Innholdsfortegnelse for August - September 2018 i Architectural Review Asia Pacific

While it would be nice to be thinking about Architectural Review 24/7, the realities of publishing today mean that as editor I am responsible for a range of magazines. Wearing one of those other hats I recently interviewed two married couples, one that runs a media agency and another that heads an accessories and fashion empire. And in this issue AR is featuring the couple behind Melbourne practice Coy Yiontis as our lead profile. Three very different businesses. Three, it must be said, quite similar married couples. All three are Melbourne-based, all have at least two children and coincidentally all the women are blonde (very Melbourne). There are people who recoil at the very idea of sharing a working relationship with a significant other. How can that be healthy, they…

“OUR COMMUNICATIONS PLAN IS IMPORTANT WITHIN THE OFFICE TOO, CAPTURING THE CHARACTER OF THE PRACTICE AND HELPING US TO COLLECTIVELY CREATE AND UNDERSTAND OUR WORK AND OUR CULTURE.” / DAVID BARR, PAGE 65 “WHEN THE MERGER ACTUALLY HAPPENED ON DAY ONE, IT WAS PRETTY SEAMLESS AND THAT WAS A BIG RELIEF – THERE WAS POTENTIAL FOR WAVES OF PANIC AND OTHER EMOTIONAL RESPONSES.” / GRANT WITHERS, PAGE 30 “THIS IS ABOUT MORE THAN SATISFYING SUSTAINABILITY STANDARDS; IT IS ABOUT RETHINKING OUR ALWAYS INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS WITH BIOLOGICAL OTHERS… UPON WHOM WE RELY FOR OUR VERY LIVELIHOOD.” / HÉLÈNE FRICHOT PAGE 13 “WE’VE GOT SOME SOFTWARE NOW, SO WE TRY TO USE THAT TO FIGURE OUT WHEN THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN. THE PROBLEM IS MOST OF OUR WORK IS RESIDENTIAL... SO…

Decide how important competitions and awards are to your marketing strategy. Assess the kudos of winning against the time it takes to produce an entry that does the project, and your firm, justice. Enjoy affirmation of your design approach, but do not expect a raising of your profile to result in a flood of commissions. Consider what will be your reaction to the increasing recognition from awards and competitions. The longer you are in the profession and the more experience you gain, you are likely to win bigger commissions, be able to charge higher fees and get more commercial work if you wish. Alongside this natural progression though, add a trajectory that results from your higher profile.…

“WE CHOSE A DARKER, MOODIER PALETTE, WHICH EVOKED A FEELING OF ENCLOSURE AND SAFETY. THERE’S A REAL SENSE OF CALM AND PEACE IN THE HOUSE.” Architect’s statement. Hardwood house was designed with intended use as both dwelling and overnight high-end accommodation in regional Daylesford, Victoria. With this setting in mind, the intention was to create a contemporary home that referenced the warm, textured timber chalets of alpine Europe. Designed to a modest floor area and budget, the floor plan lends itself to the flexibility of being used as a single house, or two independent and private rentals with separate entrances, facilities and outlooks. Externally the building was designed as two timber-clad gabled forms, appropriate for the area. These pitched-roof forms were referenced internally with high raked-ceilings, which create a great…

AR: What are the particular design challenges in this space? Polly Harbison: A lot of the buildings on the south coast are quite cold. They have all these little courtyards on the north side of the house that don’t have the view, but they are protected and so often where you hang out the most. You will sit where the cat sits! How do you combat the effects of the elements such as salt and wind in coastal properties? Put in outdoor taps and make sure they are connected to hot water, so you can wash the house down with hot water – it melts the salt. Anything on the coast is going to get hammered, so choose materials that don’t rely on being pristine and beautiful to…

There are many different business models for an architecture practice, but one of the most fraught, surely, would be one run by life partners? Isn’t it hard enough to deal with the stress of operating a business without taking onboard any emotional baggage that comes when personal relationships are added to the mix? Not so, say Rosa Coy and George Yiontis, who have run their titular Melbourne-based practice together since 1996. The duo established the studio after finding success in their respective individual careers overseas. “We were both working for interesting practices,” recalls Yiontis. “And it came to the point where we had to make the decision about digging in there for the long-term. “Rosa was with Renzo Piano and I was with a young company called Brunet Saunier Architects,…

Golden Rule 1 – Provide the external renderer with complete information Submitted information should be at least 95 percent complete and final, and include accurate dimensions, floor plans, elevations and material schedule, with consistent naming conventions and drawings. These should be grouped logically in a series of folders (not just thrown into one). Golden Rule 2 – Select a client group leader The outsourcing firm should nominate a project leader to act as the key decision-maker and point of contact for the external rendering team. This person coordinates thorough image reviews, feedback and approvals; i.e. from in-house interior, landscape and architecture perspectives. Golden Rule 3 – Don’t design by (outsourced) render Image review rounds (Binyan offers two) should be used to refine, tweak and edit the images or film, not…

Senior management of The Buchan Group, unified and rebranded as Buchan since May, recognised several years ago that a merger was in everyone’s best interest. But they also understood that, as a collective of creatives, there was potential for unrest. After all, ‘merger’ can be a scary word. “Architects are creative people, so with creation comes emotion, I think they go hand in hand,” says principal Grant Withers. “Every employee probably had a similar outlook to these sorts of things. They were all thinking ‘how does this affect me?’ “We had very open communication leading up to the merger, we made sure that all staff in every practice knew what was coming; they were informed about the process we were going through.” Since 1990 The Buchan Group had been operating…

“IT’S MY NAME ON THE DOOR AND I HAVE TO BE PROUD OF EVERYTHING THAT COMES OUT OF THAT DOOR, SO I THINK THAT’S IMPORTANT.” I’ve always had a fascination with design and construction and if I wasn’t an architect I’d be a builder,” says Adam Kane, director and founder of Adam Kane Architects. “Having that creative side and being able to create beautiful things has always been of interest to me.” Growing up with interior designer parents, coupled with a love of beautiful forms, there was never a plan B for Kane. “It’s a boring answer,” he says, “but I’ve always had that desire from the start.” Upon completing a master’s of architecture at Melbourne’s Deakin University and keen to gain as much experience as possible, Kane took up…

ALL IT TAKES IS FOR THE DOOR TO BE SITTING ONE OR TWO DEGREES OFF THE FULLY CLOSED POSITION AND IT WON’T SECURE. With security top of mind in the minds of all involved in the building design industry, specifying door closers when considering egress and access solutions is now second nature. Door closers ensure that people entering and exiting a building don’t have the responsibility of making sure the door is securely closed behind them. The fundamental thing to remember when specifying any door products is that you can spend $10,000 on electronic security on a door, but if it does not close efficiently and securely, then those security items are money down the drain. Today’s security door applications typically involve the use of electromagnetic locks, drop bolts and…

Aneeta Duomode Choose the mode to suit your mood. Providing the streamlined appearance of fixed windows with the functionality of a fully operable window, the Duomode sashless window features a patented locking system that allows the large, frameless panes to be locked to operate as either a counterbalance window or a servery window. So you get the maximum possible viewing area, along with unparalleled freedom and flexibility. Live uninterrupted. aneetawindows.com USG Boral Ensemble Acoustical Plasterboard Ceiling System Architects, interior designers and their clients look for a clean, seamless ceiling finish in impressive public spaces. Acoustical ceiling solutions with a smooth plasterboard appearance have been traditionally costly to install. Now the USG Boral Ensemble Acoustical Plasterboard Ceiling System offers the clean, elegant aesthetics you want with the sound performance you need.…

Curated by Mauro Baracco and Louise Wright with Linda Tegg, the Australian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale of Architecture this year has become the unlikely residence of a migrant community of 10,000 plants, composed of approximately 65 species of a plant that used to grow where Melbourne now is. With great difficulty and care these botanical beings have been collected in seed form, predominantly from the temperate grasslands around south-western Victoria, and with the collaboration of horticulturists they have been germinated and tended to in greenhouses in Sanremo Italy. Out of necessity, until 25 November, when the Biennale concludes, the plant community will be cared for by trained and equipped attendants, wearing custom designed caretakers’ outfits. This is an Australian population that will presumably not be able to make the…

Future-proofing the business: Something we’re interested in is looking to broaden what we do in terms of what we deliver. There’s an American model I’ve been researching – architect led, design and construct. You assume a bit of risk in that you become a one-stop shop for a client, in terms of project delivery. Growth areas: Definitely aged care. Perhaps it’s just our level of maturity and we’re much more exposed now with our own parents, seeing the reality of aged care. Motivating the team: Aside from the standard social things, the Friday night drinks, and the trips away… It’s an open plan office, everything’s discussed. Aside from personal history and personal details, there’s not a lot that’s hidden information. We try to foster this sense of you are part…

“IT WOULD BE DETRIMENTAL TO THE PROJECT TO BE THINKING OF TRYING TO WIN A PARTICULAR AWARD RATHER THAN SIMPLY FOCUSING ON MAKING THE BEST POSSIBLE PROJECT.” – WILLIAM SMART Here, AR speaks with small and medium-sized firms that have either won a design competition for a high-profile, imaginative commission or received an award for an original, completed project. Each has its own reasons for pursuing this architectural endeavour and while it is no guarantee of more clients knocking on the door, such achievements do give an inestimable boost to their professional and design confidence. Indigo Slam won Smart Design Studio the Robin Boyd Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (New) at the 2016 Australian Institute of Architects Awards. “It’s always nice to have your work recognised publicly and ultimately…

/ BROOKE LLOYD, DIRECTOR, HEAD OF INTERIORS, COX ARCHITECTS NATIONAL DESIGN AND MARKETING COMMITTEE MEMBER As an architect or designer it’s natural to assume a circular relationship of ‘win work, do work, publish work’ in terms of marketing. To a certain extent this remains true, our work is the best marketing tool. Following such a singular approach, however, results in fragmented and ‘transactional’ messaging and limits our ability to tell a practice narrative that is coherent and holistic – beyond the business of projects. ‘Design excellence’ as a positioning has become so prevalent that it’s now meaningless and does very little to differentiate one practice from another (as a claim, if not as a reality). It also fails to acknowledge that non-designer audiences can benefit from being provided with additional…