Relatively Useful Hydrowood
Impeccably designed and crafted, ‘Relatively Useful’ acknowledges Australia’s design greats
What do you get when you combine two of Australia’s great design minds with over twenty-five of Victoria and Tasmania’s top makers? Relatively Useful. A collection of twenty-five objects designed by John Wardle and Simon Lloyd and expertly crafted by some of Australia’s leading craftspeople.
Describing Lloyd as an artist, industrial designer, and maker, Wardle says the pair have known each other for over twenty-five years, working together on a series of projects over that time. Having commissioned Lloyd through their clients at John Wardle Architects, Wardle says they couldn’t be more different. And that’s a good thing.
“This has been a coming together of two people who know each other particularly well but are complete opposites in just about every way we apply ourselves creatively. At each stage there is a deep curiosity and now a deep understanding of the way we work and a real appreciation of both approaches to design,” says Wardle.
Tasmanian Oak chosen for function, warmth and energy efficiency
Part of the design brief was to build a space “That was very Tasmanian or feel Tasmanian”. Choosing Tasmanian Oak satisfied these criteria, but the timber was also chosen for its functionality and practicality.
“The other thing, and this is purely pragmatic, was that the client wanted something quite sustainable in terms of its energy efficiency. And although it's a glass box, achieving reasonable levels of thermal efficiency meant using timber framing for glazing and other aspects,” said Shamus.
“Also given that the building is mostly masonry and solid, but the exposed, street section is largely glazed, the internals had to be sort of homely, warm, cozy and moody. So Tasmanian Oak obviously lends itself well to that.
“Tasmanian Oak framing fulfils the thermal requirement, and the beautiful timber wall at the back cocoons and hugs you, while the glass provides the view and lighting.”
A feature piece of Fusilier Cottage is the Hydrowood sliding screen. This opens and closes to the street, providing privacy whilst tempering the sun. Shamus explains that the firm wants to use Tasmania timbers but lets the practical requirements of the project dictate which Tasmanian timber is best suited.
“[The practical requirements] start to suggest which timbers to use, and in this case, Hydrowood was durable, it was available, and it came in the right lengths.”
“So we don't head straight into a project saying, ‘We must use this, we must use that’.
“What we end up specifying and how we design something falls out of the practical requirements and what fits. And so often Tasmanian Timbers do, they’re terrific like that.”
A build four years in the making, Shamus is immensely proud of what has been achieved. Fusilier Cottage is as much for his client to enjoy as it is for others, be it guests or people passing by.
The team that worked on the projects included Shamus Mulcahy, Sophie Bence, Bek Verrier, Mike Renshaw, Hannah Webber.
Nothing left to waste
With a preference for Celery Top Pine, Tasmanian Oak, Leatherwood and Blackwood in furniture making, the exact species used for each piece came about through organic discussions with the makers. With solid timber being used for much of the collection, the offcuts of the prized species did not go to waste.
“We wanted to effectively utilize this important resource to design smaller and smaller things out of the off cuts. Particularly when using solid timber, there can be a high degree of wastage, so Simon made a series of beautiful children’s objects, and I designed these quite complex salt and pepper grinders.
“You’ll notice the anthropometrics of the shakers where there’s grooves for the fingers of one hand and the thumb of the other and they end up fitting together like two people dancing to create this nice little moment” says Wardle.
