SJB’S projects

THE HOME OF Sydney philanthropist Judith Nielson, Indigo Slam began with a brief to design the best house in the world, so it’s hardly surprising that this monumental residence by Smart Design Studio was a force to be reckoned with in the 2017 Belle Coco Republic Interior Design Awards. Behind the building’s already iconic facade, however, with its peeling form sculpted in robust concrete, Indigo Slam’s cathedral-like corridors and grand public zones give way to a softer core. Appointed with custom furniture by Khai Liew, these serene living spaces have been conceived on a more intimate scale and reveal architect William Smart’s unmatched attention to detail. “Spaces are large but not ostentatious. Internal finishes are modest and pared-back: floors are brick-paved, walls are set render, fittings are simple,” says William. Indigo Slam is not only a landmark building – and a spectacular backdrop for its owner’s vast collection of Chinese contemporary art – but also an exhilarating and undoubtedly beautiful interior design with a profoundly humanist sensibility. Named Best Residential Interior and Best Residential Kitchen Design, as well as joint-winner in the Best Residential Bathroom Design category, William describes Indigo Slam as “a piece of sculpture to be lived in”. For more, visit smartdesignstudio.com.

SPEARHEADED BY DIRECTORS Broderick Ely, Jonathon Boucher and Andrew Piva, B.E Architecture is a practice known for creating robust buildings with timeless, modernist lines while retaining a feeling of lightness, tactility and liveability. This sensitive balance of softness and strength was realised on a smaller scale in the sumptuous master ensuite of the Hampden Road Residence, joint-winner of Best Residential Bathroom Design. Responding to the requirements of their client, a downsizing couple, Broderick, Jonathon and Andrew conceived the space around a secluded Japanese-style courtyard resplendent with maples, contoured moss and a private outdoor shower. Inside, the trio showed extraordinary restraint with their palette, cladding walls and floors in smooth granite to contrast with the rough-hewn exterior, while customising basins and a curved bath – inspired by a Roman baptismal font – in the same solid stone to seamlessly match the surroundings. “Pushing the use of a singular material, we created subtle variations in finish to indicate a different function or application,” they explain. The result is a temple-like space with a verdant outlook, inviting the ritual of bathing. For more, visit bearchitecture.com.

NOMINATED IN FIVE CATEGORIES, Sydney design studio Amber Road was a standout in the 2017 Belle Coco Republic Interior Design Awards, reflecting a banner year for its co-directors, interior architect Yasmine Ghoniem (pictured) and landscape architect Katy Svalbe. From a chic family home where lashings of colour were deployed to marry art deco bones with a contemporary extension to a handsome sales suite for The Finery by Mirvac, a boutique residential development in Waterloo, Amber Road’s entries ran the gamut of scale and typologies but were consistent in their impeccable quality and clientdriven approach. A finalist in the Best Hospitality Interior category, the 19sqm micro cafe Tamate Bako Magic Box (pictured) is a neat encapsulation of the studio’s ethos, described by Jasmine as “a microcosm of understated, wellmannered, hyper-efficient yet oh-so-charming Japanese minimalism, where everything knows its place and nothing is wasted”. Showing impressive versatility and attention to detail, Amber Road has been named the 2017 Rado Emerging Design Star, a new category that rewards excellence among design firms established within the past five years. For more, visit amberroaddesign.com.au.

prize in the 2016 Belle Coco Republic Interior Design Awards, Fiona Lynch has continued her winning streak with a swathe of stellar entries this year, including Best Commercial Interior-winner Viktoria & Woods. Set within the Emporium centre in Melbourne, Fiona cloaked the boutique in soothing grey tones, lending character with burnished textures – terrazzo floors, rendered walls and linen curtains – and moments of sculptural flourish via custom lighting. This clean yet highly considered scheme reflects both the brand’s sleek, streetwear aesthetic and the established design codes of Fiona’s practice. “There is a subtle nod to a Japanese design philosophy where there is a perfect balance of simplicity and the unexpected,” says Fiona, whose affinity for art and sculpture lends every project a bespoke quality. “Being sensitive to the context of the space, we took on a more architectural approach with the store design, using strong forms and balancing these with softer, more tactile elements and materials.” Finished with open-seam leather ottomans and jewellery-like crystal sconces, this quietly sublime space breathes an air of contemporary feminine style. For more, visit fionalynch.com.au.

TAKING CUES FROM the worlds of art, fashion, product design and popular culture, the work of Melbourne interior designer David Flack combines masculine elegance with a certain offbeat panache. Armed with his irreverent sensibility, the designer elevates retail and hospitality spaces to a level of refinement and idiosyncrasy usually reserved for private dwellings, while rendering his residential projects with warmth, sophistication and a dash of joie de vivre. It’s no surprise, then, that colour is such an essential ingredient in every Flack Studio scheme, as the firm’s entries across all categories in the 2017 Belle Coco Republic Interior Design Awards attest. From the peachy pink, cobalt, moss green and Dior grey seen at Melbourne fashion boutique Monk House Design, to the collision of magenta, dark teal and big apple red at Caravan cafe in Seoul – a finalist in the Best Hospitality Interior category – Flack Studio’s offerings spanned the colour spectrum and seemed to relish unlikely combinations. Suggesting an affinity for the Memphis Group, albeit imbued with a more tactile patina and an earthy, distinctly Australian flavour, David works in a palette that feels entirely his own. This eye for the perfect pigment makes Flack Studio the fitting recipient of the inaugural prize for Best Work with Colour. For more, visit flackstudio.com.au.