Tag: Breathe Architecture

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Design community unites to rebuild home lost in bushfires

Kitchen
Kitchen

With the current state of the world, good news stories seem scarce which is why this one really warmed our hearts when we came across it this week. It’s the story of David and Barbara Rugendyke, of the rural New South Wales town of Cobargo, who lost their home to bushfires on New Year’s Day in 2020. After a lifetime of helping others–David is an RFS firefighter and the couple have fostered over 400 children (incredible!)–the couple have had a new home built for them courtesy of Architects Assist.

Kitchen
Their gorgeous new kitchen
Living
The open plan living area

Set up to provide pro-bono architectural services, together with donated products, Architects Assist is doing fabulous work and David and Barbara’s new home is just another example of it. The organisation connected the couple with Melbourne’s Breathe Architecture, who planned and designed the home. It also reached out to suppliers and collaborators to donate materials, products, and services for the build. Incredibly, the couple were fostering eight children at the time of the fire.

David Rugendyke
David Rugendyke
The gorgeous view from the lounge room
The gorgeous view from the couple’s lounge room

A long list of suppliers donated to the cause including Fisher & Paykel who stepped in to donate kitchen and laundry appliances. “It has been incredibly heart-warming and rewarding to work with the architecture, design and building community to rebuild the family’s home, and help rebuild their lives and community. The industry has the skills, knowledge and resources to make a real difference for those in need, and Fisher & Paykel is proud to be involved and contribute,” says Richard Babekuhl, head of marketing Australia. 

Bathroom and bedroom
Bathroom and bedroom
Dining room
Dining room

Other donors include Fielders who provided cladding, roof sheeting and roof plumbing. Fixtures and fittings were donated by Tradelink while Taubmans donated paint and Form Brick provided brick tiles. Windows were provided by Accent Windows, ceiling fans by Universal Fans, hydronic heat pump by Automatic Heating, lighting by Studio All, solar install by BREC Energy and Jason of Davis Construction provided the all-important building services.

Deck
Deck
The house from a distance
The house from a distance

Photography: Pablo Veiga | Styling: Atelier Lab

For more on Architects Assist | For more on Fisher & Paykel

Room reno: Young patient’s charity bedroom makeover

“The design brief for the room was pretty simple really – unicorns, mermaids, rainbows with splashes of pink and yellow,” says interior stylist Sarah McMillan of The Cullin Interiors who…
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Designers

Breathe Architecture & Small Giants win Premier’s Design Awards

It was innovation and sustainability that saw architectural firm Breathe Architecture and developer Small Giants take out the top gong at the 2014 Victorian Premier’s Design Awards recently.

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Winning for their work on The Commons apartments, the project was selected as the overall winner for its innovative approach to design, resulting in apartments that are generous, simple, affordable and sustainable.

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With a design strategy previously unseen in Australia, The Commons is a vertical community where residents share rooftop gardens, solar hot water, electricity generation systems, a rooftop laundry, bike parking and communal beehives. The design, which the judges called “a working prototype for urban living,” has been a catalyst for bringing together socially responsible individuals who are now striving to give back, not only to their neighbours, but also to improve their broader community.

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The annual Victorian Premier’s Design Awards celebrate the very best of Victorian design and innovation and provide a unique platform for Victorian designers and businesses to showcase their best work to a national and international audience.

View the full list of winners and finalists here.

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Winners of the Intergrain Timber Vision Awards announced

Lilyfield Warehouse by Virginnia Kerridge Architects

This year’s winners of the Intergrain Timber Vision Awards don’t disappoint. Think a stunning warehouse conversion in Sydney, two holistically sustainable properties in Melbourne and a hybrid of art and architecture in Canberra.

Stonewood by Breathe Architecture
Stonewood by Breathe Architecture

Created to celebrate the valuable role timber plays in Australian architecture and design, this morning’s awards breakfast saw four winners picked from over 100 entries. With winners in both residential exterior and interior and commercial exterior and interior, the competition was fierce, with many entries pushing the boundaries with their innovative use of timber.

Lilyfield Warehouse by Virginnia Kerridge Architects
Lilyfield Warehouse by Virginnia Kerridge Architects

The two residential award recipients demonstrated how timber could be used as an alternative to other materials with advantageous sustainable qualities. Stonewood by Breathe Architecture, took home the title for best residential exterior, thanks to the unique details of its surrounding context and taking inspiration from an 1850s Georgian cottage. The best residential interior went to Lilyfield Warehouse, a NSW property designed by Virginia Kerridge Architects and a home that has to be one of my favourites ever (you can read more about it here)! With seamless integration between old and new, the project was awarded for its honest and strong response to an old building, demonstrating creative timber adaptation to an existing industrial warehouse.

The Commons by Breathe Architecture
The Commons by Breathe Architecture

The Commons commercial space, also designed by Breathe Architecture, won best commercial exterior. The project was awarded for its holistically sustainable and functional aspects, designed to off-set the harsh urbanised conditions of its inner city location. Judged best commercial interior was the multipurpose building Nishi in Canberra, which I visited only last month when I stayed at Hotel Hotel. Designed by March Studio, believe me when I say that it is as amazing in real life as it is in photos!

Nishi by March Studio
Nishi by March Studio

For more information visit Intergrain’s website here.