Hasta La Ideas

Australian firm Henry Wilson Studio has transformed a former Sydney bakery into a retail space for skincare brand Aesop, exposing the original sandstone walls (+ slideshow).

Henry Wilson Studio removed the space’s former fit out, revealing the stone walls, fireplaces and previously hidden doorways.

Designer Henry Wilson told Dezeen the brief was quite open, and they tried to retain and expose as much of the existing building as possible in an attempt to reference the history of the area and of the building.

“My self-assigned brief and discussions with founder Dennis Paphitis were about reworking ‘off the shelf’ components [that are] Australian-made wherever possible,” Wilson explained.

“Before Aesop took over the space it was a bakery,” he added. “Prior to that, locals in the area tell me that it was once one of Balmain’s first pubs and even a brothel at some point.”

The designers chose a pale colour palette for the interior to compliment the yellow of the original sandstone walls and make the most of the natural light that floods in from the street front and rear windows.

“The stone walls are typical for buildings of the area, and of that era,” said Wilson. “Sydney sandstone is unique in its yellow colour and grey veins. It’s soft and easy to work and the evidence of the primitive tools and unskilled labour can be seen in all the original blockwork.”

A series of industrial metal shelving units have been added to display Aesop’s products and line one wall of the store. Smaller versions are used elsewhere, with some of the shelves replaced by sheets of bottle green glass.

A row of sinks and mirrors are set against the opposite wall, along with the cash register which is also fixed on top of a newer slab of locally-sourced sandstone.

Hanging plant baskets, cane furniture and exposed copper pipes also feature in the interior.

This branch joins a long list of unique Aesop stores completed by various architects and designers. Dezeen spoke to the brand’s founder Dennis Paphitis about why no two stores are of the same design in an exclusive interview.

Here’s a project description from Henry Wilson Studio:

Aesop Balmain

The concept for the design of the Balmain Aesop store came from an understanding of the suburb, the existing materials and the context of the address. The aim was to present a space that was as familiar and utilitarian as the backyard shed, with a contrast that is the sophistication of the Aesop product and brand.

The history of Balmain and the neighbouring Cockatoo island is one of work, grit and industry. Much of this has moved on now, though, the legacy still resides in the buildings and foreshore.

The design of the Aesop store draws from these materials, colours and shapes. Removing the former fit out revealed raw sandstone walls, fireplaces and hidden doorways which have been retained and exposed as reference to this building history and place.

Detailing of the Balmain store centred around durability both visually and physically.’Off the shelf’ industrial components presented in an alternative way than that of their original purpose, provide solutions for interior fittings such as shelving and sink frames.

This ‘reworking’ extends to the vintage furniture and customised lighting. Tinted concrete terrazzo references the foyers of apartment buildings built in Sydney in the middle of the century. Pale Australian timbers and a light colour pallet has been chosen to emphasise the natural light from both directions.

The post Henry Wilson Studio converts former bakery
into Sydney Aesop store appeared first on Dezeen.

Reclaimed timber boards and sections of mesh fencing feature in this dimly-lit bar in Sydney by Australian studio Luchetti Krelle (+ slideshow).

Donny’s Bar, located in the northern beachside suburb of Manly, was designed by Sydney studio Luchetti Krelle to resemble a New York loft.

The bar serves a selection of Asian-inspired dishes, so the design team wanted to also incorporate Asian influences into the space to conjure up images of “a back alley in Chinatown”.

“The brief was to create a warm and friendly New York style loft bar which would serve Asian style tapas and dumplings – on a tight budget,” the designers explained. “Avoiding overt Asian theming, we instead opted for a pared-back approach to the design.”

A range of recycled materials were used to transform the stark space into a dark and atmospheric bar with exposed brick walls and concrete flooring throughout.

A polished copper counter forms a centrepiece in the downstairs bar area. Recycled timber boards and paving stones line the base of the counter, with lighting glowing through the spaces in between.

“The rustic quality of the timber contrasts with a shiny copper rectified top and perfectly mitred timber lining boards weaving diagonally across the lower ceiling and walls,” the designers added.

High tables and bar stools are set against the side walls, while worn leather armchairs, low tables and cushioned footstools are arranged next to a spiralling metal staircase.

Dozens of lights encased in small wire cages are suspended from the mesh-covered ceiling of the double-height space, creating a feature above the entrance.

On the mezzanine floor above, exposed brick and wood panels feature on some walls, while another features red Asian-style prints. Fluorescent lighting tubes illuminate the space and are covered by more sections of mesh wire.

Tables and chairs indicate a space for dining and are accompanied with seating booths tucked away in the corners.

Old toilet cisterns were incorporated into the bathroom, while light bulbs are fixed to a network of exposed pipes above the sinks.

Photography is by Michael Wee.

Here’s a project description from Luchetti Krelle:

Donny’s & Co Manly

Conjuring up images of a back alley in Chinatown, Donny’s Bar is an unexpected and refreshing change to the coastal suburb of Manly and the bar scene there. The design resolution captures a careful balancing of the rustic versus the refined – where urban meets with an Asian Australian flavour.

The existing space was a stark white plasterboard box with a commercial look and feel. The brief was to create a warm and friendly New York style loft bar which would serve Asian style tapas and dumplings – on a tight budget. Avoiding overt Asian theming, we instead opted for a paired back approach to the design.

Our client is from rural NSW and we certainly played on his roots with the barn like scale and proportions of the space. The mezzanine is set back from the entry, allowing the volume of the space to be fully appreciated upon entry.

The bar front utilises railway sleepers casually bundled together with those adjustable ratchet straps used to tie down a load on a truck. The rustic quality of the timber contrasts with a shiny copper rectified top and perfectly mitred timber lining boards weaving diagonally across the lower ceiling and walls.

Canvas lorry tarps are casually tied off to walls and chain-link fencing stretches across the upper ceiling, screening the acoustic treatment from the eye. Recycled materials play a big role in the palette – from the brickwork painstakingly clad to the walls to the re-birthed old toilet cisterns.

When budgets are tight we need to work harder to innovate within our means and this project is an excellent example of such. More and more these days, we designers are being held to account for superfluous spending and budget overruns. We worked hard to nut out this concept and edit it back to its bare bones. We have been creative and clever in the use of every day materials like the chain-link fencing to become features and by using recycled timber and brick for the majority of the palette.

This design is sustainable – both in our design approach and its potential for longevity as a thriving small bar in Manly.

The post Luchetti Krelle completes atmospheric Sydney
bar based on a New York loft appeared first on Dezeen.

Chunky concrete slabs alternate with deeply recessed windows on the exterior of this Sydney house extension by Australian firm Nobbs Radford Architects (+ slideshow).

Named Glebe House, the two-storey annex was designed by Nobbs Radford Architects to provide the family residence with a new open-plan living and dining space, as well as extra bedroom and bathroom spaces.

The structure is located at the rear of the existing property, creating a new elevation facing the garden. Doors and windows are set right back from the facade, creating the illusion that walls are almost a metre thick.

“The depth of the rear facade creates an interstitial threshold, which is a space in itself to be occupied and provides a sense of enclosure,” said studio founders Alison Nobbs and Sean Radford.

Bare concrete surfaces continue into the interior, but are contrasted with warmer elements that include oak furniture and joinery, as well as pine floors.

A double-height space sits behind the facade, while a series of alcoves are created by the stepped arrangement of the walls.

“The project is primarily focused on the interconnections of cloistered spaces and selected framed openings,” said the architects.

The ground floor space is left open-plan. A breakfast counter divides the kitchen from the lounge area, while a family dining table fits into a space at the rear.

A wooden staircase with shelves slotted into the sides of its treads leads upstairs, arriving at a mezzanine study that overlooks the room below.

A new bedroom is tucked away on one side and opens out to a rooftop balcony.

Photography is by Murray Fredericks.

Here’s a project description from Nobbs Radford Architects:

Glebe House – a family home in Sydney, Australia

The project is primarily focused on the interconnections of cloistered spaces and selected framed openings. The outer concrete elements contrast with the timber elements that further define the various internal zones and functions within the house.

The depth of the rear facade creates an interstitial threshold, which is a space in itself to be occupied and provide a sense of enclosure.

The idea is to create intermediating spaces that ground the house in relation to both its interior and exterior. Within the house the void acts as a centralising space via which other areas of the house interconnect.

The stacking of the elements of the facade are contrasted by the seeming point loading at the exterior. The interior reveals the alternate nature where the structural loads are revealed. This duality through the facade re-emphasises the nature of the threshold space itself.

Complimenting materials of near raw continuous length floorboards and a restrained palette of black aluminium, black steel, stainless steel and oak appear throughout the house and create a cohesive connection between original and new. These materials were selected, partially, so as not to compete with the ornate patterning of the original house along with their own inherent qualities.

The project’s fundamental rationale is to create a family home that recognised the various needs of the occupiers, spaces for children and adults with a flexibility for both retreat and engagement.

The post Glebe House by Nobbs Radford Architects
extends a Sydney residence appeared first on Dezeen.

Australian office Tribe Studio has hollowed out the centre of a 1920s house in Sydney to create angular ceilings and a wide entrance to the garden (+ slideshow).

Tribe Studio created House Chapple by retaining the original 1920s frontage of the old bungalow, renovating the interior and replacing a later extension at the rear.

“The challenge of this house was to achieve sun and privacy while appreciating both aspects,” said the architects. “Our client wanted to retain the romantic elements of the house and its sense of humility in a suburb of flashy new builds.”

The architects removed a suspended ceiling in the centre of the house, creating a double-height living space with pyramid-shaped ceiling profiles. They also added skylights at the top and installed pendant lights with long cables.

“We allowed light into the centre of the plan, promoting stack-effect ventilation and reinforcing the unusual order of operation of the house,” they added.

A street-facing sunroom is positioned above the garage, with views out across Sydney Harbour. The room opens out into the main living space that includes a lounge, kitchen and dining area.

Three bedrooms, a TV room and a study are positioned along the sides of the main space.

At the rear, the wide entrance opens onto a wooden deck flanking a garden with a long rectangular swimming pool.

Polished wooden floorboards and white walls feature throughout, while the brick exterior walls have been painted white.

Photography is by Katherine Lu.

Here’s a project description from Tribe Studio:

House Chapple

With fantastic harbour views and a northerly orientation to the street-front and a wonderful garden and existing pool to the rear, the challenge of this house was to achieve sun and privacy while appreciating both aspects.

The house has been in our clients family since the 1960s. An important part of our brief was finding a balance between new and old architecturally and sentimentally.

Our client wanted to retain the romantic elements of the house, and its sense of humility in a suburb of flashy new builds. She was simultaneously keen to have a new start in this house and have it feel her own.

The strategy is a modest one: retain the original 1920s bungalow frontage and replace a poor 1960s addition at the rear.

The primary move is to cave out central part of the plan as living spaces with clear views to the front (harbour) and back (garden). The central band of living space is contained on either side by cellular ribbons of bedrooms and utility.

The living space occupies the area underneath the peak of the original roof. The ceiling is removed and a series of distorted pyramid ceiling voids are created within the original geometry, allowing light into the centre of the plan, promoting stack effect ventilation and reinforcing the unusual order of operation of the house.

On the high side of the site, the master bedroom is nestled against an existing cliff-face, juxtaposing its harbour view and a close encounter with mossy sandstone and a cheeky orchid garden.

The intention is modest: a replacement addition that is fully concealed from the street and minimal facelift to the front.

Project Title: House Chapple
Project Design Practice: Tribe Studio
Design Team: Hannah Tribe, Miriam Green, Ricci Bloch
Project Location: Mosman, Sydney NSW
Completion Date: March 2013

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by Tribe Studio appeared first on Dezeen.

Movie: Julia Borghesi of design studio Hassell discusses the hybrid aesthetic of advertising agency Clemenger BBDO’s office in Sydney, which topped the office category at last month’s Inside Festival. 

Clemenger BBDO‘s Sydney office has an informal layout with open offices and meeting areas.

“We were given a brief to connect the teams together,” Borghesi says. “So we really wanted to focus on the people and the work that they produce.”

“There are areas for relaxation, there are areas for collaboration and there are areas for individual work.”

The client had a strong idea of what the office should look like, Borghesi says.

“Clemenger came to us with an ideal aesthetic, combining this industrial loft aesthetic with Scandinavian detailing,” she explains. “The space we ended up with quite nicely combines those two visual elements: the New York loft with Scandinavian design.”

She continues: “You can see [the loft influence] throughout the centre of the space. The timber panels on the ceiling, also the floorboards. The Scandinavian design really comes in through the loose furniture and the joinery detailing.”

The office features a large, open meeting area in the centre of the space.

“It becomes a pivotal point where the executive team from other areas of the building can actually congregate and strategise within the space,” she says. “It’s also a space that’s highly visible to the staff as well.”

Borghesi believes that creating an open office environment has been successful. “Every time I visit there, the energy and the vibe in the place is amazing,” she says. “It’s really inspiring.”

Photography by Nicole England.

This movie was filmed at Inside Festival 2013, which took place at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore from 2 to 4 October. The next Inside Festival will take place at the same venue from 1 to 3 October 2014. Award entries are open February to June 2014.

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“the New York loft with Scandinavian design” appeared first on Dezeen.