Kvadrat Maharam asked us to return to a project we had completed earlier to design and procure a larger floor area with minimal disruption.

A totally new back of house area acts as a showcase for the company's vision of excellence at all levels. '...a holistic approach to design, embracing a range of disciplines as fundamental to its business philosophy; showrooms, graphics and accessories receive the same attention to detail as product design'

The expanded space showcased an innovation from Kvadrat called 'North Tile'. We employed this product as an equally innovative operable wall. The finishing touch was a high quality technical Erco lighting solution.

Photos: Fabian Foo

www.kvadratmaharam.com

This project involved the fitout of a café, a lounge and information area and a Delfin Lend Lease project office.

Lend Lease create sustainable communities and this project created a focus and a base for the community to build on.

The brief required a high level of sensitivity to the experience and needs of the visitor as well as the branded identity of the community.

Avoiding a clinical and 'flimsy' result, we sourced eclectic new and second hand furniture and furnishings to complete the lived-in feel of the project.

Both companies promote a high design and quality ethic, something that is expected to be reflected in their premises.

The design originates from New York, the home of design practice Ferlund and Logan. We coordinated the documentation locally in Sydney as well as its implementation on site with the builders.

In order to have an exposed ceiling, we affected a very high level of services detail. The historic concrete frame construction contributes to the value and experience of the space.

The specifications were followed to an exacting standard in order for the showroom to become deserving member of its global partners. We later extended the showroom to facilitate the company's continued expansion (see Kvadrat Maharam 2)

The hierarchy of a typical office was challenged in the client's brief and we responded with a universal fit out that allowed for more than usual user choice. Bright orange personal 'tool boxes' can simply be towed to each day's preferred workspace.

Our design and furniture selection lent a desirable domestic quality to the working environment.

Our brief was to create a new environment for a younger audience where the philosophy of bespoke suiting was embodied in the surroundings.

The open retail envelope was divided into two main elements - the retail zone and the inner sanctum where material and detail of the highest quality are discussed in a personal consultation style procedure.

We disallowed material of any inferiority or overly industrial-age heritage in favour of traditional materials deployed in a contemporary way. The leather-lined change room pod with its curved sliding doors and nickel plated handles celebrated detail the seduction of materials and spaces.

Photos: Peter Bennetts

The brief required the showcasing of 5 vehicles, with a principal focus on the IS200. A three-day construction and the requirement for the stand to be disassembled for transport added a layer of complexity to the brief.

Working to a tight schedule, we formulated an architectural response to a theatrical (event) brief. The stand has been conceived of as engaging the volume of the allocated field, and the event itself rather than merely providing a backdrop.

The design consists of an organic sloped podium over-arched by a 13 x 5m high wave form which engages to the principal display as part of the total environment. Elements such as a row of 3m high mini-towers delineate the site boundaries whilst exposing the tight underlying geometry.

Collaboration with a theatre set designer (Eamon D'Arcy) and Anthony Burke.

Our client Grinders Coffee asked us to come up with two options for a submission to the building owner for a café that could be closed at night for security.

Unbuilt.

Given the delicacy of the heritage issues surrounding the original structure, the brief was problematic fundamentally un-buildable.

In any case, we believe that any new building here should reinforce the European 'sense of place' that is a result of this site having a significant role in the scientific, shipping, military and earlier, the farming life of the city.

For many years the building played a central role in the city's science dependent commerce and now, while finding a new relevance in functions, is struggling to reconcile the new and old uses on the same site.

Any new building should aim to canonise the original meaning and significance in answering the brief.