18 Metres Down, 27 Degrees C, 25-30 Metres Visibility!

Bark Retreat 2009 was a huge success. Lizard Island resort, research station and reef was spectacular.  Highlights included detailed site analysis of Cod Hole at 18m down with visibility 25-30m!

Glass House Mountain House

Taking shape, the timber elements layer the edges of the North east courtyard and 'Zen' garden viewed through timber covered walkway, at the Glass House Mountain House at Maleny.

National Architecture Conference Melbourne 2009

Bark Design Architects discovered the 'spaces in between' during the recent national AIA architecture conference Parallax 2009 held in Melbourne curated by the boys of Terroir. The Bark team travelled to Melbourne (whilst Emma looked after the Studio) to immerse themselves in some inspirational thinking, beautiful work and engaging critique from several notable international and national architects and the keynote speaker, philosopher Slavoj Zizek!(above). One memorable and emotive highlight was the joy and beauty in the work of Bijoy Jain (below) of Studio Mumbai.

'spaces in between'

Bark Retreat 09

Lizard Island, the northern most resort island of the Great Barrier reef is the site for Bark's Easter Retreat 2009. As part of the studio's ongoing design enquiry and research into extraodinarily sensitive sites supporting viable Ecotourism ventures, Bark directors will be investigating the symbiotic relationship between built and natural environments which exist in this fragile coastal environment.

Noosa River House Transformed

Completed last year, the Bark Design Architects team transformed a 1980's waterfront speculative house on Noosa Sound. 

Starting with palette of a non descript rendered brick and tile, large footprint house, built to the allowable setbacks, Bark's broad brush design strategies included reducing internal floor area with voids, creating generous double height volumes, a clear legibility and contrast of spaces, and introducing high level operable clerestories for bringing in northern winter sun and encouraging natural cross flow ventilation into and through the spaces by harnessing cooling river breezes. 

Outdoor living zones provide seamless and ambiguous connections between interior spaces which enhance the sense of place of ‘living on the river’. Clean white planes with the warmth of natural timber frame the contemporary backdrop for fine furniture, art and relaxed river living. 

The Bones of the 'Zen Garden' arrive

The physical, visual and philosophical connections to its escarpment site at the 'Glass House Mountain House' has been further strengthened with the placement of a triad of local Glass House Quarry stones, carefully selected and placed with the client.

"Rocks are placed in the garden for enticement and reinvigoration of the viewer. The placement of rocks are the bone structure of a garden. Traditionally, the Japanese held rocks as very sacred objects. They were the home of spirits or kami in Japanese. Rocks when placed in a group needed to be placed in such a way that the energy was balanced, and they seemed to somehow interact with each other, or relate to each other. Triads are common ways to group rocks together symbolizing the triangle or the three forces equivalent to a triad of Heaven, Earth and Man."

The new 'Bones' are one component of the Northern 'Zen Garden' courtyard which the spaces of the house are gathered around.

Bark adds to the Hastings Streetscape Noosa

A building inspired by the landscape. The new Visitor Information Centre in Hastings Street Noosa was celebrated recently with morning and evening 'opening' do's with Bark's team being gratefully acknowledged and thanked for the architecture and design of the new centre at the evening celebrations.  

Already the subject of positive user and public feedback, the building with it's floating 'leaf' canopy roof is fast contributing to the life of the street and will take Tourism Noosa and hundreds of thousands of visitors to Noosa comfortably and dynamically into the future.

Bark at Pecha Kucha Brisbane

Bark presented to a full 'Powerhouse' at the latest Pecha Kucha event held in Brisbane. The Pecha Kucha format of 20 slides for 20 seconds per slide provided a very brief oppurtunity to present Bark's design environment, design principles and design process.  Check out the latest event at Pecha Kucha for the latest on the world wide phenomenum.

Photography by Camera Obscura

Noosa Visitor Information Centre Emerges

Bon voyage Christoph K the (unknown architect)!

Dwell magazine showcases Bark House

In the company of a select few featured houses from Australia and New Zealand, Bark Design Architects' Tinbeerwah House & Art Studio in the Noosa Hinterland is showcased in the latest issue of Dwell magazine, one of our favourite American publications showcasing design for Modern living.

The Tinbeerwah House was designed for Adrienne Webb and emerging artist Stefan Dunlop and is poised on an east facing escarpment in the Noosa Hinterland adjacent to the Bark Studio. To see the house and painting studio go to http://www.dwell.com/articles/site-unseen.html and view Dwell's story and Slideshow.