A collaboration between Hecker Guthrie and Lexus will produce a three story marquee for the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
October 30th, 2013
With a brief to “come up with a marquee that had a strong design identity”, the team from Hecker Guthrie was presented with “a series of material behind Lexus and their becoming much more driven by design”.
With this the designers were eager to create a Pavilion that reflects growing importance of the Japanese car industry, as well as the culture’s rich and unique aesthetics; as Paul Hecker comments, “traditionally the Japanese car industry may have been seen as secondary to the European industry but the Japanese aesthetic is so strong that we felt we needed to tap into Japanese fashion, materiality, origami, architecture, theatre, opera”.
Thus the starting point was an idea behind pattern and graphics. The designers explored an iconic pattern from a Japanese print from the 19th Century – the infamous ‘Wave off Kanagawa’ – and pixelated it to create an echo of the original in a contemporary form. This also gave cues for colour palette and informed the materiality for the space, which centred on humble materials such as plywood, pine, ceramic and paper.
These are manifested in the lightweight timber frame which is illuminated by 200 paper lanterns and and decorated by custom made Andrei Davidoff ceramics.
The temporary nature of the structure was an important factor in the design, one that provided a refreshing and liberating change of perspective for designers accustomed to needing their projects to stand the test of time. As Guthrie expands, “You aren’t worried about how long it lasts – or if the fabric fades! You can explore ideas that would otherwise be unviable in a commercial sense. The idea remains pure!”
Lexus
Hecker Guthrie
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!
Marylou Cafaro’s first trendjournal sparked a powerful, decades-long movement in joinery designs and finishes which eventually saw Australian design develop its independence and characteristic style. Now, polytec offers all-new insights into the future of Australian design.
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.
In the pursuit of an uplifting synergy between the inner world and the surrounding environment, internationally acclaimed Interior Architect and Designer Lorena Gaxiola transform the vibration of the auspicious number ‘8’ into mesmerising artistry alongside the Feltex design team, brought to you by GH Commercial.
Channelling the enchanting ambience of the Caffè Greco in Rome, Budapest’s historic Gerbeaud, and Grossi Florentino in Melbourne, Ross Didier’s new collection evokes the designer’s affinity for café experience, while delivering refined seating for contemporary hospitality interiors.
The world of ABW has unleashed a slew of new requirements for open-plan spaces. How might the Danes be the solution to these new kinds of spaces? We look at famed-Danish designers, Normann Copenhagen for the answer.
Marc Sadler is a daredevil if ever there was one – at least when it comes to design – having created some of the most innovative designs for brands like Foscarini, Boffi, Nike and Dainese. Rachel Lee-Leong has the story.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
Found within the verdant landscape of Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, Sona Reddy’s design for this authentic Andhra restaurant adeptly fuses textural rhythms with traditional materials.
Milanese artisan Henry Timi celebrates natural materials through strikingly reduced geometric forms, creating a stripped-back vision of interior luxury.