andrew maynard – The Interiors Addict

Modernist Melbourne home blurs lines between inside and out

In contrast to the large homes that surround it, THAT house is modest in size but also perfectly formed. “We were asked to provide the family with just the right amount of space,” says architect Andrew Maynard of Austin Maynard Architects, of the home that truly brings the outside in and is the embodiment of smart design.

Not only does ample glazing provide myriad views of the outdoors there are also lovely internal green spaces too. “A tree penetrates the roof whilst a garden bridges the kitchen and dining,” says Andrew who is, interestingly, not a fan of open-plan living and the house is an expression of that.

“We aimed to have secluded spaces within shared spaces. The ground floor of this house is ostensibly open, however the arrangement of spaces allows the owners to be together, or secluded, or any level of engagement in between,” says Andrew of the three-bedroom home that boasts a kitchen, lounge, dining, living and study (or fourth bedroom) too.

The concept of being ‘alone together’ underpins the clever design of this home – the arrangement of spaces and clever use of doors allows for adaptable use of the space.

Given the house is so open, privacy was a key issue and upward blinds were part of the solution. “How many times have you seen huge windows with their blinds permanently down? A downward blind provides no privacy until it is completely down while an upward blind enables you to eliminate almost all view into a home while still being able to look out to the garden, and the street beyond,” says Andrew. This not only allows you to control privacy but you can potentially let more light in too.

We love the extensive use of spotted gum timber-lined cabinetry which also contributes to the feeling of bringing the outside in. “It hides services and a variety of storage,” says Andrew.

Proof that bigger is not always better, THAT house is a masterpiece of clever design that is almost half the footprint size of surrounding homes.

“With good design and planning, modest size homes are not compromising. If fact, they can be far superior to their bulky, poorly-considered neighbours,” says Andrew.

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Andrew Maynard is anything but your typical architect; he makes furniture, designs an array of merchandise for his shop including t-shirts and skate-decks and creates polemical fictions. What are polemical fictions, I hear you ask? Well, most simply they’re fictional designs which could never be possible in the real world, that make a political comment.

Andrew and Mark — Andrew Maynard and Mark Austin

“These fictions are important to the way that I work,” explains Andrew. “They are fun and enable me to stretch my design thinking, to deal with different constraints, and most importantly, to make public comments about issues and politics that are extremely important. Polemical fictions I’ve designed include a building constructed out of human remains, giant suburb-eating robots and parliamentary buildings on wheels amongst many, many other ideas!”

Architecture of the body — Polemical fiction: A building made out of human remains

But for Andrew it’s not all robots and human remains; he is also the founding director of the very successful firm, Andrew Maynard Architects (AMA). Started in 2002, Andrew sees AMA’s purpose as: “Taking things that people are convinced are broken and, with some creative thinking, making them work in ways that are better and unexpected.”

Andrew brought on a second director, Mark Austin, in 2007. “I’d gone very hard, very quickly in the first five years of AMA,” says Andrew. “So I simply had to find someone clever to share the load. It’s great to have someone take charge of some of the decision-making, to collaborate with, to strategise with and importantly to have someone who is able to tell me when I’m being a dickhead, without fear of being fired!”

With a team of six, they work across residential, commercial and hospitality, though lately they have been focusing primarily on residential design. They do everything from the architecture to the final interior decoration and have a style that is often described as playful (their Hill House is a prime example!) “We are very serious and rigourous when designing and completing a building,” says Andrew. “However I am very pleased that the joy of our design intent shines through once people inhabit our architecture.”

Not afraid to break the boundaries of traditional architecture and interior design, this approach is a result of Andrew’s creativity, which is found in quite unlikely places. “I’ve always said that the things that made you happy as a child are most likely the things that will make you happy as an adult. So I often refer back to comics, illustration, skateboarding, Tasmania and Star Wars for inspiration and creativity. All of these things conspired to turn me into the designer that I am today.”

Having created a sustainable and balanced business after a great deal of effort and risk in the early days, Andrew is now enjoying the fruits of his labour. “Having my own firm means I get to do what I want, which is awesome. Life’s short and I wanted to make sure that my daylight hours were being spent the way that I wanted, rather than the way an employer wanted. You’re a long time dead!”