Stephen Varady
'architecture is imagination made solid…'
Stephen Varady Architecture is a successful innovative practice exploring alternative ideas for residential, commercial, urban and hypothetical projects.
The architecture that Stephen Varady creates taps into the unlimited possibilities of the imagination to create buildings that engage with the desires and emotions of those that come to use them. Through the questioning of preconceptions Varady attempts to define alternative living environments at the beginning of the 21st Century. His projects engage with the human spirit through the senses, framing the experiences allowed by the new spaces created… spaces of drama, mystery, and magic…
Contact
stephen varady
b.arch (hons) unsw, m.arch rmit, raia, arb #6012
stephen varady architecture
po box 105 . st. peters nsw 2044 . sydney . australia
ph: +61.2.9516.4044 . fx: +61.2.9516.4541
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.stephenvarady.com
Q+A
1 Overall, what was your design intent/aspirations for the project?
The Larson Kelly Residence in Tea Gardens was the first totally new freestanding house I had designed. It was also an important project for the owners, so we both wanted to create something very special. The overall design is bold and dramatic and sculptural.
2 Why was Marblo® specified?
We had come across Marblo® while we were designing the house, and both the owners and I were totally seduced by the many qualities of the material – waterproof, chemical resistant, seamless, durable and colourful, and then on top of all that it was also translucent! No other material has all of these properties. My work explores light and colour (amongst a number of other things) and this was a material totally suited to some of the ideas I was exploring.
The design for the kitchen started with a sketch showing a composition of separate elements (fig. 1). I realised we needed more storage so I investigated the kitchen as a graphic composition filling the entire wall (fig. 2). I then translated that into a 3D computer model in different colours. In discussions with the owners we eventually decided that since the entire house was going to be blue, one colour would be enough for the kitchen. With the seamless bonding of the Marblo® material, the final composition looks as though it has been carved out of one block of material. The final touch was putting lighting inside the cupboards to make them glow.
We had the kitchen and bathroom joinery priced in mdf with polyurethane paint finish and Marblo® was roughly 30% more. The owners decided the added expense was worth it, and once the project was complete they didn’t regret their decision.
3 What benefits did the use of Marblo® bring to the project?
Marblo® is a solid surface material, similar to some others on the market, - but only if you are looking for white surfaces. If you are looking for something coloured, then there is no other material with the range of colour that Marblo has. To my knowledge there is no other product that then comes in a range of translucent colours and finishes – this is the totally unique quality that I have been drawn to with Marblo®; the possibility to have light, both natural or artificial, filter through the material in whatever colour I desire...
