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    Sam Crawford Architects tops Sydney home renovation with “garden oasis”

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    A private roof terrace enclosed by greenery features in Hidden Garden House, a Sydney home reconfigured by Australian studio Sam Crawford Architects.

    Situated within a conservation zone, the home has been updated by Sam Crawford Architects to brighten its dark interior and transform it into an urban “sanctuary”.
    An open-tread staircase has been added to the hallwayAlterations to the 198-square-metre home’s interior are first seen in its entrance, where a stair with open treads and a white-steel balustrade replaces a solid timber structure that previously restricted light from a skylight above.
    Down from the entry hall is a spacious ground-floor kitchen and dining area, which is illuminated by 4.5-metre-high glass openings that lead out to a landscaped patio. The patio is paved with limestone tiles that extend out from the interior.
    A curved concrete roof features in the kitchen”By extending the ground floor finishes through the full-width doors into the rear yard, the garden and high-level green trellises at the rear of the site form the fourth wall to the rear wing,” studio director Sam Crawford told Dezeen.

    “They create a sense of enclosure that draws the occupant’s eye up to the expanse of the sky rather than surrounding suburbia.”
    Angled timber screens and greenery ensure privacy for the bathroomA concrete ceiling in Hidden Garden House’s kitchen curves upwards to help draw in the winter sun and provide summer shading, while operable clerestory windows allow natural ventilation.
    Above, this curved ceiling forms a sloped roof terrace filled with plants, which is situated off the main bedroom on the upper floor.

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    An ensuite bathroom, also lined with limestone floor tiles, has expansive openings offering a scenic yet private bathing experience enabled by angled timber screens and the terrace’s greenery.
    “The rolling green roof serves as a visual barrier to the surrounding suburb, whilst allowing the occupants to occupy their private garden oasis,” added Crawford.
    White walls and wooden furniture feature throughout the interiorHidden Garden House’s consistent material palette of bright white walls and wooden furniture ties its living spaces together, while decorative square tiles line both the kitchen and bathrooms.
    Curved details, such as the patio’s shape and the kitchen island and splashback, also feature throughout.
    The home aims to be an urban “sanctuary”Other alterations that were made to improve Hidden Garden House’s layout include the relocation of entrances to the ground floor laundry room and bathroom.
    Elsewhere, Sam Crawford Architects has also created a restaurant topped with an oversized steel roof and a bridge modelled on the curving shape of eels.
    The photography is by Tom Ferguson.
    Project credits:
    Architect: Sam Crawford ArchitectsBuilder: TokiStructural engineer: Cantilever EngineersCivil & hydraulic engineer: PartridgeAcoustic engineer: Acoustic LogicHeritage consultant: Damian O’Toole Town PlanningQuantity Surveyor: QS PlusLandscape design: Gabrielle Pelletier, SCARoof garden supplier: Fytogreen Australia

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      YSG brings boutique-hotel feel to family home in Sydney

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      Interiors studio YSG has upgraded a home in Sydney’s Mosman suburb to feature “lavish yet tranquil” interiors that are more akin to those of a luxury hotel.

      The three-storey house previously had drab grey walls and awkwardly placed partitions but now features more coherently connected rooms finished in a sumptuous mix of materials.
      Black Diamond is a house in Sydney’s Mosman suburb”Our clients wanted a home that felt like a boutique hotel with a lavish yet tranquil tonal intensity that was rich in substance, not excess trimmings,” YSG explained.
      “We took a deep dive, converting it into a tactile haven with nooks for respite amongst spaces that freely ebb and flow.”
      YSG expanded the home’s covered balcony to accommodate a large tableThe studio started by reconfiguring the home’s first floor to make way for more outdoor entertainment space.

      A glass alcove that used to jut into the balcony was removed, allowing room for a large table where the clients can sit and take in views of the nearby harbour.
      A custom timber table is the centrepiece of the dining areaThe expanded balcony means there is now less room on the interior. But YSG worked around this by removing the kitchen’s cumbersome bulkhead and two partition walls that once framed its breakfast island.
      The revamped kitchen now features a black counter clad with leathered marble and shimmering mosaic tiles.
      A plaster-washed stairwell leads up to the second floorBlack mosaic tiles also cover a section of the floor and the chimney breast in the living room, leading the studio to nickname the project Black Diamond.
      “Combined with the dark timber floors and ceiling, they provide sheltered respite from the brilliant glare and frenzied harbour activity, enabling the room to take an inward-looking approach,” YSG said.
      The principal bedroom is decked out in natural huesThe living room was dressed with a plump cream swivel chair and an alpaca-wool sofa finished in the same lilac colour as the flowers of the Jacaranda trees that surround the home.
      A custom timber table is the centrepiece of the dining area. It sits beside a partition made of smoked-glass blocks, which YSG constructed around three steel struts that now provide structural support in place of a solid wall.

      YSG designs playful Sydney penthouse for empty nesters

      A plaster-washed stairwell leads up to the home’s second floor and is doused in natural light via a newly installed glass-brick facade. Some of these bricks are made from yellow glass, chosen by YSG to reflect the home’s “sunny disposition”.
      The staircase’s lower steps were ebonised to complement the black tiling that appears throughout the first floor while the upper steps are crafted from a pale timber to signal a change of space.
      Striking raffia-weave wallpaper lines cupboards in the walk-in wardrobeThe home’s top floor accommodates the principal bedroom, entered via a doorway lined in Rosso travertine. The bed is positioned at the centre of the room, set against a new low-lying partition.
      Behind it, the studio installed extra storage and established a new entryway to the walk-in wardrobe, which could previously only be accessed from the en-suite.
      The bedroom’s nook now accommodates a comfy curved banquetteGeometric raffia-weave wallpaper lines the front of all the cupboards, complementing the warm, natural hues that feature throughout the rest of the room.
      The bedroom leads off to a curved nook that used to contain a jumble of furnishings but now has a wooden desk and dramatic boucle-covered banquet that winds around its outer perimeter.
      Sea-green furnishings and decor feature in the studyThe project also saw YSG decrease the size of the kids’ playroom on the home’s ground floor in order to enlarge the utility room.
      A spare bedroom at this level was converted into a study and finished with sea-green furniture.
      Pink-hued Tiberio marble covers surfaces in the first-floor powder roomOutside, the studio replaced weathered decking with “crazy paving” composed of jagged slabs of pale stone and constructed a cushioned day bed that cantilevers over the pool.
      Other fun elements of the home include the ground-level powder room, which is clad top-to-bottom in pinkish Tiberio marble, and the wine cellar door with its tangerine-orange porthole windows that provide a glimpse of the bottles inside.
      The pool area features fresh paving and a cantilevering daybedYSG is behind the design of several residences in Sydney. There’s Budge Over Dover, a tactile home decked out in brick, brass and coloured plasters, and the playful penthouse Dream Weaver, curated to suit the owner’s bolder post-lockdown aesthetic.
      The photography is by Anson Smart.
      Project credits:
      Interior design and styling: YSGBuilder: Promena Projects

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      Australia bans engineered stone due to silicosis risk

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      Australia has become the first country in the world to ban engineered stone, following rising cases of silicosis among workers who handle the material.

      The ban was agreed at a meeting of Australian federal and state workplace ministers on Wednesday, and will come into place across the country from 1 July 2024.
      The ban targets engineered stone, also known as agglomerated stone – a type of material made by mixing crushed stone with a resin binder.
      “This is a dangerous product”
      While it is valued as a durable and affordable alternative to natural stone for kitchen benchtops, the material can be dangerous while being cut because it releases a fine silica dust into the air.

      Australia has recorded rising cases of the lung disease silicosis in stonemasons who have handled the product, leading it to be dubbed “the asbestos of the 2020s” by union leader Zach Smith.
      “This is a dangerous product that’s known to cause the potentially fatal disease silicosis, and it has no place in our workplaces,” said Queensland industrial relations minister Grace Grace in a statement following the meeting.
      “The rate of silicosis illness in Australia for those working with engineered stone is unacceptable,” said her Western Australian counterpart Simone McGurk. “This prohibition will ensure future generations of workers are protected from silicosis associated with working with engineered stone.”
      Ban follows report finding no safe level of silica in engineered stone
      The move comes nine months after an investigation by three Australian news outlets accused supplier Caesarstone of not doing enough to warn people of the dangers of working with the material and the country’s construction union launched a campaign calling for the ban.
      A subsequent report by the national policy body Safe Work Australia found that engineered stone workers were significantly over-represented in silicosis cases and were being diagnosed with the disease at much younger ages than workers from other industries, with most being under the age of 35.

      Australia moves to ban engineered stone due to silicosis danger

      It also found that the risk from engineered stone was distinct from that of natural stone due to the material’s physical and chemical composition, and that this was likely contributing to more rapid and severe disease.
      The report concluded that no level of silica was safe in engineered stone and that the material should be prohibited in its entirety.
      Silicosis is caused by tiny particles of silica becoming embedded in the lining of the lungs and manifests in symptoms such as shortness of breath, cough, weakness and fatigue.
      The condition is life-altering and potentially fatal, with many formerly healthy young sufferers describing being unable to work or play with their kids.
      Caesarstone commits to supplying Australia with “alternative products”
      In response to news of the ban, Caesarstone commented that while it disagreed with the decision, it is taking the necessary steps to ensure supply of alternative materials to Australian consumers.
      “The Caesarstone brand is well known in Australia and its products have earned tremendous success over the years,” said Caesarstone CEO Yos Shiran. “We are already taking steps to supply our Australian market with alternative products while maintaining our strong market presence.”
      It has previously argued that its material is safe if handled correctly and that the silicosis danger was the fault of employers and work safety bodies.
      Other companies including Ikea and Bunnings had already committed to phasing out the material in the Australian market.
      The ban will apply to the manufacturing, supplying, processing and installing of engineered stone but not its removal, repair, disposal or minor modifications.
      Australia’s workplace ministers will meet again in March 2024 to finalise details of the ban, including the transition period for contracts that have already been implemented and the precise definition of engineered stone.
      The country’s Model Work Health and Safety Regulations currently exclude concrete and cement products, bricks and pavers, porcelain, ceramic tiles, roof tiles, grout, mortar and render, and plasterboard from the definition of engineered stone, but ministers have indicated that additional products would be added to the exemptions.
      This may allow future engineered stone products to be exempted from the ban if there is “compelling evidence” that they can be used safely.

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      Studio Edwards adopts zero-waste strategy for Today Design office in Melbourne

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      Melbourne-based Studio Edwards has completed a workspace for creative agency Today Design using recycled and off-the-shelf materials that could be reused in the future.

      Located on the 12th floor of an office block in Melbourne’s Collingwood neighbourhood, the Today Design Workspace features partition walls made from OSB (oriented strand board) and translucent corrugated fibreglass.
      The office provides a workspace for creative agency Today DesignFurniture was built from scaffolding poles and timber boards, while sheets of recycled denim and sail cloth help to improve acoustics.
      Ben Edwards, architect and co-founder of Studio Edwards, said the project was designed for disassembly.
      Partition walls and tables are mounted on castors for flexibility”The goal was to create a workspace that leaves zero waste in its wake, constructed entirely from readily available materials without applied finishes,” he stated.

      “This means no plasterboard, no laminate and no MDF.”
      Another key aspect of the design is flexibility. The layout incorporates spaces for individual focus work, collaboration and meetings, but it can be reconfigured if required.
      Scaffolding poles provide furniture and screensMost of the partition walls and tables are mounted on castors so that they can be easily moved around, while a track system provides flexible lighting overhead.
      The layout of the Today Design Workspace is deliberately non-linear, organised around a looping circulation route that largely follows a diagonal trajectory through the 900-square-metre space.
      Despite its irregularity, the layout was planned to ensure that all partitions match the standard material sheet size, minimising the need for cutting.
      Built-in seats feature quilted denim cushionsCasual seating areas were built into some of the partition walls.
      These were formed of custom-made quilted denim cushions rather than upholstery, which makes them easier to recycle.

      Terroir revamps 1960s Tasmanian office “using no new resources at all”

      “The arrangement of spaces within the workspace is intentionally informal, creating a contrast with the building’s rigid rectilinear column grid,” explained Edwards.
      “Circulation pathways between these spaces are purposefully designed to encourage interaction and collaboration among teams,” he said.
      Rolls of denim form a semi-circular reception deskThe colour blue is a recurring theme throughout the space.
      Much of this comes from the use of denim. Sheets of this textile cover much of the building’s exposed concrete shell, held in place by magnets, while rolls of denim form a semi-circular reception desk.
      Blue is a recurring colour throughoutA blue stain was also applied to the timber beams that provide the structural framework.
      This colour contrasts with the warm, earthy shades of the OSB and the sisal flooring that features in some of the meeting rooms.
      Two-tone project tables feature built-in “toolboxes”Studio Edwards designed furniture to suit the collaborative nature of Today Design’s workflow.
      Two-tone project tables have built-in”toolboxes” filled with pens and sticky notes, while a large kitchen table integrates a continuous task-lighting channel. These are accompanied by cast aluminium chairs.
      The kitchen includes a table with a continuous task-lighting channelOther highlights include a kitchen with a stainless steel worktop, a magazine library with a neochrome effect and a flexible gallery and events space.
      “Today Workspace stands as a testament to sustainable design and collaborative ingenuity, a space where creativity thrives in harmony with the environment,” added Edwards.
      Translucent fibreglass screens are fixed to a blue-stained timber frameworkStudio Edwards is co-directed by designer Nancy Beka. Other projects by the studio include the modular NTS Space office, also in Collingwood, and the “jewel-like” Vision Studio eyewear store in Glen Waverley.
      The photography is by Peter Bennetts.
      Project credits
      Architect: Studio EdwardsBuilding contractor: McCormackServices contractor: Aston ConsultingStructural engineer: FORM EngineersProject management: Facilitate CorporationFurniture fabrication: James McNab DesignLighting: Sphera Lighting

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      Cox Architecture celebrates heritage features of its own Sydney studio

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      A brick, steel and timber structure is left exposed in this office interior in Sydney, which local firm Cox Architecture has revamped to house its own studio.

      Cox Architecture removed previous alterations to the structure, which occupies five floors of the heritage-listed Metcalfe Bond Stores warehouse in Tallawoladah, to highlight its original features and complement them with pared-back, flexible workspaces.
      Cox Architecture has designed its own studio in a Sydney warehouse”Our objective was to do more with less, balancing the poetic with the pragmatic,” explained the studio.
      “Restrained interventions allow the heritage to be the hero and minimise the project’s embodied energy,” it continued. “Our starting point was a process of reduction, removing non-heritage elements to create clarity.”
      The studio exposed its existing structureThe interior is defined by the original steel and timber structure’s columns and beams that have been painted white, and the brickwork of the outer walls that are left exposed.

      New elements such as glass doors and walls, room dividers, curtains and furniture were chosen to touch the existing structure “as lightly as possible”, and feature alongside dark-wood carpentry and gallery-style lighting tracks.
      Dark-wood carpentry features throughoutThe workspaces themselves are designed to be flexible and “hackable”, allowing areas to be reconfigured and subdivided easily by staff.
      This includes a forum space on the fifth level of the building, which has a wall lined with magnetic whiteboards and can be used as anything from a collaborative workshop space to a presentation area for 200 people.

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      Alongside it is a kitchen with a backdrop of exposed brickwork and two long counters topped with unsealed brass that will patinate over time.
      A black-steel stair leads up to a mezzanine level above containing further desk spaces. This sits at the top of the building, lit by skylights in the apex of the pitched roof.
      The workspaces are designed to be flexible”Anchored by a generous kitchen, a flexible forum space is a magnet for serendipitous exchange between Cox’s own people and the wider design community,” said the studio.
      “The majority of elements within the space are movable, creating an experimental, nimble workspace allowing teams the autonomy to control their space and future-proofing the studio as the workplace evolves,” it continued.
      The presentation space is lined with magnetic whiteboardsFacing the street, Cox Architecture created a “shopfront window”, giving staff the opportunity to populate vitrines with the studio’s work.
      Cox Sydney Studio has recently been shortlisted in the large workplace interior category of Dezeen Awards 2023. Another office interior completed by the studio is the Midtown Workplace in Brisbane, which features a large, plant-filled atrium with by a weathered-steel staircase.
      The photography is by Nicole England and Cameron Hallam.

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      Terroir revamps 1960s Tasmanian office “using no new resources at all”

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      Architecture studio Terroir has turned an abandoned 1960s office into its own workspace in Hobart, Australia, reusing the existing structure and timber framework.

      Terroir designed the office as “a small experiment that challenges the paradox of sustainable architecture”, adding as little as possible – with the only new elements being electrical cabling for power and internet.
      The office workspaces are organised around a central corridorThe 192-square-metre offices is divided by wooden framework retained from the previous fit out, which was revealed by stripping away old wall finishes.
      Some existing walls and partitions were removed and reconfigured into a desired layout, instead of acquiring new materials.
      Windows create social connections between adjacent workspaces”We asked whether we could produce a workspace that is driven by Terroir’s commitment to supporting the interactions of people in place, but in a way that uses less resources than ever before – by using no new resources at all,” Terroir’s founding director Scott Balmforth told Dezeen.

      “By re-using everything, we had to be open to some wit and humour in some of the unconventional staging of work activities, with the peek holes and nooks and windows adding a layer that we would likely not have explored in a conventional fit out.”
      The office fit out by Terroir features existing timber frameworkSpread across one level, meeting rooms and office spaces were organised around a central corridor, with a communal work area located at the rear and a waiting area at the entrance.
      Windows and cubby holes within the framework were designed as playful connections between adjacent work spaces, while glass panels were used to separate the communal area and meeting rooms.

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      Terroir complemented the timber floors and partitions with lightly coloured walls featuring paint strips that highlight cracked plaster as a celebration of the buildings previous life.
      The lack of decorative finishes and rough surfaces was designed to character and charm to the office interior.
      Office shelving and a bench are made from recycled timberThe studio’s low carbon approach extended to the furniture, with waste timber reused to create an office bench as well as shelving units.
      Terroir is a collective of architects and urbanists operating between Australia and Denmark. The project has been shortlisted in the workplace interior (small) category of Dezeen Awards 2023.
      The photography is by Brett Boardman.

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      Akin Atelier houses Gallery Shop at Sydney Modern in “translucent bubble”

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      Curved resin walls define this retail space, which architecture studio Akin Atelier has created for the Sydney Modern extension at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

      Designed by Akin Atelier with surfboard designer Hayden Cox, the Gallery Shop is located in the entrance pavilion of the gallery that was recently completed by Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning studio SANAA.
      The retail space is conceived as a “translucent bubble” within the entrance area, the studio said, and it aims to challenge the typical commercial experience in a museum shop.
      Akin Atelier has created the Gallery Shop at Sydney Modern”The shop captures natural light throughout the day, bringing dynamic reflections and refractions of the city while holding people, objects, and books within its centre,” Akin Atelier told Dezeen.
      “[It] showcases products to passers-by through the lens of the resin walls – gently maximising the identity of the space while preserving the architectural experience of the new building.”

      The Gallery Shop comprises two resin walls that curve around its displays, with a gap between the two of them forming the entry point.
      It has curved walls made from a resinThe installation is placed in the northwest corner of the entrance pavilion, to the left-hand side of its entrance, meaning that its distinctive resin walls are visible from the street.
      Its walls are constructed of 29 modules formed of 12 tonnes of resin. According to the studio, the resin is a type of “bio-resin” manufactured to incorporate biological matter.
      It sits within the building’s entrance pavilion that was designed by SANAA”It is composed of a minimum 26 per cent biological matter,” said the studio.
      “[This reduces] the amount of embodied carbon as well as reducing toxicity during the manufacturing process.”

      SANAA designs Sydney Modern to be “harmonious with its surroundings”

      The distinct tonal gradient of the bio-resin was achieved by hand pouring layers of colour into custom moulds – a process that took 109 days.
      Meanwhile, its glossy translucency was achieved through hand sanding followed by seven rounds of hand polishing.
      The translucent material allows natural light through the space. Photo by Tim SalisburyThe resin’s earthy hues reference the sandstone used in the original Art Gallery of New South Wales, while its gradation is a nod to the layered nature of Sydney’s bedrock of sandstone.
      “The handmade nature of resin casting and finishing allowed for experimentation across colour and form while addressing the patinated qualities of the outside environment,” explained Akin Atelier.
      Two curved walls enclose the shopInside the Gallery Shop, adjustable resin shelves line the curved walls, housing books and publications. Stainless steel is used for display plinths, providing a contrast to the warm tones of the resin.
      The project has been shortlisted in the small retail interior category of the Dezeen Awards.
      Akin Atelier also recently used tactile materials such as onyx, plaster and travertine to form the interiors of a branch of the womenswear store Camilla and Marc in Melbourne.
      The photography is by Rory Gardiner unless otherwise stated. 

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      Australian hardwood lines Melbourne cottage extension by Prior Barraclough

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      Architecture practice Prior Barraclough has expanded a modest workers’ cottage in Melbourne to include an extension panelled entirely in Australian hardwood.

      Located in the neighbourhood of Northcote, Union Street House is a single-fronted workers’ cottage owned by a recently retired couple who wanted their home to have more functional living space.
      Local practice Prior Barraclough was tasked with extending the site but had to find ways to work around its strict planning regulations with “sensitivity to the heritage streetscape”.
      Union Street House is lined with Australian hardwoodThe extension was designed to sit neatly between two houses that lie on either side of the original cottage and features a dramatic slanting roof complete with solar tiles.
      The peak of the roof aligns with those of the two flanking properties, minimising the extension’s visual bulk and overshadowing.

      Its sloping form also allows for rainwater to trickle down and be collected in an underground tank, which is then recycled and used to service the home’s bathrooms or irrigate its outdoor spaces.
      A kitchen sits beneath the highest point of the extension’s slanted roofInside, the extension was clad all over with boards of Australian hardwood to both evoke a sense of warmth and soften the “folded geometry” of its interior architecture.
      “The entire extension is arranged on a 75 milimetre grid that governs joinery openings, door positions, room dimensions and material alignments,” explained the practice.
      “To align timber boards with this grid across surfaces pitched at different angles, each board had to be milled to precise and often varying dimensions.”
      Stainless steel-lined cupboards contrast surrounding wooden surfacesA comfy lounge was created beneath the lowest point of the roof, giving the space a more enclosed, intimate ambience. Light floods in from the expansive glazed panel that fronts the extension, granting views of the cottage’s leafy back garden.
      This is followed by a dining area, anchored by a large table crafted from hardwood boards that were left over from the construction works.
      Gridded white tiles feature on the bathroom wallsUnder the highest point of the extension’s roof is a minimalist kitchen. Hardwood boards overlay its central breakfast island and rear wall, concealing a series of storage cupboards.
      The inside of the cupboards was contrastingly lined with stainless steel, specifically chosen by Prior Barraclough to “emphasise the singularity” of the rest of the extension’s material palette.
      Narrow rectangular tiles that “maintain the precision of the project grid” were also applied in the bathroom suite that hides behind the kitchen.
      The extension’s mezzanine level provides additional living spaceA small mezzanine was built above the kitchen, which can serve as a study, guest bedroom or secondary sitting area.
      Slatted wooden screens were installed in front of the glazed opening here to provide privacy when needed.
      Inhabitants can go back to the cottage proper via a faceted wood-lined corridor, angled in such a way as to conceal the flight of stairs that leads up to the extension’s mezzanine level.
      A faceted corridor leads back to the original cottageUnion Street House has been shortlisted in the home interior category of this year’s Dezeen Awards.
      Other nominees include a residence in Tokyo filled with wooden furniture and artwork, a Madrid apartment divvied up by vibrant glazed tiles and Another Seedbed in Brooklyn, which doubles as a performance space.
      The photography is by Benjamin Hosking.
      Project credits:
      Architect: Prior BarracloughBuilder: Ben Monagle/Camson HomesEngineer: Adams Consulting Engineers

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      Branch Studio Architects designs student welfare space for Melbourne college

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      Branch Studio Architects has created a dusty-pink student welfare centre at an all-boys school in Melbourne to provide a space for discussing mental health.

      Marcellin College principal Marco Di Cesare saw a need to offer a space where students could come together and seek help for mental health issues, particularly after Australia’s state of Victoria experienced some of the strictest lockdowns during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
      The creation of the student welfare centre involved renovating an “undercroft” spaceThe faculty therefore decided to renovate a 387-square-metre space for this purpose inside the existing Placidus Building on campus, instead of knocking it down.
      “Marco came to us with a brief for a refurbishment to a lower-ground space within an existing building, which – under previous management – was flagged for demolition,” said Brad Wray, co-founder of Branch Studio Architects and the project’s design architect.
      The majority of the centre is occupied by a common space for studentsThe space had previously been used as a series of nondescript classrooms and staff offices, with a lack of natural light.

      “Given the poor amenity and general dark ‘undercroft’ feeling of the existing space, it was a space that not many staff or students particularly liked to use and saw any real value in,” said Wray. “Let alone, the potential of the space becoming a place for student welfare.”
      Multiple spaces for studying and relaxing are incorporated throughout the common areaThe brief called for a lighter, brighter area in which students could relax, study, contemplate and converse with one another, as well as provide offices for faculty members who specialise in student welfare and private rooms for one-on-one discussions.
      The smaller rooms were pushed to the edge of the floor plan, leaving a spacious common area to occupy the bulk of the centre’s footprint.
      Lightly textured, dusty-pink plaster was chosen as a unifying materialThis open space is partially divided by sculptural geometric partitions and fixed furniture elements into a series of seating areas, workspaces and hang-out niches.
      “We wanted to create an environment which embodied a sense of a ‘home away from home’, where students could feel more comfortable through direct visual associations with their own homes,” Wray said.
      A space for reflection is modelled on a chapelFor instance, a kitchen island – where many students might speak casually with family and friends – was integrated to encourage similar instances.
      Lightly textured, dusty-pink plaster was chosen to highlight the architectural interventions, while a burgundy hue was selected for seat-cushion upholstery and cabinetry in the kitchen area.
      Branch Studio Architects chose to translate elements from The Hermitage”Given Marcellin College is an all-boys school, there was a keen interest from early on in pushing the boundaries of gender-based colour stereotypes,” said Wray.
      The team also used the college’s associations with Marist Catholic history to inform the design.
      Sculptural furniture pieces are based on features found at the Marist pilgrimage siteEstablished in the 1950s, Marcellin College is named after Saint Marcellin Champagnat, who built The Hermitage community on a property near Lyons, France, in 1824.
      Wray and his team translated multiple references from this pilgrimage site into architectural elements through the welfare centre.

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      Most prominent is the enclosed reflection space in the middle of the common room, which is modelled on the original chapel that sat on The Hermitage site.
      Landscape features, archways, a cabinet, a fireplace and a relic found at the site in France were reinterpreted as minimalist curved walls and sculptural furniture pieces that appear to be carved from the welfare centre’s interior.
      Tiered seating is based on the amphitheatre built into the landscape at The Hermitage”We are under no illusions architecture will solve student mental health, but we hope it facilitates a positive experience – a calm and relaxing place to open up a dialogue between students and staff,” said Wray.
      The Placidus Student Welfare Space is shortlisted in the health and wellbeing interior category for this year’s Dezeen Awards, along with a children’s clinic in Seattle, a high-end dental practice in Toronto and two more projects. See the full interiors shortlist here.
      The minimalist interior is intended to help the students focus and contemplateFounded in 2012 by Wray and Nicholas Russo, Branch Studio Architects has seen previous Dezeen Awards success – having won interior project of the year in 2019 for a school administration office in Melbourne.
      The firm’s portfolio of completed education projects in Australia also includes an arts centre at another college in Victoria, a weathering steel bridge for a secondary school and a wooden extension to a school library.
      The photography is by Peter Clarke.
      Project credits:
      Branch Studio Architects team: Brad Wray, design architect; Nicholas Russo, project realisation; Jax Lam, project architect; Arun Lakshmanan, graduate architectBuilder: MDC Building GroupBuilding surveyor: Michel Group Building SurveyorsStructural engineer: OPS EngineersServices engineer: BRT Consulting

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