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Issue 62 - Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62

Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62 is the first issue of the year and always a great time to put our best foot forward. With Adam Goodrum, the loveliest man in design, as Guest Editor, we draw on his insights as a furniture designer, artist and educator to look at the makers shaping our design world. Sustainability has never been more important, and increasingly this is a consideration from the start with projects designed to address their immediate environment as well as the longevity of the planet. From the coldest winters to the most tropical of summers, addressing how we live in the environment is crucial to creating the perfect home.

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Nothing And Everything
HomesSusanne Kennedy

Nothing And Everything

China

The cover story for the latest issue of Habitus, the Nourish issue, this refined she-shed by Branch Studio Architects in Balnarring, Victoria, was inspired by its natural setting and client’s impulse to create a special retreat – all of her own.


Georgina, an ex-commercial pilot, and her husband, Adrian Reis, purchased their four-hectare property six years ago. The property contains the couple’s main house and now Georgina’s studio a short distance from it.

Initially, the studio concept was simply about “keeping the office in order”. But it quickly evolved into the space one went to relax, dream or work – a feminine answer to the man-cave.

So by the time the pair approached principal architect Nicholas Russo of Branch Studio Architects, with an open-ended brief, the project called for a particular brand of architectural magic.

Clearly a changeable space was needed. One that could “be nothing one minute and everything the next,” recalls Nicholas. “And regularly and effortlessly switch between an empty nondescript shell … to a fully functioning private residence – a knitting studio, a reading room, a weekender, a home office, (or house) Friday night drinks with the neighbours, yoga, Christmas Day lunch.”

Nicholas and his Branch colleagues responded to Georgina’s fabulous challenge by developing a compact and highly adaptable 80-metres-squared design located on the edge of the property’s tranquil billabong. Integrated and operable features were embedded in the walls to enable easy transformation of the space, depending on the activities and needs of the day – or hour…

Read the full story in Habitus #36, the Nourish issue, out now.

Branch Studio Architects
branchstudioarchitects.com

Words by Susanne Kennedy

Photography by Peter Clarke

Balnarring Retreat living room
Balnarring Retreat study
Balnarring Retreat bedroom
Balnarring Retreat exterior
Balnarring Retreat exterior

About the Author

Susanne Kennedy


Related Projects
Issue 62 - Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62

Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62 is the first issue of the year and always a great time to put our best foot forward. With Adam Goodrum, the loveliest man in design, as Guest Editor, we draw on his insights as a furniture designer, artist and educator to look at the makers shaping our design world. Sustainability has never been more important, and increasingly this is a consideration from the start with projects designed to address their immediate environment as well as the longevity of the planet. From the coldest winters to the most tropical of summers, addressing how we live in the environment is crucial to creating the perfect home.

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