group Collection

Ottawa Collection Designed by legendary designer Karim Rashid Awarded a Red Dot Design Award Honourable mention 2013

Sydney’s new icon

NOW SELLING Experience a global icon. An architectural masterpiece expressed as a series of soaring arcs, Sydney by Crown makes a breathtaking impact on a world-famous skyline. These luxury residences and their resort-style facilities tempt residents from the atrium to rooftop whilst providing a sanctuary within to call home. The time is now for Sydney. The time is now for you.

FROM $910,000 ONLY A FEW REMAIN Located at 161 Clarence Street, Sydney CBD Project Gallery open by appointment Level 29, 1 Market Street, Sydney CBD

Roy Marcellus +61 406 680 116

BOOK AN INTERIOR DESIGNER Our Interior Designers can come to your house to help you find the best interior solution for your home. Call (02) 9437 0066 for more information or to make a booking.

It’s more than great design

A complete collection for the dining room with smooth, sensual details and great functionality, the Ottawa collection has become a worldwide success and was awarded a Red Dot honourable mention in 2013.

It’s a concept Crows Nest Flagship Store - 575 Pacific Hwy Tel. (02) 9437 0066 | Moore Park - Shop GA03 Moore Park Supa Centa Tel. (02) 9697 2886

www.boconcept.com.au

1800 888 800 CROWNGROUP.COM.AU Spring 2015 | Crown Group

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LAST

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SWEET SOUNDS

Start With Why By Simon Sinek RRP $19.95 booktopia.com.au

CONTRIBUTORS

Simon Sinek teaches leaders and organisations how to inspire people, and his famous TED talk has been viewed more than 500,000 times. Start With Why analyses leaders, such as Martin Luther King Jr and Steve Jobs, and discovers a common theme in their ability to inspire—they all started with why.

In The Lonely Hour Sam Smith RRP $19.99 jbhifi.com.au

Editorial & Advertising Faye James Group Editor Kirsty Bradley Editor-in-Chief Ellie Corrigan Managing Editor

The Secrets Of My Success By Janine Allis RRP $24.95 booktopia.com.au

Kate Prideaux General Manager of Communications & Public Relations

25 Years: The Chain Fleetwood Mac RRP $19.99 jbhifi.com.au

A witty look at how Janine Allis grew Boost Juice bars into a global phenomenon with more than 6000 employees and $160 million in sales. In The Secrets of My Success, the Shark Tank star tells the inside story of the growth of Boost Juice and her journey from housewife to successful entrepreneur.

Dior And I (2015) RRP $29.99 jbhifi.com.au

Academy Award winner Angelina Jolie directs and produces Unbroken, an epic drama that follows the incredible life of Olympian and war hero Louis ‘Louie’ Zamperini, who, along with two other crewmen, survived in a raft for 47 days after a near-fatal plane crash during WWII.

Go ‘behind the seams’ of fashion’s prestigious House of Dior with Dior and I, a tantalising glimpse into the making of Raf Simons’ first haute couture collection for Christian Dior in 2012. All hail the seamstresses who serve Simons’ vision.

Winter (Season 1) RRP $29.99 jbhifi.com.au

Cinderella (2015) RRP $24.99 jbhifi.com.au

Rebecca Gibney (who first appeared as Det. Sgt. Eve Winter in 2014’s telemovie The Killing Field) returns in Winter. This season follows her as she strives to solve the chilling murder of a 23-year-old mother, Karly, in a hauntingly beautiful fishing town south of Sydney.

Cate Blanchett stars as the evil stepmother in this new vision of the Cinderella tale from director Kenneth Branagh. The underlying property emerges untarnished as this fairytale classic is reverently re-imagined for a new generation around the world.

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Chris Waite National Group Sales Manager Design & Publishing Geoff Campbell Publisher

M U S T WATC H

Unbroken (2015) RRP $24.99 jbhifi.com.au

Dominique Kuhne Communications Executive

Giverny Reid Creative Director

Design With Colour And Style By Shaynna Blaze RRP $39.99 booktopia.com.au

Guy Pendlebury Production/Pre-press

X Ed Sheeran RRP $19.99 jbhifi.com.au

Interior design expert Shaynna Blaze, of Selling Houses Australia and The Block fame, has published her second book, Design With Colour And Style. It explores these fundamental elements of design and how to use them to uncover your own personal style.

Photography Jake Richardson jakerich55.com Sharyn Cairns sharyncairns.com.au Crown Group Head Office Level 29/1 Market Street, Sydney NSW 2000 p +61 2 9925 0088 e sales@crowngroup.com.au w crowngroup.com.au

Outliers By Malcolm Gladwell RRP $26.95 booktopia.com.au Wilder Mind Mumford & Sons RRP $19.99 jbhifi.com.au

This provocative and inspiring book looks at everyone, from rock stars to professional athletes, software billionaires to scientific geniuses, to show that the story of success is far more surprising than we could ever imagine.

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Edge Head Office 51 Whistler Street, Manly NSW 2015 p +61 2 8962 2600 e chris.waite@edge.agency w edge.agency

The Crown Group Collection

Sisal - timeless style

LEASING PRESTIGE Executive Service. Our elite team of Property Managers have a reputation for efficiently securing and renting properties, ensuring that each property is marketed to attract the most suitable tenant and understands the importance of communicating with clients throughout the process. Crown Group Leasing also has a wide range of apartment sizes and types available for lease now from $500 per week in Waterloo, Ryde, Ashfield and Rhodes.

SYDNEY | MELBOURNE | BRISBANE | PERTH 1800 339 379 AUCKLAND 0800 862 377

www.interfloors.com.au 1800 857 322 | crowngroup.com.au facebook.com/crowngroupleasing