Writing about the ideas behind design. Think about it.
In Como, a small town on the southern shore of Lake Como north of Milan, the Museo della Seta (Silk Museum) recently showed the textile works of Lithuanian artist Inga Liksaite in a solo exhibition called ‘Waterhome’.
The works are a mixture of hand-stitching and machine-stitched canvases, making use of small stitches to create a pattern that only translates its subject when viewed from afar, like an Impressionist painting.
Read moreThere is no question that the world is in climate crisis, with school children on strike and increasing numbers of governments around the world declaring a climate emergency, so the theme of the XXII edition of the Triennale di Milano this year is particularly apt. Broken Nature: Design Takes on Human Survival is an exhibition and series of international installations that explores what designers are doing to tackle the problem.
Broken Nature takes as its starting point the inevitable extinction of humans and explores the myriad ways that designers are attempting to tackle the problem. “Humanity is in peril… the strain we are placing on environmental bonds is significant, the needle measuring the tension is already in the critical zone, and the pressure is mounting,” writes Italian-born NY-based curator Paola Antonelli in the catalogue essay.
Read moreOn the ground floor of the Harbour Rocks Hotel, with dining overlooking busy pedestrian street Nurses Walk in Sydney’s The Rocks, is Tayim, a new restaurant, bar and deli with design by architecture studio Welsh & Major. The exterior brick facade has been restored and updated, while the interiors are a lesson in successful adaptive reuse, pairing historic sandstone walls with minimal design insertions to create a blank canvas for complex Middle Eastern flavours.
The project was made all the more challenging by the heritage constraints to the site, which was previously the 1890s Evans’ Stores warehouse, as well as the considerable functional requirements of creating a working restaurant, bar and deli.
Read moreFive Mile Radius is a Brisbane-based practice whose approach to architecture centres around the use of locally-sourced building materials in construction. Clare Kennedy founded the studio alongside a group of architects and students, working on a range of building and art projects, as well as various workshops, educational events and other public engagement programs.
“Responding to the growing need to move away from globalised supply chains to more self sufficient models, we are working on a future where Australians can build using ethically sourced resources from their own shores,” explains Clare Kennedy from Five Mile Radius. “Our practice begun with hands-on material experimentation for art commissions. We tested our ideals by making things then quickly realising our limitations. Although we are now working on larger projects for commercial and private clients, every project still involves this process of hands-on prototyping and testing.”
Read moreSydney-based designer Trent Jansen takes a research-led, anthropological approach to his work that often involves delving into the history of materials, movements and mythologies, and also includes cross-cultural collaboration.
His most recent work, which is being exhibited as part of Local Milan at the Milan Furniture Fair in April 2019, is the Shaker Family Home. This piece is simultaneously a single work, and also a collection of works, with each part folding away into the structure of the main piece.
Read moreArchitecture students from a Melbourne School of Design intensive have created eight intricate miniature sets from the Harry Potter world by J.K. Rowling in a new exhibition called “Smoke and Mirrors”.
Teams were tasked with designing and fabricating an animated set model based on sourced material, with different models showing Gringotts bank, Ollivander’s wand shop, the Shreiking Shack, the Burrows (home to the Weasley’s) and parts of Hogwarts itself, including The Chamber of Secrets. Students built character profiles from source materials, then designed the spaces to reflect how the characters would have used the space.
Read moreHigh Tea with Mrs Woo was a proponent of slow fashion before the term was even invented. The label is run by three sisters from Newcastle – Rowena, Juliana and Angela Foong – who began their careers in fashion running a second-hand clothing store while they were at university. Right from the beginning, the trio were all about recycling, remaking and making the most of existing fashion. “We were upcycling pre-loved garments, sourcing vintage fabrics and using deadstock fabrics from a remnant warehouse,” explains Rowena Foong, “but we weren’t making enough money to pay the rent!”
The next step was to create their own fashion label, High Tea with Mrs Woo, which was launched in 2004. And it’s fair to say that it has been a remarkable success – not only has the brand received awards and acclaim, it has achieved longevity in a field that’s all about what’s new. All three sisters are still based in Newcastle, still in the same retail store and manufacturing from their studio workshop 15–18 years on. They are also still producing garments by their own hands using high quality natural fibre fabrics.
Read moreBy Penny Craswell
A five-metre high pig made with a criss-crossing three dimensional structure fitted with LED lights is one of a number of lighting installations created this year in Sydney to celebrate the Chinese year of the pig.
The sculpture is by Chinese-Australian artist Qian Jian Hua (Justin) and its exoskeleton is made of steel. Justin Qian was born in Nanjing, China and moved to Australia in 1991 after Tiananmen Square.
Read moreLocated at Breakneck Gorge, less than two hours from Melbourne, this house for short stays features a distinctive folded exterior that is clad in Corten steel. The dwelling is part of a group of buildings on the property that include a homestead, another short-term rental and agricultural outbuildings.
Designed by multi-disciplinary Melbourne firm Robert Nichol & sons, the house was dubbed Oikos (meaning “home” in Ancient Greek) thanks to its owner’s Greek heritage.
Read moreDesign duo Jonathan Biet and Sophie Bain from So Watt in Sydney’s Marrickville have put out a beautiful timber Christmas tree decoration this year that also supports a good cause.
The So Watt Smith Family Plywood Christmas Tree features a simple slot-together design paired with the quality of a beautifully-finished Birch Plywood. It works well as an ornament to complement your main tree, or can serve as a small Christmas tree with lights for those of us who sometimes prefer a more minimal Christmas. Read more