Inspiration

Bucking the trend of how a traditional pharmacy should look and feel, Astrid Dispensary has flipped the dated design concept on its head. Gone are the flashy price special stickers, blaring colours and stark white coats floating behind a counter you can’t see beyond. Astrid Dispensary is the latest and welcome addition to Melbourne’s Chapel Street that pushes the envelope of the modern-day pharmacy, inviting patients in with its friendly pharmacists, lush green walls and warm timber tones seen throughout the new space.

Converting an old, dark and tired retail space into an office setting that inspires employees and clients isn’t an easy task. Leave it to the experts at famed Hobart Architecture studio, Cumulus, to identify ample potential in the location and the existing building. Cumulus have transformed the once sad interior into an unrecognizable office space that not only inspires but offers comfort and warmth and matches the values of the business that now occupies the elevated new space.

A cruisy 50-minute drive outside of Hobart’s CBD towards the Tasman Peninsula sits Van Bone restaurant in Marion Bay. Upon arrival to the venue’s lush grounds, if your breath’s not taken by the area’s stunning scenery and million-dollar views, the new restaurant’s end to end dining experience surely will.

Gillian van der Schans is a veteran to the Tasmanian design industry. Born and raised in Tasmania, van der Schans had a short stint in Sydney to complete her studies but returned back to her island state where she knew she wanted to establish her career in architecture. Lecturing undergraduate architecture students at The University of Tasmania for eight years, van der Schans then went on to establish her own practice that she has maintained for the last two decades. Having created dozens of mostly residential projects for clients around the state, van der Schans’ love for Tasmania’s rough and rugged landscape has kept her on her toes – and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Deep within Tasmania’s lush forests rests the prince of all Tasmanian timbers- Huon Pine. A conifer, Huon Pine is renowned for its exceptional durability, workability and beauty; the envy of Australia’s craftsmen and timber enthusiasts. In 2021, craftsman Emanuel ‘Manny’ Oppliger of Wood + Water, was commissioned to use this timber to make a custom piece in a private residence. While Huon Pine furniture has always been prized, Oppliger’s specialty lies elsewhere- in making custom handcrafted timber bathtubs.

At the base of Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula where the Western Port meets Bass Strait, sits the coastal town of Flinders and the newly built Flinders Residence by Abe McCarthy Architects’. Capturing views of the often-turbulent Southern Australian waters and the lush and rolling seaside landscape, Flinders Residence is modern Australian farmhouse meets comforting luxury.