30 November 2011

It's a Shoe-In!

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For some reason our contributor's issue of Singapore's prestigious "The Peak" magazine has only just arrived.  Sure has taken some time, but it is better late than never!

Sneakerology is included in the October issue, with a concise write up covering a range from design of the shop to the story behind sneakers... I have a soft spot for concise, yet exciting, writings.



The Peak is carried in the First and Business Class cabins of Lufthansa Airline.

29 November 2011

Winner of IDEA Awards 2011!

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Facet Studio has won the IDEA Awards 2011 - Retail category!

The winners of Interior Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) 2011 were announced on November 25 at the IDEA Gala Party at ACCA in Melbourne.
We decided to attend last minute, flew down to Melbourne from Sydney at 6:45am..... very exhausted by the end of the night.  Well, turns out it was all worth it!

It was an interesting experience, and I will try to cover more on the event in the following blog entries.

Announcement on Australian Design Review website

The trophy..  it says "Retail WINNER Sneakerology/ Streetology by Facet Studio"

Whilst I am still waiting on some photos from the Award organisers, feel free to check out the web coverage here:

IDEA Awards official website
Australian Design Review

Here is a little on IDEA Awards extracted from the Awards official website:
The Interior Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) showcase the best of Australian design. The prestigious awards program receives hundreds of submissions from across Australia each year and is recognised by the design community as the country’s pre-eminent design awards program.
...

This year was our biggest yet, with over 400 submissions across all 14 categories.

We are very excited and honoured to have been recognised amongst all the great projects, and a big "thank you!" to everyone who has made this project possible.  We will continue to deliver projects of high quality, and contribute to the architectural profession.

22 November 2011

French

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Our first publication in French!

What is it with French? Somehow everything seem so much more romantic when written in French.... although regrettably I can not read French.

Cover - Sites Archi

"Streetology - The Tube of the Year"...sounds like we are getting some award!

 

and some mention of Sneakerology, as Streetology's minimalist sibling...

21 November 2011

Uchi Shots

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We have tried taking some photos of Uchi Lounge ourselves this time.
These are trial shots, but we have not yet had the time to go back for a proper shoot so they are the ones on our website for now.
Ah it was difficult.... especially on a busy Friday night, all the curious patrons (some were very keen to be in the shot whilst some were totally unsure).. Although having people in the space really animated the atmosphere.  I always think, if a space looks better without people, there must be some thing wrong - Good that it is not the case for us.

So here are the trial / semi permanent/ permanent shots......

 From entry


From rear
Sometimes it is difficult to imagine the hard work behind the finished space; I mean, after all it is all worth it.
The 11m long steel beams look effortlessly elegant flying across the length of the space with a mysterious ribbon of light; 
The huge concrete table look stern and anchoring.

Well, these photos are from the day the table top was delivered to site...

The concrete table tops arrived from Adelaide after an unexpected delay.
To be precise, it is a product called GRC (Glass Reinforced Concrete), which by incorporating glass fibres in the concrete cement mix, provides a denser and stronger concrete product - it is commonly used in public sculpture and prefabricated building facade panels. The huge table we have on site could not be manufactured in 1 single piece and was broken into 5 equal panels.

Each table top panel weighed around 200kg.
Due to the limited space, and narrow access way, the table tops were manually carried inside.  Even with 4 grown men it was not a easy task.
I think next time we will construct this by casting in-situ (which was first rejected by the builder but then was much to his regret)... entire process took half a day.
Later that night we found out the 5 panels had a certain order (with edge conditions) and the builders had to reshuffle the panels the next morning........ oh joy..

18 November 2011

Revitalising History

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In order to respond to the "oldness" of Seatondale, we went looking for some vintage recycled timber as an option for the flooring.

On top of timber, there are also recycled doors, recycled window frames, lead glass, etc... on display; makes me wonder who would be buying these? 
But the surprising amount of timber being recycled and reentered into the commercial market!! It is indeed a system which is making use of existing resource, revitalising commerciality and most of all, sustainable to the environment.


The timber which caught our interest this time, is recycled from the oldest timber bridge in Brisbane, Australia.  The timber bridge has been replaced by a steel bridge after servicing for over 100 years.  The entire bridge was constructed of Tallow wood,  in fact one of my personal favourite (S House was entirely floored and staired with Tallow); it has an elegant colouration more in line of "coffee", and beautiful linear grain.  This piece in the photo has been cut from a much longer structure for sample purpose.  This structure timber will be sliced into 10mm thick, 200mm wide planks, and fixed onto 15mm structure plywood substrate.

Comparing new (left) and recycled (right) Tallow wood.  The recycled timber has weathered enough so that it has stopped the movement within the timber itself hence a more stable product.  It was also more likely to be harvested from a larger, older tree back in the days, hence a deeper hue.

Other than Tallow wood we are also considering: Blackbutt, American White Oak, Spotted Gum.
We need to take the samples back to the Seatondale house for check on site; they need to be assessed more closely in its context.

Facet Studio Japan

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We have had this for a while now....but I have finally figured out a way to make a connection..... the bridge between Facet Studio Australia website and Facet Studio Japan website is now open!!

The way to access via Facet Studio Australia website is:

Enter http://www.facetstudio.com.au/, go to bottom right corner, click [STUDIO] > [WHERE] > [OSAKA JAPAN]..... Look below the photo of our Osaka office.......

........And voila! Click directly into the Facet Studio Japan website!

The content and the way we organised the Facet Studio Japan site is a cross between website and blog, have fun exploring!

10 November 2011

A forgotten press..

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For some reason I have been forgetting to blog about this extremely exciting press coverage we had with Japanese retail magazine - Shouten Kenchiku.

Lately we have had some chance to reflect upon particularities of retail design.
It is interesting about the nature of retail design, which is highly reflective of the "trend" and material connotation in relevance to "time".  However our approach to retail design has always been a dialogue between transience and timelessness, which (so we believe) prolongs the lifespan of the design.

This is our first printed publication in Japan.
  
Coverage on Habitat Antique

8 November 2011

Subliminal

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We have received our contributor's complimentary copy of "Sublime - New Design and Architecture from Japan".
Here is an extract of the book description:
Sublime is a comprehensive collection of current Japanese architecture, interiors, and products that showcases and explores the country's uniquely elegant design aesthetic. 
... Featuring visionary work by established names such as Tokujin Yoshioka, Kengo Kuma, and Toyo Ito, Sublime also introduces talent from a new generation that has found its own inspiring design style between a traditional Japanese approach and contemporary influences.
It is our first appearance in a book.
I must admit, it is extremely humbling to be included in a publication amongst so many excellent designs.
 
Habitat Antique

Tea Room

"Sublime - New Design and Architecture from Japan" is published by Gestalten, Berlin, available from Amazon.com.

1 November 2011

After Image

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Facet Studio is involved in the After Images, an exhibition and auction of sketches primarily by Australian architects of Japan, in support of the Tohoku region's recovery from the devastating earthquakes and tsunami of March this year.

The exhibition is until 12 November at Boutwell Draper Gallery, 82-84 George Street, Redfern.

Our works on exhibition (clockwise from top left): M House interior, M House exterior, Tea Room, Habitat Antique.

Exhibition Catalogue on sale for $15 donation

A buzzing atmosphere and great involvement at the exhibition opening night