Urban Guerillas

Design revolutionaries Russell & George plotted a shape-shifting work space as dynamic and fluid as their clients expect them to be.

WHAT INFORMS YOUR ARCHITECTURAL AESTHETIC AND PHILOSOPHY? Byron George: We don’t look at things in terms of aesthetic. Most of what we do comes from an idea of how people occupy space, and interpreting how that makes you feel. It’s simple: what brings joy or makes you feel something.

IS THERE A COMMON ELEMENT OR APPROACH THAT RUNS THROUGH ALL ASPECTS OF YOUR WORK? Ryan Russell: Not really – it depends on the client and project and what resonates. You never know what people are going to bring to the table. We get really inspired when clients come to us with a point of view beyond the aesthetic.

WHAT APPEALED ABOUT THE SITE OF YOUR STUDIO AND WHAT DID THE ALTERATIONS ENTAIL? B: It was a horrible warehouse in a forgotten corner of Melbourne but had great proportion and light. It was a proverbial blank canvas, if that canvas had been found in a garbage dump. The toilets looked like they were last cleaned in the 70s and the wind whistled through. R: We could do whatever we wanted and explore our more radical ideas. Over two years, we designed and fabricated furniture, fitout, object and a different idea of how space should be occupied. This is the result.