Russell & George has been five years in the making and not a second has been lost in its meteoric rise to the top of the architecture and design profession. The practice is Ryan Russell and Byron George, two men who commenced their designing lives as competitors, then joined forces in 2010 to realise their similar visions. Each was successful as an individual practitioner. Together, however, they are forging a presence, not only in Australia but on the world stage, and doing it their way. That is to say, they are breaking the mould of both practice and process and replacing it with a made-to-measure Russell & George alternative.

The work of the duo is well-known and their projects both as individuals and together have been widely published. Both Russell and George are frequently invited to sit on architecture and design juries, and they are in demand to speak at lectures and seminars. The practice as it is today was established in 2010 and over the short span of five years has won countless awards for its hospitality, retail, residential and commercial projects – so many, in fact, that its previous office’s wall space limited the amount of framed certificates that were displayed. Projects such as Left, St Jude’s Cellars and Aesop stores have become landmark designs and milestones in their careers.

Accolades come thick and fast when completed projects are published and the practice is riding high through inventive design ideas that are seamlessly translated into outstanding results. It has a dedicated client following and there are more than 50 projects in progress at any given time.

The design signature is always to interpret a brief with originality, flair and ingenuity, and deliver more than the client expects. Although the practice’s main office is in Australia, local projects make up only one half of its commissions. Fifty percent of its work is conducted overseas in countries that include Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Bulgaria and the US. To facilitate these works, the duo established a studio in Rome, Italy in 2011 as a midpoint base.

So with a burgeoning practice, a portfolio of continuing projects and the world at their feet, surely this would be enough for most architects and designers? But, no, this is not the case for Ryan Russell and Byron George. From the practice’s inception, there was a grand creative vision to take all aspects of design to another level and, with a move in August to a large warehouse in North Melbourne, the metamorphosis began in earnest.