The practice seeks to produce carefully considered, fine-grained buildings with intimate, usable spaces within, tailored to each individual client, whether it be a residential project for a single individual, couple or family, or a large commercial licensed venue that might serve several hundred people at a time. The work produced by the practice draws from and is informed by extensive experience in both the residential and commercial sectors in Melbourne, Australia, in Manhattan and in West Germany. It is also continuously informed through extensive travel in Central and Eastern Europe, North America and Scandinavia. There is a commitment and abiding interest in producing buildings and interiors- whether they be restaurants, bars, apartments or houses, that are informed by a deep analysis of context and analysis of spirit of place. By this, I mean that the work is informed by the context of street and the neighbourhood or precinct in which it is situated. Even the case of the design of a new interior within an existing building, the context of the fabric of the building and that of the street beyond, is often studied, producing an outcome that has a relationship with time, space and the urban fabric beyond. The Sargood House Apartment featured on this site, for example, seeks to respond to the particular natural light filtering in from beyond, to the type of building (formerly a warehouse) and to the mood of the street in which the building is sited. The interior is in step with the spirit of this part of the city and has become a quiet haven for my client. For the restaurants and bars that have been designed, an understanding of the demographic that the venue might be targeted to serve and an appreciation of the evolution of such spaces in the Melbourne context, are brought to bear on each new project.
Our culture is too young, too complex and multilayered to allow us to develop in one single direction stylistically; instead, we are compelled to explore and to experiment with new forms and types of buildings and interiors and public spaces. We are not bound by the heavy sense of tradition that restrains older European cities, but instead, are compelled to test new approaches in order to contribute to the evolution of a language that is relevant to our region, climatically, socially and historically. At the same time, however, we must learn to value our own heritage and to preserve the best parts of our city at all costs. Ideally this should not be a city in which everything is up for grabs, but rather a city that is discriminating about what is saved and what is torn down and redeveloped.
Of course cities are not static entities; on the contrary, they are dynamic, constantly- evolving organisms. On both the the micro and macro level, changes wrought over time reflect the various conflicts between powerful entities that seek to change aspects of cities to their advantage. The practice seeks to produce work that is client-oriented and site specific and is responsive to the spirit of time and the context in which it is created, but with regard to potential longevity, despite the tendency in our city for constant change.
The design of Cookie is a good example of the way in which the practice seeks to engage respectfully with both the context of the host building, the context of the precinct and the demographic that it was designed to serve. It was intended that the project would have longevity as a relevant place for people to gather and to return to, in much the same way as other iconic Melbourne venues such as Pellegrini’s and Florentino’s have. While it is not possible to predict what the future might hold in terms of design trends that may or may not cause a project to date prematurely, it seems that if a project is designed with sufficient authenticity and care in terms of quality of comfort and atmosphere, it might stand a chance of lasting the distance, of remaining relevant beyond the current cycle. If the intention is to create a project that will last well into the future, then it is imperative that appropriate materials are used in order that the work has a robustness and that care is taken with the detailing of how materials might be put together to best serve this aim.
If a particular style or signature is emerging in the work, it is because the practice was founded in Melbourne and reflects an abiding interest in exploring ideas about how climate, history and human migration might continue to shape our city in a way that is authentic and meaningful and relevant to us.
When I think of buildings, I consider them to be like Russian Dolls- containing layers within layers. While the outer layer may respond directly to exterior restraints and forces, the inner layers are relieved of the necessity to do so for they are, by their nature, hidden from exterior view.
How best might the potential tension between the exterior surface of a building and the interior be exploited? Should there be a frisson between the two or merely a simple, expected and harmonious relationship? The element of surprise might soon wear off, but the aspect of delight should not. I say this when thinking of revisiting my favourite cities, places, buildings and interiors, whether they be in Melbourne or in Turin, Paris, London , New York or in Milan, a city that enthrals and captivates and still surprises me, despite the fact that I have visited it on occasions too numerous to mention and find myself standing or sitting in places that have not changed for centuries, let alone during the time that I have frequented them.
It has been said that there are parallels between Melbourne and Milan. I agree. Both are covert cities. Both have a spirit and a sensuality that is not so much shaped and informed by topography as by human endeavour and rational thought and unlike cities such as New York or Paris, where the whole is greater than the mere sum of its parts, cities like Melbourne and Milan are experienced differently. The inhabitants of these cities have their favourite places, the memory of the aggregation of which may constitute a private realm since many are hidden from view and need to be known of (in the spirit of the speakeasy), or discovered in the sense of them being treasures.
I enjoy working with a diverse palette of materials, shapes and forms. I am not a purist, but rather an eclectic who is interested in finding forms that resonate with each other and are relevant to the user, whether that may be a private residential client, or a patron who might visit or frequent one of the venues that I have designed. Above all, I want people to feel comfortable and at home in my work and I want the work to be useful, enriching, durable, both in the material and stylistic sense of the word and to be environmentally sensitive, wherever possible.
Last, but not least, I am seeking to collaborate with my clients and through the great adventure that the design process can be, to bring something rich and perhaps unexpected to the table. For that to happen, there needs to be trust and agreement, common ground, if you like, between myself and the client.
Phillip Schemnitz, Melbourne, 2015.
