Evelyn Reynolds

When James Howe stumbled across Børge Mogensen’s iconic J39 Shaker-style chair online in 2015, it was the catalyst for his interest in furniture. He left his career as a magazine writer to become a furniture designer and, a year later, joined the associate program at South Australian craft and design organization, Jam Factory. Today, the Adelaide-based designer and maker is based in a workshop in Edwardstown. It’s here that he has honed his craft, creating exquisitely finished pieces that are cerebral in concept and elegant in aesthetic.
James is a thinker, but he also believes in keeping things playful and light. “There’s never been so much stuff smashing you in the eyeballs, and social pressures are high. Your unique ‘creation pond’ – the part of you that is capable of generating high-quality, original ideas – is a fragile ecosystem,” he reflects. “My own creativity-killers are perfectionism, trying to impress other people, attempting to satisfy a fashion demand or absorbing too many images of other people’s stuff. But when I manage these pollutants, ideas come easier and they’re far more interesting and original.”

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Handwoven Danish paper cord elevates the minimalist design of Rushcutters Bench. Image:

Peter Ryle, styled by Nat Turnbull.

With all of these distractions under control, James’s minimalist sensibilities prevail and his reductionist approach ultimately champions sophisticated materiality and craftsmanship. His J7 day bed is the best expression of what he does, with its simple raw timber base topped by a powder-coated steel frame wrapped in handwoven Danish cord.
James uses the same weaving technique in the Rushcutters Bench, painstakingly handweaving every single one himself. This piece, in particular, pays homage to Mogensen’s J39 chair, while offering a contemporary exploration of woven seating. In stark contrast, his J4 tables and J5 credenza are a study in the dynamics of light and shade via delicate fluting in the solid timber. The addition of semi-translucent acrylic on the tables pushes the interplay by simultaneously absorbing and reflecting the light.

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The J7 day bed combines a chunky base with steel frame and tactile cord. Image:

Courtesy James Howe

All of James’s designs possess this same sensuality and it’s little wonder he prefers using timbers with a coarse grain. He approaches colour in the same way and will only use hues capable of generating strong emotions, either in the end user or himself. The inspiration for using teal on the J7 day bed’s steel frame, for example, comes from a memory of a school excursion where the vision of a stack of teal-coloured wooden crates in the middle of a sparse setting made a lasting impression.
Currently designing a dining table, chairs for a hairdressing salon and a new woven product, James is committed to developing his own signature style. “As I mature as a designer, I increasingly find myself prioritizing having fun and expressing my authentic voice over pursuing conventional success or commercial objectives,” he says. “So my work is possibly going to start getting a bit weird. Stay tuned.” More

The 2022 Serpentine Pavilion opened on 7 June in London, revealing a ten-metre cylindrical structure standing among the trees of Kensington Gardens, titled Black Chapel.
Created by Chicago artist Theaster Gates with architectural support from Adjaye Associates, it is the first Serpentine Pavilion commission to be awarded to an artist, as an honour usually bestowed upon architects.
The structure was conceived as a space for “gathering, meditation and participation,” the Serpentine Gallery said.
Made from predominantly blackened timber, the design is intended to reference the bottle kilns in Stoke-on-Trent as well as drawing inspiration from religious instalments and traditional African Musgum mud huts of Cameroon.
As the name suggests, Gates designed the space as a spiritual installation and a place for quiet reflection.

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Serpentine Pavilion 2022 designed by Theaster Gates. Image:

Iwan Baan

A three-metre opening in the roof of the pavilion creates a transcendent downward play of light from above, producing a holy glow akin to religious structures. “The structure’s central oculus emanates a single source of light to create a sanctuary for reflection, refuge and conviviality,” a spokesperson for the gallery said.
Gates said he was considering light more than potential rain when he conceived the open-air oculus, although a downpour could add another atmospheric and acoustic layer to the drum-shaped pavilion.
Outside stands an operational bronze church bell salvaged from a Catholic Church that once stood in Chicago’s south side. Tolling the bell will announce performances and activities held in the space.
The inspiration for the shape originated from Gates’s work with ceramics and the artist’s ongoing engagement with the concept of “the vessel” is detectable in the form.
The design of the 2022 pavilion was unveiled in February and the pavilion will officially open to the public on 10 July. The Black Chapel has been activated for the summer and will host a program of events and performances before being relocated to a permanent location in autumn.
Previous commissions have included designs by Selgas Cano, Junya Ishigami and Bjarke Ingels Group. More

The shortlist for the competition to design a new Indigenous cultural precinct in Canberra has been announced.
To be named “Ngurra,” meaning home, camp, a place of belonging and a place of inclusion, the precinct will be a new home to the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, as well as a national resting place for reptriated ancestral remains.
Four multidisciplinary teams have been selected to progress to the next stage of the competition, and included combinations of architects partnered with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander design consultants, landscape architects, artists and engineers.
The shortlisted teams include:

BVN Architecture with Greenaway Architects and Nguluway DesignInc as Blak Hand Collective;
Denton Corker Marshall with Yhonnie Scarce and Kat Rodwell;
Hassell with Djinjama Collective and Edition Office; and
Peter Stutchbury Architecture with Allen Jack and Cottier Architects.

Stage one of the design competition opened on 4 March and submissions closed on 1 April, with a total of 25 responses received from across the country.
According to the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), the breadth of experience and interest in the competition was a reflection of the “significance and importance” of the cultural precinct as an opportunity to create “a long lasting legacy for all Australians”.
The competition brief specified the design of the Ngurra Cultural Precinct should support the themes “renew”, “restore”, “replenish” and “reflect”. The proposal should demonstrate a renewed respect for heritage; present a leading example of restorative, climate-positive design; replenish economic opportunities and foster innovation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; and provide an opportunity for all Australians to learn, reflect and embrace a common future.
In stage two of the design competition, shortlisted teams will be invited to prepare a detailed submission of concept designs and to present their submission to the jury. AIATSIS said the winning design will be “iconic, befitting its location, and reflect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples’ aspirations, achievements and deep connection to Country.”
Stage two submissions will close on 6 July, with a winner selected on 29 July. More

A multi-storey hotel development has been approved for Seppeltsfield in South Australia’s Barossa Valley. Designed by Adelaide-based practice Intro Architecture, preliminary plans for the $50 million luxury hotel were submitted to Light Regional Council in February 2020, drawing the ire of local residents who launched a campaign against the development later that year. Its form, […] More

Researchers from the University of Sydney have examined the NSW government’s strategy for Greater Sydney and found a number flaws in several policy areas.
The NSW government introduced its “A Metropolis of Three Cities” plan for the Greater Sydney region, to manage growth and change from an environmental, social and economic perspective.
The 40-year proposes to reshape Greater Sydney by dividing it into three centres: the Eastern Harbour City at the CBD, the Central River City at Parramatta and the Western Parkland City at to be created around the proposed Western Sydney Airport.
These distinct but connected cities will be structured around strategies for infrastructure, liveability, productivity and sustainability, and will build on the principle that residents will live within 30 minutes of their jobs, schools, health facilities and other services.
An analysis of the strategy, conducted by the School of Architecture, Design and Planning, has found several “flaws” that could prevent its desired outcomes.
Co-authored by associate professor in planning Glen Searle, “Flawed Vision? Sydney’s Three Cities Metropolitan Strategy” finds conflict within the approach under the areas of climate mitigation, housing and jobs creation.
The strategy fails to address the climate crisis in any substantive matter, as any carbon reductions through high-density development around stations are countered by the continuation of motorway projects.
Western Sydney is also the hottest area of the Sydney Basin, and according to Searle, the strategy does not sufficiently consider the possibility of urban expansion of cooler areas such as Dural or the Central Coast in lieu of the region.
The paper also suggests there has been little attempt to tackle the housing affordability crisis in the strategy. “The power of the housing development industry has caused the strategy to adopt a minimalist requirement for developers to include affordable housing,” it reads.
“This exacerbates a lack of affordable housing policies elsewhere by the state government and a similar lack at the federal government level.”
Lastly, the strategy’s proposals for job creation are centred around key parts of the knowledge economy, including universities, hospitals and the Western Sydney Airport. However, according to the paper, the strategy is unlikely to shift the imbalance in knowledge jobs between eastern and western Sydney.
“In addition, the rosy forecasts of jobs created by the second airport overstate the traffic potential of the new airport,” the paper read. “To the extent that new knowledge jobs are created, their higher salaries will put more pressure on housing prices and so increase affordability problems for supporting service workers, making compensatory measures to increase affordable housing supply more urgent.”
Overall, Searle said the Three Cities strategy is a “positive step” for Sydney, marking a fresh departure from recent strategies, despite the complications outlined above. He concludes, “a bold but arguably flawed vision is to be welcomed for broadening the discourse about options for Sydney’s future.”
Click here to read the full paper. More

The Sky Garden House is nestled on the banks of a waterway inlet to Noosa Heads Beach, Queensland. It is the first of two adjacent properties designed by Chris Clout Design. Glasshape was chosen to supply 12 mm, clear, bent glass for the two-storey curved feature staircase. Glasshape partnered with Frameless Shower Installations, initially providing […] More

Planning approval has been secured for the 51-storey Affinity Place project, which, when built, will become the tallest office tower in North Sydney. The Hassell-designed tower is expected to take several years to complete, and once finished, it will accommodate around 60,000 square metres of commercial office and retail space and could house up to […] More

An updated development application has been submitted for a pair of buildings on Montague Road in Brisbane’s West End. The proposal includes the development of two towers, 19 and 17 storeys respectively, and the creation of a public amphitheatre along the Davies Park side of the site. This submission is a significant reduction to the […] More