Green Magazine #83 January-February 2022

It seems to me that the holiday shack has been replaced by something that distracts from the experience of being away from the city. What’s the point of being in nature if you’re not immersed in it, if when you step inside you are drawn into the usual modern conveniences of home? Our cover house was designed on the principles of the beach houses of its owners’ youth. A step up from the ‘yurt’ that they had been inhabiting on the site, they looked to the modest design of a classic New Zealand bach for inspiration, small in scale with the intention of drawing the family outside. For architect Hannah Tribe, building something unpretentious and unadorned was important when designing a prototype kit house for her own family to escape to. Respecting…

Celebrate SKUPA is an Australian-made furniture collection produced by Croatian-born master craftsman, Boris Tošié. Boris’ hand sees the natural attributes of sustainable timber showcased in the tradition of European workshops; pieces such as the “Stap Bookcase” bringing both playfulness and practicality. livingedge.com.au Twist and Turn Whoever said hanging stuff up couldn’t be fun? These hooks are a collaboration between Melbourne’s POLY Designs and Bootleg Studio. Available in three styles and colours and made to order locally. @p0ly_designs Meeting The distinctive artwork of Melbourne-based Csongvay Blackwood reflects the meeting of two minds and sources of inspiration. For Csilla Csongvay, their artworks reference the Brutalist architecture from childhood in Romania. Meanwhile, Matt Blackwood draws upon a fondness for mid-century modern design. csongvayblackwood.com Intrinsic For Glenlyon-based artist Minaal Lawn, the creation of ceramic objects celebrates the reconciliation of her Indian heritage with her…

“At the heart of it, architecture is the most visible expression of culture and of humans’ relationship with place. What we say about ourselves and what we build is so inextricably linked,” says Hannah Tribe, who established her practice Tribe Studio Architects in 2003. This expression is not only inherent in singular buildings, like Bundeena House – a relaxed beach house that offers Hannah, her family and friends an escape from city life. But it is inherent in architecture in the broader context, and being able to understand a culture from a collection of buildings. “It’s holding a mirror up to ourselves, our values, our preoccupations,” says Hannah. Indeed, Bundeena House expresses not only Hannah’s values, but also the values of creating sustainable, respectful, contemporary Australian architecture. Bundeena is a small fishing…

FLOURISH Where we live tells a story about who we are and where we’ve come from. For YSG’s founder and principal, Yasmine Ghoniem, the decoration of her own Bondi apartment speaks of her upbringing in Australia, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The richness of these memories manifests in the kitchen through custom green joinery, creamy marble benchtops and a hand-painted patterned floor. The eye is rewarded for a journey upwards with an eclectic collection of sculptural pieces bringing flair to what is, at its core, a functional space – although with so much to see here, you’d be forgiven for not noticing. ysg.studio Specs Joinery custom by YSG made by Xpert Joinery Lower cabinetry “Deep Reed” by Dulux Benchtop “Calacatta Manhattan” from Med Marble Floor custom patterned hand-painted by Creative Finish PERSONAL Folk Studio’s renovation of an artist’s home in…

“We wanted to do something different that wasn’t your standard three-bedroom home – a juxtaposition to what we had in town,” says Rachelle Kelly of the 105-square-metre bach (pronounced ‘batch’) beach house at St Andrews on the Mornington Peninsula, designed for her young family by Wolveridge Architects. “Also to be outdoors, and forced together into a simpler way of living. Forced outdoors into nature regardless of what the weather’s doing, to really unwind from the city and be connected to the coast.” Her partner Stuart Ablethorpe, a keen surfer, spent childhood holidays on the peninsula in no-frills 50s fibro shacks and at 18 moved to Balnarring, quick as a flash. Over the years he, Rachelle, their friends and their children Frankie, now 11, and Izzy, 13, have spent as much time…

Architect Wolveridge Architects wolveridge.com.au Builder Everclear everclear.net.au Location Boonwurrung Country. St Andrews, Vic Project focus From the outset, this project was about stripping back to essentials. If sketches ever got too large or detailed, the architects asked themselves what was really necessary for a weekender that’s about eschewing the luxuries of city living. This informed the simplicity of the floor plan, compact but functional spaces, and restrained material palette. While the end-product is a bespoke architectural project, it is intentionally understated and restrained. Passive energy design While the siting was pre-determined by bushfire constraints, orientation was more flexible. The main built form was positioned for optimal solar gain and privacy from a driveway shared with neighbours. With no air conditioning, all areas were designed to incorporate at least two opposing windows, tuned for cross ventilation. With the exception of…