SIBLING fuses architecture, urbanism, cultural analysis and graphic communication to produce an inspired collaborative workspace.
June 10th, 2014
It may at first seem a tad over crowded, but in the case of SIBLING, eight heads are much better than one. It’s a collective that wears many hats, allowing its unique group of individuals to intersect architecture, urbanism, cultural analysis and graphic communication to produce spatial outcomes that are new – and sometimes unexpected.
While architecture is the main focus for each and every individual within the collective, social engagement in relation to space has emerged as their main concern. “We’re interested in social sustainability, how people interact with space, and we encourage users to be part of that process,” says director Nicholas Braun.
Each SIBLING is distinct in their practice and area of specialty, yet they work in a sociable and harmonious tandem, drawing on one another’s skills when needed. “We’re all so comfortable together it became natural that we would all collaborate on each other’s projects, and ask each other’s opinions and advice,” says Braun.
The inception of a project involves a negotiation of eight different opinions – “from there we’re able to distil the important parts of the project, form a vision”, and then one or two project leaders carry the work to fruition.
It’s a flexible working environment, with at least one SIBLING overseas at any given time. Usually four to five SIBLINGs can be found in-studio, developing various projects – whether that be architectural, research, education or exhibition. “We have a really strong emphasis on initiating our own projects,” adds director Timothy Moore.
The last 12-18 months has seen SIBLING work with major institutions to stage spatial investigations that are highly interactive in nature. ON/OFF, held at Wunderlich@757 Gallery with the University of Melbourne (September 2013), was a “cold spot” spatial experiment that instantly went viral. Engaging with the idea of disconnection, ON/OFF explored how rising technology is changing the way we interact through the internet but also within a physical sense.
The resulting spatial structure – a veritable Faraday Cage – blocked all electromagnetic signals. “We were interested in seeing how blocking this out would change the way people would inhabit the space in physical ways,” says Moore.
The enquiring minds of the SIBLING collective are kept highly active through teaching and tutoring architecture students. “When we were going through university we had great teachers, but there was always a tendency for our learnings to be design brief led,” says Braun. As a result, “we engage with students on their design processes. It’s about facilitating those ideas and approaches.” Students and research keep the SIBLINGs’ minds fresh, focused away from virtual realities, engaging with up and coming generations and through this, cultivating new spatial intelligence.
Initially classmates and then fast friends, each SIBLING spent time, post-graduation, pursuing their own personal career tangents. However the converging of their respective paths has been a coming home of sorts. As colleagues, “we knew we could do great stuff together,” says Moore. “And we have fun every single day.”
SIBLING
siblingnation.com.au
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
The Sub-Zero Wolf showrooms in Sydney and Melbourne provide a creative experience unlike any other. Now showcasing all-new product ranges, the showrooms present a unique perspective on the future of kitchens, homes and lifestyles.
Suitable for applications ranging from schools and retail outlets to computer rooms and X-ray suites, Palettone comes in two varieties and a choice of more than fifty colours.
Savage Design’s approach to understanding the relationship between design concepts and user experience, particularly with metalwork, transcends traditional boundaries, blending timeless craftsmanship with digital innovation to create enduring elegance in objects, furnishings, and door furniture.
Renowned sculptor Anish Kapoor is in Sydney ahead of his first major Australian exhibition at the MCA. Owen Lynch reports.
The Gaggenau design approach is focused on the future, and on pioneering technological and lifestyle development while refraining from following fashionable trends.
When Luke Pearson and Tom Lloyd founded their eponymous studio, PearsonLloyd, in 1997 they set out to bring the worlds of furniture design and industrial production closer together – an approach that has brought them success as one of the world’s most celebrated design studios.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
Extrapolating the typology of farmhouse architecture, Cameron Anderson Architects (CAARCH) has drawn on the local architecture of Mudgee in both form and materiality to deliver a surprising suite of buildings.
Artificial intelligence is one of the defining issues of our time. Here are five ideas articles addressing the anxieties and possibilities of the technology in design.