Issue 110

Issue 110 comes out July 6. Order on its own or as part of a subscription.

Cover photography by Simon Wilson . Featuring architecture by studio Patchwork Architecture.

In this issue, our first architecture feature, Radiating Cool, brings together knowledge learnt in the Middle East and a radiant cooling technique that informed this atypical Queensland home. From Brisbane to Baghdad and back, Birdwood House flips the dominant architectural narrative of light-breezy-buildings-for-hot-climates on its head. Featuring Peter Besley. With words by Lara Chapman and photos by Rory Gardiner.

In this issue, we profile Kennedy Nolan, after 27 years and counting, a practice driving a values-led approach to architecture that prioritises community, respect for First Nations cultures and sustainable practice. From Nightingale Leftfield and Fitzroy Neighbourhood House to Balam Balam Place and the Wilam Ngarrang Retrofit, their work demonstrates a focus on community-centred design and better performing buildings with better, more sustainable materials. With text by Penny Craswell and photography by Peter Bennetts, Tom Ross, Shantanu Starick and Eve Wilson.

Our second architecture feature; improving the layout of a Northern Rivers beauty not only made the spaces work better but also increased access to the glorious canopy of greenery. Centred on a lifestyle shift from Sydney to the Northern Rivers, the renovation reorganises the house and opens it to the mature eucalyptus and mixed-tree forest that surrounds it. With text by Lara Chapman and photography by Tom Ross.

Our third architecture feature; slotted into a hillside with not much wriggle room, one simple volume transforms this cosy Wellington family home. A simple box addition to a New Zealand bungalow concentrates the joinery needed for a family of five, whilst also opening up a spectacular view. With text by Claire McCall and photography by Simon Wilson.

Next up; a 9.6-star home for a family of six that provides year-round comfort in a home of natural materials and an area rich in flora and fauna. Integrating feng shui, geomancy and habitat, Solara creates uplifting spaces where abundant life can flow while caring for the land and the life it supports. With text by Kath Dolan and photography by Marnie Hawson.

Our final architecture feature; inspired by a typical Australian shearers’ shed, this new build reworks the classic corrugated iron shed. The result is an elegant design with a courtyard, pared-back materials, views of the bush, and a scent of the ocean beyond. With text by Penny Craswell and photography by Tasha Tylee.

Our first landscape feature looks to the shared vision of two friends with complementary skills keen to help community groups not just create indigenous gardens but build the relationships with local Mob to program them. Cultural Gardens is helping schools and community organisations establish and program indigenous gardens as spaces for cultural practice, learning and community connection. With text by Kath Dolan and photography by Julien Chichignoud.

And our second landscape feature explores a naturalistic garden that celebrates all the seasons, leaving structure (and decay) that offers shelter to local fauna. With the client and the landscaper in sync, work started on a garden to attract bees and offer shelter to local fauna, creating a gently swaying, soft and rambling space in a matter of months. With text by Jenny Lyon and photography by Martina Gemola.

In our Not Wasted feature, architect Joan Martí Morro Capllonch set himself a radical constraint: to build a shelter using only what already existed on a rural Mallorca site. The result is a modest, resourceful refuge that rethinks waste, self-sufficiency and the material intelligence of building with what is already there. With text by Ellie Keft and photography by Joan Martí Morro Capllonch.

And finally, our travel feature visits the Grounded Festival in the Otway Ranges, where visitors can fully immerse themselves in a diverse two-day program exploring regenerative agriculture, biodiversity, soil health, sequestration and food production. With text by Tom Bodycomb.

Our regular Upfront section showcases projects, practices and ideas we love — including Other Matter Leather, Kindred Lantern, Serotina, Megafauna, PARKiosk, Suburban Squall, Naga bench, Waste to Wonder, Tipping Point East, Hans Severin Jacobsen’s stone furniture, the Black Dolphin Motel refurbishment, Pool of Content and COMBO. With words by Ellie Keft and photography by Henry Woide, Sharyn Cairns and various project contributors.

Issue 109 comes out July 6. Order on its own or as part of a subscription.