Ark Atelier News

Feature in Habitus Living

2009-11-24T16:44:00.005+10:00

The folks at Habitus took some time to talk to Stephen about his humble Sunshine Coast farmhouse recently. The house is a "living environment that, whilst being extremely compact, offers a sense of generosity coupled with layers of privacy". You can read the full article on Habitus Living here...

Lots More Lightspace Launch Photos

2009-11-06T14:46:00.004+10:00

Here's a few more photos from the Lightspace launch party last week, taken by the rather charming Marisol Da Silva. The man behind it all is in the top left image (he's the chap on the right), and the man behind the man, Mr Macdonald senior, can be seen next to Stephen on the bottom right...

Party Like It's 2009

2009-11-03T17:54:00.004+10:00

It's officially open! After more than 18 months in design and construction, Lightspace finally went public last Thursday night in a style befitting its creative focus. Around 500 invited guests found their way to the top end of Light Street in Fortitude Valley for the event, and Lightspace owner John Macdonald made sure it was THE party to be at.
In the downstairs event spaces, a live DJ provided the soundtrack for the evening (80's remixed for the noughties) whilst street artists from Joshua Levi galleries got to work on outside walls and models (rumoured to be professional ballet dancers by day) promenaded before the crowd.
Upstairs, the brand new Studios were unveiled to the public for the first time, featuring light installations by artist Mary-Anne Kyriakou and of course our very own architecture. Check back soon for proper photos of the completed building, but in the meantime there's a nice little selection over at the Lightspace website.

Ark Celebrates Fifth Birthday

2009-11-03T08:02:00.007+10:00

Here at Ark we're getting ready for a very long lunch today, and it's got nothing to do with that Victorian event that the whole nation stops for. No, as far as we're concerned it's even bigger than that - it's our 5th birthday! So we'll be removing our shoes, taking our places around a large Japanese table and celebrating with lashings of agadashi tofu, sukiyaki and perhaps even some Otokoyama sake...
Looking back over the past five years it's been quite an adventure, and we certainly won't be standing still for the next five - more news in that department as it comes to hand.

Lightspace Opening Event

2009-10-15T16:57:00.009+10:00

It's official - the launch party for Lightspace is scheduled for Thursday 29th October. Our visionary client, Lightspace owner John Macdonald, tells us that the event will occupy the whole building with art installations, fashion and music. And we'll be there of course, along with all the other creative minds and hands that have helped bring Lightspace, the first building of its kind in Brisbane, into reality.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the river...

2009-08-26T16:15:00.006+10:00

Here's a sneak peek of the Studios component of our Lightspace project, currently nearing completion in Fortitude Valley. This pic shows the recycled shipping containers that provide the enclosed spaces, with timber screens and recycled steel shelving separating the tenancies from the shared areas and each other. We're particularly enamoured with the bespoke signage, courtesy of The Letter D (more Lightspace photos there too).

Riverside Green-ing

2009-08-25T16:30:00.004+10:00

With just over two weeks until the "pyrotechnic and musical extravaganza" that is Brisbane River Fire, our little gathering of public structures at the Riverside Green is just about ready to roll. By this time next week, people from all over Brisbane and beyond should be able to bring along their family, friends and picnic provisions to spend a delightful afternoon idling by the river under the shade of suitably subtle Ark structures...

On the Map

2009-08-10T12:01:00.005+10:00

Nice to see a mention of our LightSpace project in this month's map magazine. You can pick up a copy of the mag for free in most good shops & cafes around town, or have a flick through the virtual magazine online here.

fACTion-al Talks

2009-08-05T20:42:00.008+10:00

At the invitation of Canberra AIA-affiliated young architects' group fACTion, Stephen and Clare travelled to the national capital on July 30th to talk to a very enthusiastic & engaged audience of Canberrans about our work and, to quote Zumthor, the "secret passions" that underlie it.
Over 90 minutes or so, the assembled architects, graduates and students were treated to a suitably conversational presentation covering our completed works in Canberra, Fortitude Valley and South Bank, and the nearly-complete LightSpace. As is becoming customary, topics covered strayed into popular (and not-so-popular) media, including references to the written works of Alexander, Bachelard, Barthes & McEwen, and the cinematic works of Mann and Soderberg (respectively Miami Vice and Ocean's Eleven, to be precise...).

"...something a little 'left of centre'..."

2009-07-08T09:38:00.008+10:00

LightSpace is back in the press, being described as "Brisbane's hottest new venue" in a recent InDesignLive article. The events space is proving very popular with photo shoots, product launches and parties of all varieties, and work on the super-gritty outdoor event space is nearing completion. Which can mean only one thing - a massive opening event is just around the corner...

South Bank Under Construction

2009-06-02T12:10:00.007+10:00

The hoardings are going up and the site sheds are being installed as work starts on our second project at the South Bank Parklands, this time a redevelopment of the Riverside Green. Hutchinson Builders have been appointed as the head contractors for the project, and are expected to have everything finished in time for the Riverfire festival in mid-September - just over three months from now.

Ark Goes North

2009-05-06T15:23:00.008+10:00

The first project of Ark's new Sunshine Coast atelier is underway. It's a small residential project in a delightful rural setting and is conceived as a linear strip of spaces along the northern edge of a long existing house that completes the existing plan by gathering the private spaces around a public core. The new work is grounded by heavy masonry elements and capped by a light steel lid. It includes new sleeping, eating, lounging and studio spaces, as well as a Japanese bathing room! More details can be seen on the project's page and the real thing is scheduled for completion before the end of the year.

LightSpace Studios Coming Soon...

2009-05-01T10:13:00.007+10:00

After the successful LightSpace sneak peek at Brisbane Indesign late last year, work on the LightSpace Studios spaces upstairs is now well underway. Comprising a collection of individual studio spaces with shared meeting, eating and lounging areas worked into and around a pair of rust-red shipping containers, LightSpace Studios are intended as a flexible and very social work (and play) environment for people in all sorts of creative endeavour. There's a great roof deck with views to the CBD and gritty Fortitude Valley rooftops, a "chat deck" hovering above the entry ramp, and an old cast iron printing press (the space was formerly a printery) standing as a relic inside the front door. Plenty more info can be found at the LightSpace website, designed by The Letter D.

Ark Website v2.0

2009-03-31T17:07:00.016+10:00

Ark has a new website! Yes, we really liked the old one too - and you can still see it here - but it was time for a change. We've pared back the graphics and souped up the functionality so you can expect much more regular updates. And to get those updates delivered via email it's as easy as filling in your address in the form to the right...

Ark Profile in DQ Mag

2009-03-31T16:27:00.006+10:00

Check out page 30 in the Autumn issue of Design Quarterly magazine for a nice little profile on some of our work to date and some of the ideas behind it.

Stephen Talks at the State Library

2008-10-27T10:40:00.016+10:00

On September 9th Stephen gave a public talk at the State Library of Queensland as part of the 2008 QUT Speaker Series. The theme for the series was "Food, Country & Design", and Stephen spoke about the importance of all these things to Ark's work via the Canberra, Fortitude Valley, South Bank 1, and LightSpace projects. Reference was of course also made to Gaston Bachelard's classic work The Poetics of Space, the built and written work of Peter Zumthor and even the original Miami Vice TV series...

Light Street Open for InDesign

2008-09-29T10:29:00.010+10:00

Stage one of Ark's warehouse renovation at Light Street, Fortitude Valley was opened for a "Sneak Peek" this weekend for InDesign. The one day industry showcase took place at design sites all over inner-city Brisbane including the two levels of LightSpace.

The whole building, including event spaces below and creative studios above, should be up & running early 2009. Check out the LightSpace website for more info.

New Project

2008-06-01T10:51:00.008+10:00

Ark is undertaking an adventurous new project to design an over 50's community in Redbank Plains, a semi-rural, semi-industrial suburb between Brisbane and Ipswich. The project will feature our first factory-built, pre-fabricated residential designs and a masterplan focussed on walkable public green space, minimal through-traffic and private courtyard arrangements. Each dwelling has a common living unit to which are attached modules with the required number of bedrooms.

Some issues of pre-fabricated housing were recently explored in an exhibition at MoMA in a show entitled [ Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling ]. The exhibition included contemporary examples factory fabricated dwellings, as well as drawings, by many 20th century masters who at one point or another explored pre-fabrication.

2008 Venice Biennale Invite

2008-05-01T09:49:00.002+10:00

Ark has been invited to submit a model for the Australian Pavilion for the 2008 Venice Biennale. Here's the official description of our entry "The Nature of Things":

This origami crane of stainless steel mesh represents a range of our interests in developing material and constructional strategies specific to any project. The availability of steel as a sheet product lends it toward folding in a similar way to paper, and yet steel lacks the ultimate malleability of paper, thus presenting limitations which challenge the initial similarity. Both the similarities and differences between the idea of the sheet material and the reality of its use are evident in this model, which at once falls short of and excels the paper equivalent.

Expanding Ark

2007-03-26T11:09:00.002+10:00

Clare Chippendale moved into the atelier in March and we're very glad she's here. Clare has a diverse background in all sorts of creative endeavours. In the interests of cultural exchange she has already expanded our table menu from sukiyaki to cucumber sandwiches.

Newcastle Workshop

2007-03-21T11:12:00.001+10:00

Stephen travelled to Newcastle for two days in March at the invitation of University of Newcastle architecture school to run an urban design workshop with the 4th-year students. The workshop dealt with a proposal for a City Campus, with students preparing masterplan proposals to inform actual urban design and infrastructure strategies.

Architecture in the Landscape

2007-03-05T11:13:00.002+10:00

Presenting at the QUT Art Museum, Stephen will talk on architecture "beyond the edge of town". It focused on the role of architecture as cultural mediator between humans and the landscape, and generated plenty of discussion with the enthusiastic audience.

Zero Footprint Ark

2007-03-03T11:19:00.001+10:00

Ark is now offsetting all of its office and travel greenhouse emissions by supporting Australian renewable energy projects through Climate Friendly. Check out [ www.climatefriendly.com.au ] and go carbon neutral too.

N & A Presents

2006-11-14T11:37:00.001+10:00

Starting November, the atelier will become a temporary home for artworks on a 6-weekly basis, each for one night only. Presented by dynamic curatorial duo Alison Kubler and Nadine Cameron each one night only will feature the works of emerging and established, local and interstate, artists, designers, jewellers and musicians.

End of Semester Report

2006-10-31T11:38:00.001+10:00

Another semester of Stephen's QUT design studio teaching has drawn to a close, with students presenting their schemes for a technical college at Helensvale for final critiques. A complex brief and difficult site kept the students engaged until the end, with some truly excellent work being presented.

Stephen Talks Japanese

2006-10-30T11:39:00.002+10:00

Stephen will be drawing on his obsession with all things Japanese as he presents two talks at the QUT Art Museum on December 6th and 13th. "Making it small" will delve into the enigmatic density of small Japanese architecture, while "Everything you see is real" will be a fast-paces anime trip.

Atelier Evolves

2006-10-24T11:56:00.000+10:00

Greg Foll joined Stephen and Tobias at ark on the 24th August, after Sophie departed to pursue parallel interests in set design. Greg's enthusiasm and extensive practical experience, as well as his odd sense of humour have seen him quickly become a key contributor to several projects, as well as the atelier's ambience!

Canberra Latest

2006-10-24T11:44:00.004+10:00

Ark's delicately detailed extension to a house and gallery in Canberra is proceeding under the careful supervision of builder Ulli Tuisk. The main recycled hardwood frame elements are in place, along with the floating concrete slab and sitting wall, creating voluminous and richly patinated spaces which the owners have already started enjoying, even without a roof.

First Built Work Nearing Complestion

2006-10-23T11:53:00.001+10:00

Construction is nearing completion in Robertson Street, with the most prominent external element, a pleated perforated stainless steel screen now in place. With work only a few weeks away from being finished, the opening of ark's first completed project is expected late November!

Arklight_1 Prototype Turned On

2006-05-26T11:59:00.000+10:00

Ark's first product design prototype arklight_1 is now illumination our atelier. This is the first in a planned series of lighting and furniture designs we're currently working on, including a stool, desk lamp and a low table.

To enquire about prices and availability [ contact us ].