Focused on experiential design and the emotional connection between home and self. Believing that well considered design can truly change lives.

What are your favourite three materials to work with? 

I love the beauty of diversity in textural elements, pairing softer materials with the more robust to enrich our sensory experiences and evoke deeper connection.

Predominantly natural materials, wood, stone, concrete and glass married with soft materials such as linen, silk leather and wools. These luxurious finishes are a canvas for storytelling, inviting viewers to immerse themselves in a sensory journey.

Outside of your own practice, how does design have an influence on you?

I am inspired by a deep connection to nature, our design work incorporates organic shapes, finishes and elements inspired by the natural world. From sweeping curves of a sculptural chair to the fluid lines of a beautiful light fixture, we strive to create the harmonious balance between human ingenuity and the inherent beauty of the natural environment.   

What role does lighting play in your design process?

Lighting is carefully orchestrated to enhance the sensory experience, highlighting the inherent beauty of materials and is responsible for mood and ambience creating an environment that not only looks good but nourishes us. 

At SJB, our style is driven equally by both the project and its place. We design each project with a unique lens, analysing the sites history, its demographic, the opportunities and constraints, as well as various other factors. We try our best to embody a timeless design principle, whereby if we design to trend, it's done through removable layers and objects, all whilst retaining a timeless base. Designing for the future is critical to us.

What are your favourite materials to work with? 

I love handcrafted faience (also known as glazed terracotta). I was always around it growing up; my Dad has a factory that makes faience, predominately for building facades, but is now moving into the interior world (with a little help by me!). Visiting the factory I always feel like I am in a candy shop of delicious glazes. I get to see a sneak preview of the work of incredible architects coming out if the kiln, and the sculptors intricately carving blocks. It’s a pretty amazing process.

At SJB, we are trying to work with suppliers to use offcuts or ‘waste’ material on projects. Not only is this sustainable, but it brings something more unique to the project.   

Outside of your own practice, how does design have an influence on you?

Design moves us – quite literally. My favourite spaces are always ones I find emotive, such as Carlo Scarpa’s Brion Cemetery (outside of Venice) and much of the work by Tadao Ando. Design is in the way we touch and experience a handrail and feel safe to walk down steps, it’s in the way we collide with others, or feel comfortable alone, and it’s in the way we feel included or isolated in society. When done well, what our industry provides is instrumental in shaping ones feelings.

What role does lighting play in your design process?

Lighting is critical to how we perceive space. My favourite quote is "The sun never knew how great it was until it hit the side of a building” by the famous architect Louis Kahn. The lighting is as important, if not more important, than the design. Good lighting can make a bad space become beautiful, and a great space become breathtaking. We are animals, attune to the various ways we need to receive light. If we come back to our apartment in the evening that has blue-white lighting (compared to warm lighting), it changes how we feel in a negative way due to the effect it has on our circadian rhythm.

Our architecture and interiors tell the stories of the place on which it resides, and the stories of the people who occupy the place, both past and present. We develop site sensitive, sustainable design responses embedded with the particularities of our client, which maximises the natural amenity of the home to elevate a greater sense of wellbeing and connection to place. Our design response oscillates between the pragmatic and the poetic, always striving for unique creative responses which are engineered for the local conditions. FMD Architects is a practice with extensive experience in architecture and interior design of varying scales, types and budgets. The core work of the practice is boutique commercial and residential work. The focus on specific projects enables a high level of client service as well as an intense design process with rigorous detail. A particularity of the practice is its extensive research into materials and product development, which equips it with a knowledge to develop rich and inventive architecture.

Who is someone that inspires you?

I am always inspired by Ronan Bouroullec's design approach. Continually evolving with a deep understanding of the companies' underlying philosophies and a specific and unique design response. His artworks are also mesmerising. He never ceases to surprise me.

What role does lighting play in your design process?

I see lighting as a way to enhance our architectural response. The lighting is often discreetly concealed within the architecture and interior cabinetry, allowing the spaces to change from day to night by sculpting the space with light. I also enjoy a decorative floor lamp or wall light to enhance the particularites of a project and space, and also provide a versatile and flexible lighting system tailored to our clients needs and wants.

I try to follow a philosophy that architecture should be about form, space and light, forming a backdrop for the ‘colour’ of the inhabitants and their lives. I’m a big believer that while materials can add interest, I like to keep it simple and timeless. It’s paramount to me for the design intent to be legible, with moments of abstraction, delight and juxtaposition bringing interest and joy. 

What’s something you want to see more of in design? 

Placing more value on good design, sustainability and authenticity in architecture, material and products. To effectively address sustainability and economic challenges, our industry must embrace adaptive reuse. By strategically implementing interventions and prioritising high quality materials, we can collectively work towards achieving more with less. This approach I hope will foster a culture of mindful and purposeful design.

What’s something you want to see less of in design?

They say that design is cyclical but personally I am not inclined to adhering to specific design trends. In an era marked by finite resources, the rapid turnover of trends, particularly fuelled by social media and platforms like Instagram, raises concerns for me. I believe in a more timeless and sustainable approach to design that transcends fleeting trends, aiming to create enduring spaces that stand the test of time and contribute to a more responsible and thoughtful use of resources on our planet.

What role does lighting play in your design process?

The control of light is paramount to communicating design intent, it is an exceptionally powerful and enjoyable element to play with architecturally, whether through natural sources or artificial means. In our design process, lighting takes precedence as one of the initial considerations. I like to take a straightforward approach, concealing lighting where possible to maintain the legibility of the architecture. The ongoing refinement and miniaturisation of LEDs is exciting in this regard - pin downlights, micro track systems and plaster set LED profiles have become prominent fixtures in my lighting design palette, allowing for precise and subtle integration.

My design style is one of casual elegance. Warmth and character are paramount - robust materials, atmospheric lighting, layered textiles, sculptural furnishing items.

What are your favourite three materials to work with?

The classics - natural stone, terrazzo and solid timber

Outside of your own practice, how does design have an influence on you?

How spaces function, how they impact our day to day behaviours and how they appeal to all of the senses is the ultimate influence of great design.

What role does lighting play in your design process?

Lighting is all about creating atmospheres, and I would say lighting is an incredibly challenging aspect of an interior to master. It is also the part of creating an interior I enjoy the most.

I wouldn’t say I have a signature style. I’m a modernist at heart but find my personal design style is quite fluid, constantly evolving, and sometimes full of contradictions! I’ve always been drawn to spaces and objects that elicit an emotional response and leave a memorable impression.

Outside of your practice, how does design have an influence on you?

It’s certainly not a 9-5 job! Design and design thinking influences everything I do and how I experience space. I can’t go anywhere without needing to look at every detail. What I love about interior design is that, at its core, it is human-centred, and there’s always a new problem to solve creatively – it’s an exciting rush when those ideas start to spark!

What are your favourite materials to work with? 

There are so many – a textured plastered finish and paints, a striking stone; sustainably sourced timbers – currently loving a knotty pine we have used on a workplace project; patterned glass and obscured finishes; I love reflective surfaces when used right; and the endless possibilities with textiles.  

What role does lighting play in your design process?

Lighting can make or break a project. When starting a new project, I always approach the design with lighting front of mind, as it is vital to the outcome of the space and how it feels.