PHOENIX

As usual, my next concept has quirky origins. I love putting the built form into different contexts. ‘Phoenix’ is a concept I developed during Sydney’s most recent lockdown as a homage to my favourite show Survivor.

It’s a challenging time for all of us, the isolation and needing to be self-reliant here at home. This concept draws from an idea of living self-sufficiently in a remote and harsh landscape, and is inspired by the joy of watching Australian Survivor 2021. It’s been a long wait this past year for the return of my favourite series and now it being set in the Australian Outback makes for some really amazing viewing. I wanted to show an unusual concept shown against a rugged environment, inspired by my love of the game and in these challenging times, the need to outwit, outplay and outlast.

This is a quick concept to keep me busy during this slower period we are in. Some of the clients I talk to are concerned about the halt in construction mandated by the government, others are frustrated by the continued effects of the pandemic and the effect on projects more broadly. Either way, we need to keep safe, and keep moving forward.

Pushing new ideas and new skills allows me to stay sane in a difficult time and the opportunity to develop designs with my kids. Crazy ideas lead to intense discussion between my two children about what we should do and what is reasonable to present. As well as engaging them in the process of sketching and building references for a project, I am putting emphasis on meaning and storytelling in our work. There really is limitless possibility so we establish some constraints in order to ground the work and make it deliverable and commercially viable. It’s not right or wrong, it’s just an idea, and when it comes to my kids, I want them to look for possibilities, be curious and lean into their imaginations.