From the editor

I grew up in an idyllically sleepy coastal town in southern Australia, a short walk from a beautiful beach. But from a less-than-perfect childhood was born the want — rather, the need — to make everything around me ‘perfect’, and a love for all things design was born. Despite our closeness to the water, I was one of those weird kids who spent far too many hours inside reading — and drawing and designing my dream home. Though these hermit tendencies persist, so too does my ingrained connection to the ocean, so it should come as no surprise that my idea of a perfect holiday involves a beach. I’m certainly partial to an urban getaway, but as fulfilling as it can be, it’s hardly relaxing.

Our annual summer edition has become one of my favourites because it combines my two great loves: beautiful interiors and waterside locations, and this one is no exception. Of the five homes featured, I’m most familiar with the landscape of the Sandy Point residence by Melbourne-based practice Kennedy Nolan, since it’s closest to where I grew up. Perhaps as familiar for other Antipodeans is Bali, where emerging Indonesian architecture firm Patisandhika has designed the bold but beautiful home of local creative Dan Mitchell. While Geoffrey Bawa is probably still the name that springs to mind when you hear the words ‘Sri Lanka’ and ‘architect’, Palinda Kannangara’s design of a musician’s weekend retreat in Galle is evidence that he’s working to change that. Further north in India’s Goa, architect Ini Chatterji’s wall-less home has us dreaming of living closer to nature, and finally, on a recent trip to the Burmese capital I was charmed by creative entrepreneur Ivan Pun’s colonial-style bungalow and his curated accumulation of objects. 

As usual, we have so many more exciting stories to share with you from the worlds of art, design, architecture and travel. My wish for you this summer is that you find somewhere warm, hopefully by the ocean, where you can relax and page leisurely through this issue. 

Happy holidays and happy reading.

Suzy Annetta
Editor-in-Chief

Inside the issue

Dossier

Openings
Interior designer Fiona Lynch’s new concept store in Melbourne 

Products
New collections and collaborations 

Read
Upcoming and new books on design, art, interiors and architecture from some of the world’s best publishers

Culture
A restored pre-war mansion is Manila’s next cultural destination

Co-living
Industrial and interior design meet in Seoul’s latest co-living space by Joongho Choi Studio

Profile
Under the direction of emerging designer Jin Chen, ecru Studio is making its mark on Taipei’s design scene

Retail, Nagoya
Analogue Life is a haven of contemporary Japanese craft-art 

Design Community
Several players in Malaysia’s design scene weigh in on the country’s creative climate 

Conservation
Heritage, art, textiles and community are at the heart of chat, Hong Kong’s newest arts and culture hub

Exhibition, Hong Kong
Designer Joyce Wang created a surreal mise en scène to house the 2019 edition of Louis Vuitton’s Objets Nomades exhibition in Hong Kong

Emerging Designers
We speak with above Studio, the winner of this year’s AD Emerging Chinese Designer award at Design Shanghai 

Studio
Founded by an interior architect, 513 Paint Shop offers a boutique experience of colour

Wanderlust

Urban Escape
In Georgia’s capital Tbilisi, forgotten buildings are finding new life as social hubs, while a new creative generation is moulding the city in its image

Villas, Andaman Islands
Handcrafted furniture and local materials come together in this island retreat

Guest House, Japan
Shigeru Ban Architects’ latest project is an intimate guest house in tranquil Karuizawa

Hotel, Brisbane
Urban resort The Calile is an oasis in Brisbane’s inner city

Hotel, New York
Ian Schrager is aiming to bring culture back to Times Square with the latest edition property

Openings
The best of the new boutique and luxury designer hotels from around the world

Vernissage

Arts & Culture, Taiwan
We explore coastal Kaohsiung’s newly thriving creative scene 

Art Fair, Hong Kong
This year’s edition of Art Central featured several interactive and digital artworks intended to engage contemporary audiences

Home

Yangon
Creative entrepreneur Ivan Pun’s second home is a veritable treasure trove, and its petite size only adds to the charm

Sri Lanka
This weekend retreat on the outskirts of a rainforest is designed around the concepts of impermanence and treading lightly

Bali
Bold Brutalist forms are melded with tropical flair in this split-level family home located amid the rice fields of Canggu

Victoria
Designed by Kennedy Nolan, this rustic beach house is much more than just a weekend getaway

Goa
Wall-less and sparsely furnished, Indian architect Ini Chatterji’s home defies convention and offers a new way of living close to nature

Architectonics

Sustainability
In Vietnam, h&p Architects designs socially and environmentally conscious projects with an eye to the future 

Profile
We explore the work of Japanese architect Junya Ishigami, the 2019 winner of the prestigious Serpentine Pavilion commission 

The Flâneur

The Village Spirit
A flâneur is an urban explorer — a connoisseur of the street. In our rotating column, guests share their musings, observations and critiques of the urban environment in cities around the world. In this issue, urban historian Rebecca Dalzell muses on the memory and legacy of New York’s bohemian Greenwich Village