Australian architect Daniel Boddam, who established his practice The Daniel Boddam Studio in 2013, has responded to the on-again, off-again closures of Australian borders by developing a virtual Parisian apartment – an inventive solution for showcasing his new collection of furniture during a time of travel bans and global isolation. “Travel has been an important part of my life since childhood, and Paris holds a particularly special place in my heart,” says Daniel. “The experience of confinement has been unsettling on so many levels, however instead of lamenting what was, I decided to explore what could be through 3D visualisation”.
Designed in the minimalistic Haussmann style and limited only by Daniel’s imagination, the 183-square-meter apartment – accessed via the designer’s website – is characterised by material restraint and an abundance of convincingly natural light. Comprising an entrance hall, living room, kitchen, bedroom, ensuite, study and powder room, the animated abode celebrates simplicity while showcasing the designer’s furniture pieces in the next best thing to reality. His Geo collection of tables, ‘Waves’ sofa and chair and the Coast collection of lighting and seating are all on display, each borrowing inspiration from the lands and seas of the Australian landscape.
“There’s unspoken poetry in placing a piece of furniture inspired by the raw Australian landscape in a ‘historic’ setting,” says Daniel. “The immediately familiar Haussmann vernacular [of the interactive showroom] heightens the Australian-ness of the furniture’s expression by establishing a dialogue between the primitive and the modern.” Completing the apartment’s pared-back scheme is a selection of digitally reproduced artworks that depict nature, nudes, landscapes and travel by artists Clara Adolphs, Chris Warnes, Oliver Watts and Daniel’s wife Kelly Geddes.
A paradise for aesthetes (and gamers with an unrivalled appreciation for sophisticated style, if there is such a thing), the chic, elegant and unreal Paris apartment is open now to visitors from anywhere in the world.
There’s unspoken poetry in placing a piece of furniture inspired by the raw Australian landscape in a ‘historic’ setting.
