First class Newson

Hand-made in Melbourne with in.cube8r

There’s a shop on Smith Street in Melbourne where all young designers go to live. In.cube8r supports all things craft and handmade in Melbourne, running like a long-term market, with the gallery divided into different areas that the artists lease for a tiny cost. There are more than 75 of Melbourne’s top crafters on show and the gallery is always looking for new designers.

Belinda Chen

Belinda Chen will be graduating with an honours in Communication Design from Melbourne’s RMIT this year. Her vibrant design work takes its inspirations from ‘light reflections, design with interaction, sounds, Murakami, going on adventures and people’. Read more

Matt Weston jewellery

The bling era has been and gone, and in its wake is jewellery that’s designed to express individual style, not bank balances. Among this new wave of designers is Sydney-based Matt Weston. His pieces have been making it into sought after magazines and advertisements for years. But it’s his latest collection that really got our attention. Mixing a tribal feel in seamlessly with his signature edgy street style, Weston does his thing with black suede, heavy metal, feathered charms, white rope and knotted chains. And the result? Unisex necklaces and bracelets you’ll be adding to the Christmas list quick smart.

Floating House

This house has many facets that make it an intriguing example. First of all, it is a very aesthetically pleasing project with the use of light horizontal timbers and a clean pitched roof. Designed by MOS, an interesting design collective based in America, the secret to the Floating House is that it floats on a structure of steel pontoons. The house rises and falls with the changing waters and is frozen in place depending on the season. The steel pontoons were constructed first and towed to the lake outside the contractor’s factory and then the house was built atop of it. When finished it was towed to its position, anchored and enjoyed in its unique position. Finally, it forms a bridge between the land and an island. Wonderful!

Torre Bicentenario

Dutch uber-firm OMA, headed by Rem Koolhaas, has created this concept in Mexico City to symbolize the coming two hundred years of Mexico’s independence. There are many layers of symbolism in this building, from Mayan pyramids to which part of the building controls the park and which part controls the city, to the fact that the bulge of the building is below the centre height, and that it all happens on a relatively small footprint. Most of all, in this building there is a barely contained energy that seems near to release and it may be that this is what Torre Bicentenario represents.

Danish Building Bridge

The Danes are renowned for their considered and subtle design. However, in these times of change, they must feel they need something with this selection of a bridge building as the winner of a recent architectural competition in Denmark. The American architect Steven Holl designed this building with a pedestrian bridge that links two sides of the harbour in the distinctly low-rise Copenhagen. Read more