Marmalade Issue 5, 2017

Tweny years ago, the mass exodus of young creatives
from Adelaide to basically anywhere else in Australia
was seemingly epidemic. But these days, there are many
more opportunities and reasons to stay put. Adelaide’s
design landscape has changed as a result of growth and
development, and clients are now realising, especially in the
commercial sector, that investing in good design adds value
to their business. As a result, interior designers and architects
such as Genesin Studio, Studio Gram and Sans-Arc Studio,
are redefining the face of hospitality and retail in Adelaide.
And these practices are specifying local furniture designs
or collaborating with their clients to commission bespoke
product from local designers.
Genesin Studio’s fit-out for Antica’s new Morphett Street
restaurant for example, features custom tables designed by
Crea and manufactured locally. The client wanted a premium,
quality product and the tables’ detailing and finish perfectly
accent the interior’s precise, high-end material application.
Like Crea, Sam Agostino and Gareth Brown have also
found their Agostino & Brown products, which they design
and manufacture in their workshop north of Adelaide,
increasingly being specified for commercial fit-outs. ‘We
believe it’s due to a spirit of optimism and to growth,
especially in the CBD where projects like the Adelaide Oval
Redevelopment and the new Royal Adelaide Hospital have
energised business confidence,’ says Agostino. Both she
and Brown are looking forward to future progress and the
opportunities this brings – with the Adelaide Central Market
upgrade and Riverbank Festival Theatre project just two of a
number of new developments recently confirmed.
While they’re currently producing furniture for workplaces
in Sydney, Perth, ACT and Adelaide, the couple are also
listening to consumer demand when it comes to adding new
pieces to their portfolio. ‘Sam and I recently introduced the
Major tool, 2016 to our collection after observing that local
clients wanted a cost-effective stool made in Adelaide,’
Brown explains. ‘So we developed a product that could be
easily assembled and maintained yet still features the core
elements that make up our style – comfort, versatility
and simplicity.’
The current breadth of furniture practice in Adelaide is
helping to change national narratives on design. Discussions
pitting Melbourne against Sydney and vice versa are old: it’s
simply not about who can do what best anymore. Rather,
who’s doing what well, what can we learn from them and
how can we potentially work together for greater outcomes.
Designers can thank social media for bringing the industry
that much closer together, but it’s ultimately their individual
quest for development and improvement that will see the
design progress even more within this country. It’s exciting to
see the contribution a creative hub like Adelaide continues to
make, especially in these times of renewed conceptual rigour
and aesthetic potency.
16 / ISSUE 05