This week in our Architecture Series - From Lego to Skyscrapers, Vince speaks to the South African architect paving the future of retail, Nicolas Criticos.

Nicolas is responsible for the store design creative direction of South Africa’s biggest department chain Woolworths. Nicholas was also the Creative Lead of the $200 million renovation of the David Jones flagship store in Sydney’s CBD.

In conversation with long-time friend Vince, the two explore why effective design is crucial to create an emotional connection with customers, how bricks and mortar can thrive in the digital age, and what the future of retail design has in store.

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Next in our Architecture Series - From Lego to Skyscrapers, Vince speaks to Studio Bright Director Melissa Bright. 

For every residential, civic and educational project, Melissa and her team blend heritage with innovation. From the award-winning Ruckers Hill House to 8 Loftus Lane at Sydney’s new Quay Quarter, Studio Bright are helping shape our cities for generations to come. 

In this episode, Mel explains how every space has a lasting impact on our future cities, and why designing with optimism can take architecture to new heights.  

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As we continue in our Architecture Series, this week Vince catches up with Kelvin Ho, the Founding Director of Akin Atelier.

Working at the intersection of architecture, art, interior design & branding, Ho and Akin Atelier have created thought-provoking spaces for the likes of Merivale, QANTAS, Google, Dion Lee, Saturdays NYC, AGNSW, Camilla and Marc, bassike and The Australian Ballet.

In his conversation with Vince, he reveals how skate culture has inspired his aesthetic and why designing an emotional experience for the people who work, visit, dine, shop, dance and live in the spaces he creates matters in a way that it never has before.

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In the sixth episode of our Design Your Life Architecture Series - From Lego to Skyscrapers, Vince chats to renowned architect and long-time friend Neil Durbach, Director of Durbach Block Jaggers. 

Neil has designed some of Australia’s most unique and beautiful spaces, from Judith Neilson’s mysterious performance venue, Phoenix Central Park, to the famous Droga Apartment.  

He debates with Vince about whether simplicity makes good design, how growing up in South Africa during the Apartheid era influenced his career, and why sketching and collaboration builds a more creative world. 

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In the fifth episode of our Design Your Life Architecture Series - From Lego to Skyscrapers, we speak to the founder of Smart Design Studio - William Smart. 

William is behind some of the most iconic public and private buildings in Australia, from Chippendale’s Central Park precinct to Judith Neilson’s award-winning home, Indigo Slam.

At each pivotal moment of William's life and career, we discuss the creative influences that shaped his distinct voice in design: from his country up-bringing to a gentle nudge from a university professor, to the culture and nightlife of European living and his unwavering love of mid-century cars.

And how a knock on his door from Judith Neilson opened the creative opportunity of a lifetime.

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Welcome to the fourth episode of our Design Your Life Architecture series - From Lego to Skyscrapers featuring Tribe Studio Architects Principal, Hannah Tribe.

 

In this episode Hannah recalls her early years in a creative household and how her father’s architectural career had an influence in her pursuing architectural sketch design at university leading to her first job at renowned Australian practice Durbach Block Jaggers, before starting her own practice a year later. From the first job renovating a friend’s house Hannah talks about the growth of her business from its formation in 2003. Tribe Studio Architects believes every building and design - regardless of scale - should make a public contribution to the urban fabric and enhance the community, whilst also contributing to our collective sustainable future. 

 

Vince and Hannah go on to discuss the climate crisis, the danger of some new technologies and tactics that Hannah’s studio utilises to reduce damage to the planet. The pair also dissect the negative building trends which are developing post Covid as well as the current property crisis and how it is affecting younger generations.  

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Welcome to the third episode of our Design Your Life Architecture series - From Lego to Skyscrapers featuring Zaha Hadid Architects Director, Gianluca Racana.  

This series is dedicated to exploring the lives of architects, when did they first discover their love for it, what makes them tick and how they handle the responsibility that comes with designing the places, cities and buildings that will stand for generations to come. 

In this episode Gianluca delves into his early life in Rome and what brought him to London where he completed his postgraduate studies at the Architectural Association, obtaining his Master’s degree in Architecture and Urbanism.  

Gianluca goes on to discuss how his career began with Zaha Hadid Architects in the year 2000 and the significance of their first major project and one of Rome’s most talked about contemporary buildings, the MAXXI - National Museum of 21st Century Art and Architecture.  

The boldly imaginative and controversial building sat in heavy contrast to its traditional surroundings in the Flaminio neighbourhood of Rome. Despite initial scepticism the site has become a cultural hub and went on to win the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Stirling Prize. 

Gianluca shares many of his learnings from being a part of such a ground breaking and significant project. 

Vince and Gianluca go on to discuss the importance of not following trends when designing public buildings, but to design for the users and their habits in and around the site along with the need for ample natural light and public areas for communication and connection. 

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Welcome to the second episode of the Design Your Life Architecture series - From Lego to Skyscrapers featuring 3XN partner Fred Holt.

This series is dedicated to exploring the lives of architects, when did they first discover their love for it, what makes them tick, how do they handle the responsibility that comes with designing places, cities and buildings that will stand for generations to come.

In this second episode Vince and Fred discuss how despite all the issues COVID-19 has brought it has also helped positively push the discussion on how buildings should be designed. Smart buildings are now a priority allowing for increased airflow and enable occupants to be more dispersed when moving through them.

Fred touches on many aspects of his life from his childhood, growing up in a 60-acre Californian ranch roaming around on his bike and building forts of hay to starting his career as an architect in a San Francisco practice and attending Harvard graduate school of design all before moving to Denmark’s 3XN in 2010.  

The pair go on to discuss their thoughts and roles in the large Sydney Quay Quarter development project, why being an architect is all about creating moments and human experiences that you wouldn’t find anywhere else, how the innovation department GXN is increasingly involved in all the work they do and how Fred balances the demanding hours of the work week with his weekends making killer danish rye bread. 

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Welcome to the first episode of our Design Your Life Architecture series - From Lego to Skyscrapers featuring Luigi Rosselli. 

This series is dedicated to exploring the lives of architects, when did they first discover their love for it, what makes them tick, how do they handle the responsibility that comes with designing places, cities and buildings that will stand for generations to come.

With an eclectic mix of architects from across the world, From Lego to Skycrapers focuses on championing the person as well as the projects. Vince goes behind the façade of an architect delving into their personal and professional lives; from process, inspiration and career highlights, to juggling work with private and family life.

In this episode Vince and Luigi discuss his early life in Milan and how his surroundings were a big influence on his developing passion for architecture. Coming from a family of engineers Luigi and his brother would play with Lego and have drawing competitions of who could design the longest bridge. 

Self described as somewhat of a black sheep Luigi broke family tradition to become an Architect and by the age of 23 had landed in Canberra, Australia as part of a team tasked to help design parliament house. 

From here Luigi developed his love for the softer more humanistic side of architecture aiming always to create a sense of comfort and happiness in all the work he did. This was quickly noticed and through out the years he has won numerous awards, placing his work in the top tier of Australian design. 

Enjoy!   

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Ep 5 of the exclusive 'The Brief is You' series with Vince Frost and Prof. Joel Pearson.

Can you design your life? 

This is the question Vince Frost asked himself over a decade ago, yes was the answer. Since then he began applying his principles of design to his own life. This helped him find his flow: he became more reflective, more alive to the senses, more in touch with the people in his life and more aware of his value. 
In the final episode of the ’The Brief is You’ series Vince and Joel delve into designing your life discussing what are some of the most important actions you can take to design the kind of life you want to live. 

The pair deep dive into the idea of safe experimentation - the act of testing the waters in your life be it skydiving or something less extreme like learning to ride a horse or taking the pottery course you’ve always thought about. You never know what you are missing in your life until you try it. 

Joel also touches on the importance of routine and why having structure in your life can free your mind to think of more important things, as well as why the secret to achieving your goals is to not tell anyone about them. 
Listen in to hear this and many more insightful questions answered in the fifth and final episode of the series. 

This time, the brief is you. Learn from Australia’s leading expert on the brain on how you can take off in 2021, learning how to understand and harness your mind and creativity whilst designing your life.

Prof. Pearson is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of New South Wales, a National Health and Medical Research Council fellow and founder of UNSW Future Minds Lab, MindX and Agile Science. 

https://www.profjoelpearson.com/ 

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