We name our 2024 architecture and design authorities from Australia and abroad.
Photography by Anson Smart
David Flack | Portrait by Anson Smart
Flack Studio
Founder David Flack
Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country / Melbourne, Australia
Where do you go to appreciate exceptional design?
I would like to talk more about what feeds into my design. I’m always absorbing design; it’s everywhere. No matter what journey you complete as part of your daily routine, it’s been designed and highly informed by art, architecture, design, books, travel, food, fashion, experience, small moments and conversations.
The one thing people always ask me is:
Do you know exactly what you want to do as soon as you walk into a space?
Three words that most appropriately sum up my approach to design are:
Intuitive, approachable, unorthodox.
What key influence can we anticipate seeing in projects you are yet to release?
Flack Studio is now an architecture studio. We are currently working on some incredible private residential homes. Our unique interior vision informs our architecture, focusing on creating building envelopes that further enhance the story we’ve crafted, inside out. So the influence is really coming from our new architecture principal, Richard Blight.
What is the one piece of advice you would share with an emerging designer?
Stay true to yourself, remain authentic and work for the best people you can. Don’t be afraid to say no.
What’s the first thing you always notice when you walk into a room?
Natural light, existing features, character and soul. Spaces have an energy and history; we must stay true to this whenever we take on a project, regardless of its size and scale.
What product/s or piece/s do you admire most right now?
We try to encourage people to think about selecting items that will stay with them throughout their lifetime. We often look to vintage items or furniture. These items have already stood the test of time.
Photography by Anson Smart
Casa Muñoz
Founders Gonzalo Machado and Mafalda Muñoz
Madrid, Spain
Where do you go to appreciate exceptional design?
We believe exceptional design is in the history of architecture and design – museums in cities like Copenhagen, Paris, Milan, and London.
The one thing people always ask me is:
What is your style?
Three words that most appropriately sum up my approach to design are:
Proportion, scale, harmony.
What key influence can we anticipate seeing in projects you are yet to release?
We are now very inspired by the work of Georges Geffroy.
What is the one piece of advice you would share with an emerging designer?
Every designer should find their craft and master it. Specialisation and mastery are valuable qualities for designers to cultivate in their careers.
What’s the first thing you always notice when you walk into a room?
Lighting is one of the most important aspects of a space. It can completely change the perception of space and has the power to create ambience, which is one of the aims of our job.
What product/s or piece/s do you admire most right now?
We just re-edited a ‘Chevalet’ designed by Alain Demachy. It is called the ‘Chevalet Egypcien’.
Photography by Gonzalo Machado
Photography by Gonzalo Machado
Founders Gonzalo Machado and Mafalda Muñoz | Photography by Gonzalo Machado
Clare Cousins Architects
Founder Clare Cousins
Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country/Melbourne, Australia
Where do you go to appreciate exceptional design?
I love spending time in two of Melbourne’s great modernist homes, which are now house museums; Heide II by McGlashen Everest and Robin Boyd’s own house at Walsh Street. Inventively built from humble materials, these are both seminal projects that the public can visit.
The one thing people always ask me is:
Do you have a minute?
Three words that most appropriately sum up my approach to design are:
Curiosity, tenacity, compassion.
What is a key influence that we can anticipate seeing in projects you are yet to release?
We are exploring opportunities to repurpose construction and post-consumer waste in a current commercial project. As a profession, we must be far more responsible with resource consumption than the status quo.
What is the one piece of advice you would share with an emerging designer?
Doing a great job for your client is the best marketing you can ever do. Architecture is a long game. You need to love your projects and hold onto the values and intentions of the project until the end. We design for our clients by listening and observing. We also think about who, beyond our clients, can benefit from the project.
Approaching projects with a curious mind; we are always learning and exposed to new ways of thinking. We relish the opportunity to solve problems with creative solutions.
What’s the first thing you always notice when you walk into a room?
The quality of light. Whether a space has abundant natural light or none, there is a real skill in designing a space with beautiful light.
What product/s or piece/s do you admire most right now?
I am keen to treat myself to some David Mellor cutlery for our new house; timeless, practical, and able to be used daily
Clare Cousins | Portrait by Jes Lindsay
Photography by Tess Kelly
Photography by Tess Kelly
Olivia Williams Studio
Founder Olivia Williams
Los Angeles, North America
Where do you go to appreciate exceptional design?
I love to travel, finding inspiration at museums and galleries wherever I go. No matter the place, I always look for interesting stores, galleries or local museums, contemporary or ancient.
I grew up in New Zealand but have been based in the US for a long time and frequently travel overseas for our projects. I have always been inspired to travel to faraway places. That said, New Zealand and Australia have so much exceptional design and architecture. Inspiration can be found right in your backyard.
The one thing people always ask me is:
How did you learn to be a designer?
Three words that most appropriately sum up my approach to design are:
Collection, art, collaboration.
What key influence can we anticipate seeing in projects you are yet to release?
Texture, colour and pattern. Looking at historical and contemporary design and interesting ways to marry the two.
What is the one piece of advice you would share with an emerging designer?
If you don’t already have one, find a good accounting software that caters specifically to interior design and get familiar with it. This tool will be the backbone of your business and can save you a lot of time and stress.
What is the first thing you always notice when you walk into a room?
Any existing art, collections, or any objects of interest. If it is a bare space, I always look at ceiling height and light – where is the light coming from, and how does it play in the space throughout the day?
What product/s or piece/s do you admire most right now?
Anything that is timeless. I always admire timeless design that can be used and loved for decades.
Last week, I was on a site visit in Santa Fe, New Mexico and picked up some vintage Levis and a great old Levis jacket. They’re still cool, in style and timeless always.
Photography by Henry Bourne
Olivia Williams | Portrait by Stephen Kent Johnson
Photography by Henry Bourne
Hugo Toro
Paris, France
Where do you go to appreciate exceptional design?
There isn’t a specific place but conjunctions that make the design exceptional. Just observe a detail in a garden, on a door, or even the window of a house. A place made with the heart is inherently an exceptional design; one just needs to open up to it and let inspiration come. Light greatly contributes to making a design exceptional.
The one thing people always ask me is:
Do you sleep much?
Three words that most appropriately sum up my approach to design are:
Narration, context, atmosphere.
What key influence can we anticipate seeing in projects you are yet to release?
Each project obviously has a common thread, but I am always influenced by the place itself, its history, and its context. Each project has its own identity and, consequently, a particular influence.
What is the one piece of advice you would share with an emerging designer?
You have to live in the moment to grow and learn. I’m constantly on the move to ‘feed’ myself. You have to listen to yourself, be daring, and make suggestions. If you don’t take risks, nothing happens.
What’s the first thing you always notice when you walk into a room?
The temperature of the light – I am very sensitive to light. The atmosphere of a place is conveyed through light.
What product/s or piece/s do you admire most right now?
Right now, I have a passion for charred wood; Yakisugi. It is derived from a natural wood protection technique of Japanese origin. It involves deeply burning the surface of a board to obtain a superficial layer of carbon. This technique produces multiple textures and variable colours of deep, captivating black. It’s a very hard-wearing material, indoors and out.
Photography by William Jess Laird
Photography by William Jess Laird
Hugo Toro | Portrait by William Jess Laird
Susi Leeton Architects + Interiors
Founder Susi Leeton
Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country/Melbourne, Australia
Where do you go to appreciate exceptional design?
Travel; a village in Japan, surfing in the ocean, Paris, camping by a lake in the mountains. Travel anywhere…
The one thing people always ask me is:
Could you create a space that’s beautiful, and functional, serene and joyous?
Three words that most appropriately sum up my approach to design are:
Sculptural, pragmatic, warm.
What key influence can we anticipate seeing in projects you are yet to release?
The concept of timelessness and sensitivity. We love creating spaces that make you exhale when you walk through the door and make you feel like you’ve arrived home to a little piece of paradise.
What is the one piece of advice you would share with an emerging designer?
Be generous and curious about time, creativity, mediums, people and ideas.
What’s the first thing you always notice when you walk into a room?
How it makes you feel on a subliminal, visceral level. The chiaroscuro of light, the vibration of sound, the shimmer of texture, the scent floating in the air. I adore a space that touches the soul.
What product/s or piece/s do you admire most right now?
An artwork by the Australian indigenous artist, Sally Gabori; grounded, vibrant, spiritual, evocative, and spiritual storytelling.
Susi Leeton
Photography by Lisa Cohen
Photography by Lisa Cohen
Aires Mateus
Founder Manuel Aires Mateus
Lisbon, Portugal
Where do you go to appreciate exceptional design?
I see exceptional design in things that have been enshrined by time. Somehow, when we find an extraordinary object, it’s partly new, partly something else that resonates in our memory. Normally, the things that give us peace of mind are the most extraordinary things.
The one thing people always ask me is:
How do you start a project?
Three words that most appropriately sum up my approach to design are:
Life, people, freedom.
What key influence can we anticipate seeing in projects you are yet to release?
What I like to imagine is that each project has its own personality, its own identity and its own story. So, in reality, what we’re going to see will, hopefully, be a surprise for me too.
What is the one piece of advice you would share with an emerging designer?
We have to tell young people that they have to believe. This is a profession of resistance, and that time for resistance must be respected.
What’s the first thing you always notice when you walk into a room?
It’s always different things. But the first thing I notice is the impact of a general awareness of the space, which has to do with proportions, light, materials, colours, textures, and a sense of how you can live in that space. At first, we can’t explain it, but later, if we want to, we have to analyse it in more detail.
What product/s or piece/s do you admire most right now?
I admire all sources of things. I’m interested in people who work by questioning life in each profession.
Manuel Aires Mateus | Portrait by Mathilde Travassos
Photography by Dan Preston
Photography by Dan Preston
Nicemakers
Founders Joyce and Dax Roll
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Where do you go to appreciate exceptional design?
Into nature. We have two places to hide and recharge, one on the Veluwe in the Netherlands and the other on the island of Menorca, Spain. Our 60s Bungalow in Veluwe is the perfect place to go to and spend time in nature. In Menorca, we enjoy its wild nature and beaches. This calms our mind and opens our eyes to enjoying everything right in front of us.
The one thing people always ask me is:
What is it like to work together as a couple?
Three words that most appropriately sum up my approach to design are:
Personal, synchronicity, collected.
What key influence can we anticipate seeing in projects you are yet to release?
The sun and the Mediterranean lifestyle.
What is the one piece of advice you would share with an emerging designer?
Have a thorough and deep interest in understanding your client.
What’s the first thing you always notice when you walk into a room?
The light, the views, and its energy, and when it’s in a poor condition: the potential.
What product/s or piece/s do you admire most right now?
Our collected set of vintage Gio Ponti cabinets.
Founders Joyce and Dax Roll | Portrait by Philippe Vogelenzang
Photography by Alan Jensen
Photography by Alan Jensen
Fearon Hay Architects
Founders Tim Hay and Jeff Fearon
Auckland, New Zealand & Los Angeles, North America
Where do you go to appreciate exceptional design?
Good design is everywhere; it’s not limited to certain places. But we also draw inspiration from the natural world rather than just the constructive world. Nature can offer inspiration through materiality, proportion and scale that influence our thinking in design.
The one thing people always ask me is:
Working on multiple projects in Australia, when will you be opening an Australian office?
Three words that most appropriately sum up my approach to design are:
Listen, interrogate, dream.
What key influence can we anticipate seeing in projects you are yet to release?
Place; we work in many different places; we have an LA and Auckland studio. The variety of locations constantly inspires us. We always want to understand more about a place and are fortunate to have the variety; it invigorates our process.
What is the one piece of advice you would share with an emerging designer?
Build confidence in your ideas and your process to communicate them concisely. It takes a lot of work initially to have the confidence to put them forward. For them to be received, they need to be packaged in a way that is easily absorbed by someone.
What’s the first thing you always notice when you walk into a room?
Not one product; we like to look at opportunities to use products in different ways continually and how we can play with the product or the specification to achieve different results. It’s not necessarily about new products, but it’s playing with opportunities and boundaries within products we are familiar with, both from a technical and environmental point of view.
Photography by Simon Wilson
Founders Tim Hay and Jeff Fearon | Portrait by Sam Frost
Photography by Simon Wilson
Richards Stanisich
Founders Jonathan Richards and Kirsten Stanisich
Gadigal Country / Sydney, Australia
Where do you go to appreciate exceptional design?
Jonathan Richards: Predictable perhaps, but the Sydney Opera House neve disappoints.
Kirsten Stanisich: There are certainly incredible places like Mi and Tokyo where I have been blown away by special design moments, but mo often than not, I get excited by the experience of a space or place, and that ca happen at the most unexpected moments.
The one thing people always ask me is:
Jonathan: Can I ask you for some quick design advice?
Kirsten: What projects are you working on?
Three words that most appropriately sum up my approach to design are:
Jonathan: Enjoy the process.
Kirsten: Designing for feeling.
What key influence can we anticipate seeing in projects you are yet release?
Jonathan: A sense of optimism expressed through colour and sculptural form.
Kirsten: We have always been interested in immersing the DNA of our clients into all of our projects and continuing this through our future projects.
What is the one piece of advice you would share with an emerging designer?
Jonathan: Don’t become a computer zombie. Draw by hand, feel materials, go to site; be obsessed with design and step away from the computer.
Kirsten: The biggest advice is to keep going no matter what comes your way and stop to celebrate all the good moments.
What’s the first thing you always notice when you walk into a room?
Jonathan: The energy of a room. Whether it’s beautiful, calming, exciting or dull – I am responsive to that immediate energy.
Kirsten: Before I’ve had the chance to touch or experience the space, I’d say it would have to be how the light works and what effect it has on the colour and texture of the space.
What product/s or piece/s do you admire most right now?
Jonathan: A Bill Henson landscape.
Kirsten: The De Padova Uragano chair designed by Vico Magistretti.
Photography by Felix Forest
Jonathan Richards and Kirsten Stanisich | Photography by Felix Forest
Photography by Felix Forest
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