Belle Febuary - March 2024

EDITORIAL Editor-in-chief Tanya Buchanan Creative director Shayne Burton Managing editor Matilda Ringrose Senior copy editor Janice Hogg Chief copy editor, Homes Peter Griffiths Art director, Homes Marissa Foye Junior designer, Homes Saffron Sylvester Art production Matus Kundrat Stylist, Homes Sophie Wilson Editorial coordinator, Homes Anna Campbell Contributing editors Steve Cordony (Style director-at-large), Karen McCartney (Architecture), Kirstie Clements (Luxe Files) Judy Pascoe (Library), Carli Philips (Melbourne), Harry Roberts (Art), Jean Wright (Design) EDITORIAL OFFICE GPO Box 4088, Sydney, NSW 1028 Tel (02) 9282 8456, email: belle@aremedia.com.au CONTRIBUTORS Tom Ferguson, Stephanie Hope, Anita Jokovich, Alana Landsberry, Rhiannon Lidbury, Ryan Linnegar, Shannon McGrath, Caitlin Mills, Chris Pearson, Romello Pereira, Prue Ruscoe, Anson Smart, Kristina Soljo, Fiona Susanto, Alicia Taylor, Dave Wheeler ADVERTISING Commercial manager, Homes Rhyl Heavener Brand executive Claire Ellis, (02) 9282…

Happy New Year! I hope you are reading this from the beach, a breezy balcony or on a plane heading somewhere fabulous. The beginning of the year always has me pondering how to perfect my interiorscape and life in general! How we live, work and design our lives is what keeps us engaged and drives the content on the pages of Belle every month. I am forever inspired by the endless originality and renewal that is evident in the work of Australian architects and designers. I was lucky enough to visit our gorgeous cover residence, the fabulous Sydney address of leading A-list goto interior designer Thomas Hamel and husband George Massar, furniture designer and entrepreneur. This fabulous two-man penthouse was a shadow of its former self when the two creative…

PHOTOGRAPHY PABLO VEIGA (ROSSO VERDE, WURRUNGWURI EXTERIOR AND POOL, CHOI RENDER (SWEETWATER), KATHERINE LU (VILLAGE PRE-SCHOOL) IF YOU MET SHAUN CARTER, of architecture practice Carter Williamson, at a party I am not sure you would immediately pick up on his occupation (apart perhaps from the giveaway thick-rimmed black glasses.) He is talkative and energetic – a ‘can-do’ sort of guy – traits that have served him well in a profession often known for its reticence. His father was a builder and he worked in the same trade as well as stints as a structural engineer before the call of architecture came. His then girlfriend, now wife of 25 years, was heading off on a European study tour of significant buildings led by architect and t utor Tone W heeler and…

This new temple complex (above), a multi-faith building in the village of Rake, Hampshire, UK, was commissioned by The White Eagle Lodge, a nondenominational spiritual organisation. Taking a ‘fabric first’ approach to the building James Gorst Architects used timber framing with a facing of clay brickwork set within a chalk lime mortar – self-finished materials with a calm and harmonious tone. Taking cues from the 16th-century Sikh Golden Temple in Amritsar, the square plan has entrances on each of the cardinal points and the principal sacred space is designed to welcome visitors from all faiths around the world. jamesgorstarchitects.com…

One of the winners of the prestigious RIBA London Project Architect of the Year 2023 and shortlisted for RIBA House of the Year 2023, Green House (right) is a low-budget home in the De Beauvoir conservation area in London’s Hackney. Responding to the client’s love of plants, a translucent and operable facade of polycarbonate and galvanised steel encloses a wall of bamboo. Parallels with Moroccan riads include an open-plan ground floor with internal light-well linking gardens at the front and back. “Low budget, super-eco and a bit pop!” say the architects. hayhurstand.co.uk…

This off-grid farmhouse on the Bass Coast in Gippsland, Victoria, appears reductive in style – timber walls, corrugated iron roof and simple chimney – but gives way to a rich palette of interior materials: timber-clad interior, blackened steel, concrete and glazed tiles. This robust coastal home is sustainable, fit for purpose and aesthetically feels like a warm embrace, earning Wardle the National Award for Interior Architecture at the AIA Awards 2023. wardle.studio…