The dinner party epiphany

Presented by
Elvio Brianese and Peta Heffernan, Founding directors, Liminal Studio

We’ve all experienced the energy and passion of a stimulating dinner party conversation. Imagine accessing on demand the exchange of ideas that flows effortlessly in these experiences. The desire to recreate this dynamism and release it daily is what inspired the creation of Liminal Studio. Dinner party epiphanies are fuelled by food and wine, good company and the right ambiance. While it’s not particularly advisable for wine to be part of Liminal’s everyday studio life (although they have been known to give it a red-hot go!) they embrace the other key elements required to generate that creative spark, boosting the imaginative potential that is tuned to making a difference. As a result, people and place underpin Liminal’s approach to shaping their culture and processes.

Peta and Elvio will share why their choice of living on a creative island led to Liminal, collaborations and bespoke outcomes with a global outlook. Through the sharing of three projects of different scales, they will demonstrate how their version of "convivial collaboration" coupled with the significance of place has shaped the philosophy driving their project outcomes.

Process and application

Presented by
Jad Silvester and Penny Fuller, Founding partners, Silvester Fuller

Jad Silvester and Penny Fuller will share the journey that has led to their studio's first Tasmanian project, the Table Cape Resort. This journey began with an architectural education in Tasmania and the ACT, then saw them leave to pursue opportunities in Europe, before returning to Sydney in 2008 to open a design studio at the beginning of a global financial crisis.

The story of the studio since 2008 is divided in two timeframes, the first five years and second five years. The first five years is defined by few projects, long hours and no financial reward, yet the opportunity to hone their design process. The second five, following the realization of their first projects and a resurgent economy, saw many projects, still long hours, some financial reward and further testing and adjustment to the way they approach each project. Jad Silvester and Penny Fuller will explain their process and its application via a selection of projects ranging in scale, complexity and location.

Intensification of landscape experience

Presented by
Andrew Burns, Principal, Andrew Burns Architecture

In this lecture, Andrew Burns will present a series of projects that have sought to intensify experience of landscape in terms of visual, atmospheric and social qualities. A series of projects will be presented from urban and natural settings, culminating in a detailed exposition of the Three Capes Track lodges project on the Tasman Peninsula, recently completed for the Tasmanian Walking Company. In each of these projects, architecture asserts a confident presence while being secondary, or at least in partnership with, landscape. Understandings gained through these projects will be shared, highlighting the key architectural strategies that have served to intensify experience, usually a combination of materials and geometry.

Terra Amata

Presented by
Mat Hinds & Poppy Taylor, Co-directors, Taylor and Hinds Architects

Architecture springs from an intelligent awareness of context. By this we mean that it is fundamentally a responsive act, which serves to heighten the latent characteristics of a given site. In our work we seek to refine this notion through a series of characteristic spatial themes, that in turn have developed from the specific conditions of our shared education, teaching and practice in Tasmania. These themes scaffold for our work and approach, and focus the thinking of the practice towards fundamental architectural tenets of experience, occasion and delight. Through an exposé of a series of specific recent works, our contribution will open these ideas further – and seek to clarify the terrain of our practice.

A guided visit to John Wardle Architects’ Bruny Island farm and residences

Presented by
John Wardle, Founder, Wardle

The Shearer’s Quarters

Described by the 2012 Houses Awards jury as “an ambitious house that compels us to reflect on the inherent beauty of living,” the Shearers Quarters by John Wardle Architects sits as a companion building to an existing cottage on Waterview, an historic farming property on Tasmania’s North Bruny Island. Located on the site of the old shearing shed that was destroyed by fire, the residence houses shearers, and family and friends on tree planting weekends and retreats.

The form of the dwelling’s plan transforms along its length to shift the profile of a slender skillion at the western end to a broad gable at the east. The geometry of this shift is carried through to the layout of internal walls, lining boards and window frames. Extensive environmental initiatives have been undertaken on the property, including significant indigenous tree planting.

The project has won a number of awards, including the Australian Institute of Architects’ Robin Boyd Award for Residential Architecture and the Houses Awards Australian House of the Year in 2012. It was also "Villa" Project of the Year in 2012 at the World Architecture Festival.

Captain Kelly’s Cottage

Originally the home of Australian mariner and explorer Captain James Kelly, Captain Kelly’s Cottage by John Wardle Architects is located on a remote bay of North Bruny Island, Tasmania. Extensive research was undertaken prior to the restoration of the original weatherboard dwelling, which was constructed in the 1830s.

The project comprises an original gable-roofed cottage and a kitchen in a separate structure. A crude addition that joined the two structures was removed and replaced with a new insertion. The project also involved the painstaking removal of paint layers to reveal the original colours. A sheltered north-facing courtyard is nestled into the leeward side of the cottage, and a new chimney is located in the position of the original (but long removed) chimney, serving to define and warm the courtyard space.

The project has won a number of awards, including the Royal Institute of British Architects Award for International Excellence in 2018 and House Interior of the Year at the inaugural Dezeen Awards in 2018. It was awarded the Australian Institute of Architects Tasmanian Chapter’s Roy Sharrington Smith Award for Heritage Architecture in 2017.