Studio Thing, Camberwell
How can we create more using less?
This project is for a small interior fit out of an architect’s studio located in a first floor room within a heritage listed Art Deco building in Camberwell, Victoria. The brief required creating a form that would separate the client meeting spaces from the general office areas, be completed on a shoe string budget and symbolically represent something of the creative processes of the office. Above all, the project was an opportunity to explore alternate methods of form creation, structure, the use of materials and procurement techniques.
Free hand sketching is one of the tools we use to explore design ideas - it is where concepts often germinate. We decided to create a form reminiscent of a scrunched up piece of paper containing the scribbles and thoughts passing through a designer’s mind. The studio “thing” was born. The subsequent “scrunched” cocoon like form was designed to be both structural and aesthetic.
After exploring the design through various software packages and physical models we created a shape that was unwrapped and routed into flat cardboard sheets using a CNC router. No formal architectural documentation was required: no drawings; no details; no dimensions. 3 ply un bleached cardboard produced from sustainable plantations was the material of choice. The flat packed cut sheets were delivered to the office, with the initial assembly taking around 90 minutes. Subsequent bracing was created from the residual cardboard. The form is completely demountable and relocatable. The total cost of materials and fabrication was around $1300.
The Studio Thing was then embellished with drawings of various architectural objects and forms. These shapes were painted on with crude dry brush painting to the cardboard and with removable vinyl tape on everything else. Inspired by the works of artists such Felice Verini and Aakash Nihalani, the forms fall into perspective at the entrance of the studio, creating the impression of a cosmos of platonic objects. Elsewhere in the studio they create interesting and unusual shapes and forms.
2016 Australian Interior Design Awards Shortlisted - Studio Thing
