As products of our environments, cultures, communities, and the varying contexts we live in, it can feel near impossible to propose something that has never existed or been influenced by something else. Or at least naive to think so. Influence and creation through osmosis, though, differs from direct replication.
“Simply emulating the look or the style of other designers around us immediately restricts the potential in a project of seeing and thinking with an open mind,” Edition Office co-founding director Kim Bridgland says. However, he adds, “Originality for the sake of something new can also be problematic and may not lead to a good design outcome.”
Mary Street House by Edition Office | Photography by Rory Gardiner
Mary Street House by Edition Office | Photography by Rory Gardiner
Hawthorn House by Edition Office | Photography by Tom Ross
Hawthorn House by Edition Office | Photography by Tom Ross
Finding the balance between drawing from lessons and solutions already discovered and finding an appropriate stylistic response is key – but not easy. “There is much to be gained from studying and learning from other designers, filmmakers, writers and artists,” Edition Office co-founding director Aaron Roberts adds. “We seek to enrich our own practice and thinking,” he adds, “by investigating various methods and outcomes which have led to experientially rich projects and responses to place.”
Although saturation and access to visual stimuli and inspiration have never been more readily available, defining the unique problem to be solved should ultimately inspire the process. “There are often particular idiosyncrasies in a design brief that, if responded well to, lead to more meaningful engagement,” Aaron adds, “The core elements of a project become a response to conversations around the brief, teasing out the subtleties of what might be behind particular desires and needs, understanding place, physically, environmentally and culturally.”
“We seek unique outcomes that arise from being empathetic and truly observant in the design process. Listening to country and pondering ways of enabling our clients to intimately connect to country can do the same”
– Kim Bridgland
Mossy Point House By Edition Office | Photography by Rory Gardiner
Mossy Point House by Edition Office | Photography by Rory Gardiner
Mossy Point House by Edition Office | Photography by Rory Gardiner
In each case, the site’s needs, past and the people who gain function from it differ for each project. “A deeper understanding of why design decisions are made can lead to a more authentic approach – learning from our previous works, as well our own life experience, is central to our process,” Kim adds. Avoiding trends or growth of interest isn’t necessarily the answer either; however, “Every project, whether it is a house, an art gallery, an exhibition or a piece of writing, builds upon the ideas and strategies of the last,” he adds.
“As designers,” Kim says, “all our work in some way is derived or influenced by what has come before us. This ranges from primary construction methods to the shared ways we live or seek shelter.” In the continuance of traditions, “utilising familiar tools and methodologies that we have learned or developed,” he adds, “Originality perhaps could be found in an inquisitive response to a brief or in responding to a challenging part of a project in a particular or novel way.”
“Originality can be found in attempting to see a situation from alternate viewpoints or from differing cultural lenses…”
– Aaron Roberts
Federal by Edition Office | Photography by Ben Hosking
Although “It is increasingly difficult for designers not to be influenced by, or saturated by, what they see online, or how others have resolved a project,” Aaron says, “When a novel result emerges, it is often heavily distributed online via design networks.”
Perhaps, it is by looking deeper, interrogating further, opening conversations about purpose, and engaging with people and place, that the potential to alter copy-culture exists.
Fenwick by Edition Office | Photography by Rory Gardiner
Fenwick by Edition Office | Photography by Rory Gardiner
“We believe that if we approach each project and its design process with a willingness to be open to the possibilities that present themselves, solutions will more likely result in novel outcomes that are particular and fit for purpose.”
– Kim Bridgland
In Absence Edition Office with Yhonnie Scarce | Photography by Ben Hosking
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