A corner entrance gives way to interior walls that weft in brownstone formation. Alcoves and corners emerge as areas of inhabitation and display; the negative space behind the walls becomes a place of repose for staff. In this way, the space’s choreography simulates the meandering experience of walking through the neighbourhood.  Aesop Park Slope store […]

The beautiful colour and weathered texture of brick provided the ready (and obvious) answer to the client’s brief for a local material that could withstand exposure to coastal conditions. The ‘Emperor’ brick in Ghost from Krause Bricks was selected for its handmade variation in texture and array of colours, from warm blondes to violet hues, […]

3 House by Channon Architects and Burton Architects explores the pragmatic versatility of masonry in medium density housing on small lots. Comprising an office, a granny flat and a family home, the project focusses on an adaptive plan, where the functions of its self-contained spaces can change when needed.
 Located on a corner block in New Farm, Brisbane, the site was already occupied by a four-room workers’ cottage. The reimagined cottage was the first dwelling to be developed, becoming an office with a granny flat and car park tucked underneath, followed by a separate 3-bedroom house with two-car garage constructed at the rear.

Located a short commute from Sydney's centre, Alexandria is a burgeoning suburb with industrial origins, observable by its skyline of sawtooth roofs, exposed trusses and utilitarian facades. For local Australian architect William Smart, creative director of Smart Design Studio, the conservation movement at the northern end of the precinct offered immense appeal.

Guided by property developer Lendlease, One Sydney Harbour sees the reunion of Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano and interior designer Daniel Goldberg, founder and creative director at State of Craft. The two design visionaries previously collaborated in 2012 on both The Shard and Shard Place in London. The One Sydney Harbour site is already known as the home to the most expensive residence in Australia – the penthouse of Residences One was sold for over AU$140 million. But it’s the buzz that surrounds Residences Two, the next step in the harbourside development, that’s capturing renewed attention.

Causing a scene in a palette of dramatic blue and minty-fresh green, with mostly hidden hints of vivid red, the Studio Kitchen is the third experimental space designed by Melbourne-based architecture practice Kennedy Nolan in collaboration with Australian surface-manufacturing company Laminex. This time around, the architects have put Laminex’s luxurious matt-finished products through the wringer, highlighting the immense versatility of the fingerprint-resistant range.

Beyond its sinuous facade – an ornate veil clad with terracotta bricks and glazed ceramic blocks – Gallery House proudly serves the community in more ways than one. By day, the two-level concrete-framed building in Bansberia, a peri-urban locale in India’s West Bengal, acts as a gallery, gathering space and multi-purpose centre, offering local residents the opportunity to partake in activities ranging from education sessions to yoga classes. “At night, this space functions as a dormitory for resident staff,” says principal designer Abin Chaudhuri of Abin Design Studio (ADS). “The client enjoys a sense of pride and joy of ownership seeing the space put to good use.” Upon completion, the precinct is slated to be an important business and financial centre in Shenzhen, serving the Greater Bay Area of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau.

On a late winter’s day with full sun and a brisk breeze, the sliding side panels of a vast Ampelite shed were open. A large almond tree – the first fruit tree to blossom – was vivid white and buzzing with bees. Shadows of birds moved across the roof with a clatter of claws. A pair of masked lapwings voiced their distinctive call. They typically inhabit large grassy areas near open water but have taken to nesting on flat roofs. The Longhouse roof isn’t flat, but perhaps it seemed like an expanse of reflective water from above. Within, all is glowing, leafy-green and very comfortable.

Perched high on a cliffside plot in Bowen Hills, a suburb just north of Brisbane’s CBD, La Scala is the private residence of Ingrid Richards and Adrian Spence of Richards and Spence. Drawing upon four years of collected ideas, the architects desired to create a house where the outside space acted solidly as its centrepiece. The resulting dwelling – a section of which was resolved by Ingrid with a sketch on a napkin while on holidays – evokes snapshots of the Mediterranean and Central and South America. Its bare masonry standing out under Queensland’s famed blue skies.

In an act of rebellion against the shrinking footprint of traditional green spaces among cityscapes, towering vertical gardens are clambering onto the agendas – and facades – of high-rise developments around the globe. And it’s a welcome sight. After all, the concrete jungles of the world are damn hot, pretty ugly and rather unpleasant to inhabit without them.