27 October 2011

In Profile: Doherty Lynch

Fresh from a win at the Melbourne Design Awards - their second consecutive award for best residential interior - Mardi Doherty and Fiona Lynch have quite a few more spectacular projects up their sleeve.

How did you come to work together? What sparked the decision for each of you to branch off and begin your own practice?

We began working together eight years ago when we worked at one of Melbourne's largest architecture and interior design firms. We were working together on a large-scale apartment project in Beijing. Shortly after, we each left and started our own design businesses, which led to us collaborating for several years before forming Doherty Lynch.

What makes Doherty Lynch unique as a practice?

Our work is honest, fresh and playful. We are positive and love the involvement of our clients in the design approach. We also love the challenge of projects that are a little different, such as the request to help with the redesign of an iconic Melbourne fruit shop.

Paul and Joe, Sydney

Do you have a definable aesthetic, or a special element that recurs through your designs? You seem to really relish strong colours and vibrant patterns - Would you say that this is part of a Doherty Lynch style?

Sometimes we are not sure of our exact style because we feel it is constantly evolving. We go through stages with colour and are not even sure why we are drawn to a particular colour or choice of pattern for a client. Sometimes it feels like we choose things based on intuition or we might see something in our client's home that sends us off on a journey.

Hawthorn Residence 2

You've won at the Melbourne Design Awards for 2 years in a row now. What does the award mean to you as a small practice?

Hopefully more projects with like-minded clients. Both these projects were successful as each client was very trusting and very passionate about design.

Hawthorn Residence 2

What's in the pipeline for next year ? Can you share a bit about what sort of projects you'll be working on over the next 12 months?

We are completing 5 residential projects before Christmas! On top of that there are a number of commercial projects. Flower, a Perth-based fashion label with a national presence, has commissioned us to redesign their new and existing stores through Australia. That's a rollout of more than 29 existing and 31 new stores. And an iconic Melbourne fruit shop will be refreshed in the New Year. The owners of the award-winning Station Hotel in Footscray have engaged us in the design of their new venture – the Wayside Inn in South Melbourne. We also have many new residential projects – a beach house at Jan Juc is one of them – to keep us busy.