24 October 2013

Anomaly on Australian Design Review

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Anomaly was published on Australian Design Review website!

Hehehe.. and of course our Coexistence stool is published as it is part of the inaugural collection to launch Anomaly amongst other designs.

As press material were submitted prior to the final prototype was completed, the image is still of an earlier prototype.
To see the final prototype together with the rest of the range, enter HERE.


 

22 October 2013

Illusion and physicality

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It is difficult to explain about Bay Road Hair Studio, because it is a simple concept for an ambitious program in a tiny space.  Or maybe it can be summarised into one question:

"How do we make a tiny space feel bigger?"

We created an illusion of ever continuous space as one enters into the space by repeating the same "frame" in the centre of the space.  The frames form into a tunnel, which continues into the mirror at the end...

The frames house different functions: cashier, nail booth, photo booth, shampoo space division...
Hence the tunnel they created is in fact an "organising spine" for the salon.  It also divides the salon into sections for a boutique atmosphere.
The functions physically define the illusion; the illusion physically divides the space....

...I can keep going....

More photos HERE.


  



14 October 2013

Different trade

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For the project Eki, we have been challenging prefabrication and customised fabrication...

Although we have been working a lot with timber prefabrication, the new field for us this time is steel manufacturing.
Major difference between steel and timber prefabrication is the flexibility to modify on site - with timber, it is a fairly flexible and workable material; with steel everything pretty much need to be spot on and there is very little can be done on site.  Hence the importance of prototyping.

For a small (but of vital importance) fixture we are designing for Eki's display system, I took a road trip (can I exaggerate any more?) to Sydney's South West and visited the metal workshop.

It is important for us architects to gain a good understanding of how different trades work... where did I hear this from?

"In order to design well, one needs to feel the weight a tradesperson carries"

fantastic blue sky.
Thanks to Joe from Impact Metalworks for picking me up from the station!

intimate workshop

 

bending ...

pressing ...

hammering ...

8 October 2013

"Coexistence" furniture series for Anomaly

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Facet Studio was invited by Anomaly to participate in designing their inaugural collection.  It was December 2012.

outside window of Anomaly showroom
Anomaly is a company made up of 2 very different companies, Axolotl and Evostyle.
One is good at surface treatment, one is good at timber work.
We wanted to acknowledge both Evostyle and Axolotl in our pieces. But how?

We researched into “volume” vs “surface”, “substrate” vs “finish” …and many more, just to come to terms in ourselves what the two distinct techniques mean in the material world.
It became very abstract, which is when we realized that, our message needs to be straightforward for it to be conveyed through a furniture piece.

What we also found is that within a single furniture piece there are 2 main parts – one interacts with human, one supports that interaction. For instance in a stool, it can be broken down into “surface people sit on” and “structure supporting that surface”.  The duality within furniture piece and the materiality started to talk.

There we assign one material representing one company – Axolotl (metal/ concrete) or Evostyle (timber) – to each part, with one rule: there need to always be a combination of the materials from each company. If we have concrete seating surface for the stool, its legs will be in timber, or vise versa. 

With the most basic form of furniture, by varying width, length and height, we were able to give different functionalities to the pieces.

Simple.
We like finding simple answers for complicated questions.

We named our range “Coexistence”.

We wanted to celebrate the 2 companies coming together with their different expertise.
Hence all pieces have timber (Evostyle) with metal/ concrete finish (Axolotl), coming together to a very fine line.

The duality of materiality and exploration of surfaces could become a constant theme in our approach.



bedside table (left) and bar stool (right)

......fine edge.....
concrete leg and oak top

plywood leg and concrete top version in dining table, stool, and bedside table
also to the left is the low coffee table in concrete leg and oak top

edge of plywood revealing honest materiality

beautiful seeing from any angle... 
delicate leg touching down

4 October 2013

3 October 2013

Anomaly Launch!

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Anomaly's very first collection was launched on October 2nd 2013.


Facet Studio's "Coexistence" furniture series is included in the inaugural collection by Anomaly, make sure you check it out while you are in the neighbourhood!

Showroom at: 104 Oxford Street (cnr Palmer) from 2 October - 17 November

To find out more about the "Coexistence" furniture series HERE.

buzzing atmosphere at the launch party!

"Coexistence" coffee table (left) and dining table (right) in front of the Anomaly sign

 

 

  
and we design this one as well!  Pop up bar for prestigious Scotch brand - Balvenie.
Best Scotch I have ever had. Honestly.
I need to blog about this one too (mental note)

curious people walking past on Oxford Street
"Coexistence" bar stool (left) and bedside table (right) 

chatting away with Anomaly's Kris (yes it is me with my big green shopper...):
"....next time we should try..."

catching up with Balvenie's Mark ....

Mark: "hmmm.......I definitely want one of these...."



Tangled

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Making a start on a new site. Peculiar... A shop changed hand half way through construction with all kinds of cables embedded, making the start to our construction slightly more confusing than usual...

To kick start construction, we need to disconnect services first.
Here we need to trace back all these cables with very little clues.. Almost like reading a suspense story.