S E RV I NG congenial i ty
THE FIRST THING you notice upon entering the new Sydney studio of interior architects Jonathan Richards and Kirsten Stanisich is that there are lots of wineglasses stacked in neat rows on the immaculate white De Padova shelving. “We wanted clients to get a sense of us as people too,” says Richards with a smile. “There’s also a lot of carefully styled white crockery. Having things on display means that everybody keeps everything nice and clean and neat.”
We all know that spaces speak volumes about the people who inhabit them. But the spaces interior designers choose to devise for themselves are like style guides to their entire practice: not just what they believe is good design, but how they want clients to perceive them as creatives. For the interiors duo (both formerly of SJB), who in late 2018 established their own practice called Richards Stanisich, a sense of conviviality is essential to the residential, hospitality and commercial interiors they design as is flexibility. In their own studio, they’ve finished the walls with waxed plaster (“it has a really lovely sheen,” says Richards) to add tactility and create a neutral backdrop for the various furnishings, fabrics or fittings they and their team of 15 are working on. To give designers and clients privacy but reference the constant motion in the practice, Richards and Stanisich created doors from Glas Italia waffled panes and designed bespoke credenzas from the same material so that their filed work is perceived, if not actually seen.
“We love having our own dedicated space over which we can determine the aesthetic and mood,” says Richards. “For us, the studio is a real reflection of what we stand for as designers.”
Architecture and design practice Woods Bagot’s recent decision to move its Melbourne office from Southbank to the landmark late 60s building by Skidmore Owings & Merrill in William Street in the CBD reflected a shift in client base. “We found that the majority of our clients and projects are situated more on this side of the river so we thought it was the right time to make a statement and move,” says Woods Bagot principal Bronwyn Mccoll. One of the biggest of those clients is developer QIC and its much-anticipated 80 Collins Street residential, commercial and hotel tower. (Woods Bagot has been working on the building since 2006 and was recently appointed to design the interior of the 20-storey boutique hotel, over which Mccoll directly presides.)
Despite its heavy-hitting corporate capabilities and the fact that it employs some 170 staff in the Melbourne office alone, Woods Bagot is intent on creating a practice that’s about collaboration and co-creation, and engaged with the city. The mezzanine and firstfloor spaces sit within the heritage tree line. The vast, raw-concrete space has been softened with timber fittings and the central timber staircase doubles as auditorium seating for group meetings. “The entire practice gathers on the staircase/auditorium every Monday morning to discuss key issues and present projects,” says Mccoll. “Someone usually bakes and afterwards we have morning tea up the back.” Clients, organisations and institutions all benefit from this amphitheatre arrangement, where ideas cross-pollinate from within and beyond the practice itself.
Is there anything about the interior design that’s had to be altered since moving in? “We’ve added curtains to some of the glazed meeting rooms,” says Mccoll. “It gives us more privacy if we’re presenting a highly confidential submission.”
Paul Hecker and Hamish Guthrie moved into their three-storey, stacked concrete box of an office like glamorous hermit crabs taking up residence in a vacated shell. Located in the gritty, light-industrial enclave of Melbourne’s Cremorne, the space is articulated around a triple-height atrium, is beautifully lit and gives the sense of a finely furnished gallery in action. The gallery feel is heightened by the recent installation of the firm’s winning Rigg Design Prize entry, The table is the base, which had been on display at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) since October 2018. The timber-and-ceramic installation – both public artwork and the embodiment of the firm’s manifesto – now occupies the studio’s ground-floor window.
“We’ve always focused our energy on creating spaces that evade notional trends,” says Guthrie. “Our muse has always been authenticity in all its forms. It’s something we strive for in each of our projects. The NGV installation is not so much about creating an aesthetic as it is about conjuring an experience, creating stories and letting a narrative take its own form.”
The studio, says Guthrie, is designed to make clients feel welcome, and has a casual quality that reflects Hecker Guthrie’s aesthetic as a practice. While the team at Hecker Guthrie don’t bake like the Woods Bagot folk, their first questions to clients are often served with beverages. “The ceremony around offering drinks is a great way to make clients feel relaxed,” says Guthrie. richardsstanisich.com.au; woodsbagot.com; heckerguthrie.com