Inspiration

John Wardle Architects’ Limestone House is a home unlike any other in Australia. Staying within the confines of two environmental agendas, the Living Building Challenge and Passivhaus, the contemporary home is brimming with robust natural materials and designed to ensure the house will generate more energy than it will consume, making it one of the greenest houses in Australia. Specified for its beauty, locality and certification, Reclaimed Tasmanian Oak was used inside in beautiful contrast to the home’s namesake limestone material in this stunning Toorak home.

Playing a role in the development of a city’s skyline is no easy task. But with decades of experience, knowledge and expertise, that’s just what the bustling office of Sydney based architecture firm Fitzpatrick + Partners have been doing. From high rise office buildings to ingenious health infrastructure to bespoke residential projects, Director James Fitzpatrick has played a crucial part in designing the look and feel of Australia’s biggest cities.

A new camera-based fire detection system called Firehawk, is being trialled in Tasmania by locally based business SFM on Lenah Estate (formally Norske Skog) located in Tasmania’s Derwent Valley. Firehawk provides fire detection imagery for a time efficient aerial-based response to threatening bush fires.

Following the completion of her studies in Architecture at the University of Adelaide, Kyra Wood practiced architecture for several years, before continuing her education as a researcher looking at the cultural aspects of architecture and design in countries like Japan, South Korea and Vietnam. Fast forward to today, Kyra is a postdoctoral fellow studying timber as a building material at the University of Tasmania’s Centre for Sustainable Architecture with Wood. With a fascination for discovering how materials impact the built environment, Kyra says there’s no time like the present to learn new things. And so she does. Taking her fascination for timber to the National Institute for Forest Products Innovation, which is jointly funded by the Commonwealth and State governments and the timber industry, Kyra has been working to uncover how characteristics of Tasmania’s timber could be improved, helping to reduce waste and increase value by creating a highly durable and sustainable building material. Endlessly passionate about her work, Kyra hopes that her research not only sparks the interest of the architecture industry’s leaders but also can create lasting change.

Hobart’s leading interior design studio Burk Kirkland Ferri, was established in 2017 after a partnership formed between Claire Ferri and the former Bury and Kirkland (est.2002) after having successfully consulted as an interior designer for the practice. The reigns now sit in Director and Principal Designer Claire Ferri’s lap after having taken sole ownership of the thriving studio in 2019. Claire has led charge on some of Hobart’s most iconic hospitality and residential interiors, including the award-winning Tailor Tasmania Pod house featured on Grand Designs Australia, Ettie’s, Fondru’s, The Whaler and most recently the Spring Bay Mill in Triabunna. Without prescribing to a specific design aesthetic, Claire’s designs are developed through exploring the inner workings of her client’s minds, often creating a masterpiece of work without the client having a clear awareness of, or words to express their personal tastes, but the result is precisely what they wanted – and more. Playing with textures, natural and local materials, Claire’s designs are intended to be deeply loved and made for longevity.

With over two decades of furniture making under her belt, Laura McCusker has called Tasmania home for the majority of her furniture making career. Having set up shop in an old apple packing shed just north of Hobart’s CBD, Laura has been on the receiving end of numerous awards, making custom pieces that have been celebrated in Australia and beyond. Drawing inspiration from unusual forms, Laura’s furniture is often made from the ordinary, then painstakingly reformed into a timeless piece of art, built to withstand the happenings of a lifetime and beyond. We caught up with Laura to uncover her favourite projects, her proudest achievements and how the voices of females in the furniture making industry can be elevated to give everyone a fair go.