The latest in interiors
On a night for which the phrase ‘raining cats and dogs’ could have been coined, an impressive number of Australia’s designers and architects braved the downpour and headed to Cult’s huge multi-roomed space in the inner Melbourne suburb of Abbotsford for the 2026 Interior Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) Designer of the Year presentations. Following on […]
Titled ‘Too Connected to Concentrate: 2026 Workplace Futures Survey’, the report is based on a survey of 2500 knowledge workers across Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, the UK and the US. The report’s central argument is that workplaces are changing at two speeds: the physical workplace is gradually recovering from the pandemic shift, while AI is […]
For ADR’s first Pineapple Soup event in Adelaide, Design by WBL and Designer Rugs collaborated to present a beautifully curated experience that was totally tactile, vividly visual… and even edible. Design by WBL (Williams Burton Leopardi’s new name following its rebrand last year) has been in its studio in Adelaide’s heritage-listed Darling Building for a […]
Cortisol has somehow found its way into the interior design presentation. We now hear about spaces ‘regulating the nervous system’, wall colours influencing dopamine, curves reducing stress and finishes described in language that sometimes sounds closer to a prescription than a specification. In this article for The Podium, Australian Design Review‘s new thought leadership series, Cocoplum […]
Arts Centre Melbourne’s flagship space, the Ian Potter State Theatre, has reopened after two and a half years of renovations and upgrades – six months ahead of schedule. Local architecture practice NH Architecture led the project, collaborating with the Melbourne studio of renowned Norwegian studio, Snøhetta. Walking into the 2079-seat auditorium, everything actually feels very familiar… […]
MDS architects + designers recently transformed the original Malt Store at Melbourne’s Carlton United Brewery into a flagship store, workshop and headquarters for Birkenstock. Located on Swanston Street in Melbourne’s CBD, the project retains the original heritage-listed 100-year-old structure and preserves the character of the space. The team positioned the concept of repair front and […]
Australian Design Review’s regular round-up of appointments, promotions and other practice news in Australian architecture and design for September 2026. Appointments Architectus Strengthening its national design capability, Architectus has made a series of senior appointments across Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. The appointments bring together established design leaders and emerging talent across Living, Infrastructure and Landscape […]
The Spring-Summer 2026 collection from Roche Bobois rethinks outdoor spaces as fully realised living environments, pairing bold colour and generous forms with technical innovation, craftsmanship and enduring materials. For Roche Bobois, outdoor living is not an afterthought. Rather than treating terraces, gardens and balconies as secondary spaces – or simply extensions of the rooms inside […]
Herman Miller has extended its Byne Collection with a customisable meeting table designed to meet the needs of different team configurations, working styles and technology integrations. The modern workspace as a social space The last few years have seen a shift in physical workplace design becoming less about individual workstations and more about collaborative environments. […]
The founder and director of T. Black and T. Black Atelier has only been in Australia for five years, but he’s already made an undeniable impact on the interior architecture and product design industries. And now he’s looking to give something back to the design community by joining ADR‘s 30UNDER30 program as a practice partner. […]
Small Wonder Cellar Door and Restaurant recently opened in Tasmania’s premier wine region. The interiors and architecture were by KHA Singapore with local practice Edwards + Simpson. The new venue features four distinct spaces: the Cellar Door, The Wine Library private function room, The Garden outdoor area, and a seasonal, hyperlocal restaurant led by Michelin-trained […]
Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA) has announced internationally acclaimed sculptor Yona Lee as the recipient of its 2027 Judy Wheeler Commission, a prestigious annual initiative that champions the depth, diversity and bold innovation of Australian contemporary arts practice. Born in South Korea and raised in New Zealand, Lee’s work ranges from tabletop objects to […]
Luxury Danish audio brand Bang & Olufsen has opened a new Sydney flagship store on Martin Place. The flagship brings together the brand’s signature Danish design and immersive approach to sound in the heart of Sydney’s CBD. The store is the second Australian flagship for the brand, growing Bang & Olufsen’s presence in the country […]
Hassell’s Perth principal Sophie Bond is an architect who is optimistic about the future of the industry and the current crop of early-career designers. It’s that attitude that persuaded her to join Australian Design Review‘s 30UNDER30 as a judge and mentor for the 2026/2027 cohort. Bond says she’s particularly encouraged by emerging designers who are […]
Former Foster + Partners illustrator Emily Soley paints Melbourne’s pubs and shopfronts as portraits of memory and neighbourhood attachment. Emily Soley spent years documenting buildings for their function, first as a spatial design student at Central Saint Martins in London and then as an architectural illustrator at the international practice Foster + Partners. Her debut […]
Six Australian creatives have translated personal stories, memories and causes into a collection of bespoke rugs, marking Designer Rugs’ 40th anniversary with an auction that puts design in service of something bigger. What happens when six of Australia’s most celebrated creative voices are invited to turn their ideas into rugs – and, in doing so, […]
The Podium
The latest in architecture
Outback Queensland and the French countryside don’t typically exist in the same sentence, but for the McMahon family, the two go hand in hand. After 100 years of running their Stanthorpe family farm, the McMahons are sharing the love with a new purpose-built 150-capacity wedding venue on the property that brings the essence of France […]
Fifty artists across 20 venues will transform the capital’s gardens, lakes and public spaces into a free contemporary art trail this spring. Returning for its sixth edition from 11-31 October 2026, the Canberra Art Biennial has unveiled a spring program that treats the capital itself as raw material. Presented by contour 556, the free festival […]
A Dadaist collage of fragments, a house that refuses to pick a lane, an extension that accompanies rather than overshadows its counterpoint… this home renovation by Open Studio Architecture in Melbourne’s inner north combines architectural styles across its awkward site, allowing the garden to remain the focus. Radical separation When working with existing buildings, the […]
Stantec’s engineering feat threads a $853 million university campus above Perth’s busiest transport corridor. Rising above the daily churn of buses and trains, the newly opened Edith Cowan University (ECU) City campus has landed in the middle of Perth’s central business district as the first comprehensive university campus the city has ever hosted within its […]
We often see the finished product on display in gallery spaces, so it’s refreshing to see the thinking and grunt work behind the scenes become the focus. This exhibition at RMIT Galleries in Melbourne ventures into how practice research has provided powerful methodologies for developing new visions, ideas and processes that shape the future of […]
Australian Design Review’s regular round-up of appointments, promotions and other practice news in Australian architecture and design for July 2026. Appointments Arcadia Arcadia has elevated nine people in its 2026 promotions. Ryan Lewis has been promoted to senior associate in recognition of his leadership across complex projects, ability to build trusted client relationships and ongoing […]
A new world-class cultural centre by Architectus has been unveiled at Santa Maria College in Perth, adding to the city’s reputation for delivering leading performing arts education. Perth has some prestigious theatre chops thanks to the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, affectionately known as WAAPA, the alumni of which includes the likes of Hugh […]
Following a year of building upgrades, the Brett Whiteley Studio has reopened to visitors in Sydney. Located in Whiteley’s final home and studio in Surry Hills, the Brett Whiteley Studio offers an intimate and unfiltered encounter with the life and practice of Brett Whiteley (1939-1992), one of Australia’s most influential contemporary artists. Revitalising a piece […]
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Climate Change Strategy 2026-36 was released this month with a renewed commitment to climate resilience and emissions reduction. The strategy maps out eight target areas, including the built environment. Targets include reaching net zero by 2045, restoring and supporting nature, and adapting the city to face a changing climate. Along with […]
A Carr-designed estate spans two titles, blending solar-passive architecture with resort-style wellness and entertaining amenities. Occupying more than 7500 square metres across two titles, this new residence by Carr Architecture reads less like a family home and more like a private wellness retreat, one where the architecture itself is arranged around the idea of slowing […]
It’s not unusual for schools to engage with their local neighbourhood, hosting fetes or movie nights to raise money, renting out the sports hall for use by a local dance school or basketball club a few nights a week, or maybe welcoming a farmers’ market on weekends. But none of them were specifically designed for […]
A dismantled Victorian cottage in Collingwood gets a second life, reassembled brick by brick accompanied by a bold contemporary extension that refuses to blend in. In a Melbourne suburb where architecture and design are defined by a juxtaposition of historic industrial heritage and cutting-edge, sustainable modernity, a dilapidated Victorian workers’ cottage has been preserved rather […]
Dean Dyson Architects‘ newly completed project in Melbourne, ‘A Different Kind of Open Plan’, emerged from a question about contemporary family life: as children become more independent, does connection require constant togetherness, or can architecture support a sense of belonging while allowing greater autonomy? The Melbourne residence didn’t lack room; it had all the spaces […]
Curated by Tom‘s (CBT) new showroom was recently launched in the inner-city suburb of Kent Town, welcoming over 150 architects, interior designers, builders, clients, business partners and industry leaders from across South Australia into the space. The event marked a milestone in the SA design community, celebrating not only the opening of the showroom, but also […]
Rothelowman’s landmark Build-to-Rent (BTR) project for Arklife proves that when metrics are employed focused on adaptability into the future, architects are provided with measures to assist cities to grow bolder and better. The process of achieving exceptional results in multi-residential architecture has long been influenced by the imperatives of timing; BtR harnesses this as a […]
Australia’s cooperative advocating and supporting small, medium and emerging practices, ArchiTeam, has opened the entries for its 2026 awards program. Now in its 19th year, the ArchiTeam Awards continue to celebrate the creativity, innovation and impact of architects working in small practice across Australia. The Awards recognise projects of every scale that demonstrate outstanding design, […]
DESIGNER + SELECTS Greg Natale
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