Force of Nature
EST MAGAZINE ISSUE 49 | FORCE OF NATURE
Most of my earliest memories revolve around being outside in the fresh air – part of growing up as a ‘farm kid’. It’s something not lost on me today, and so beyond the scientific evidence, I wanted this issue to recognise how our homes support our intrinsic connection to nature.
On the cover, the recently revised River House by Melbourne-based Susi Leeton Architecture + Interiors emulates the slow-flowing river below it in every aspect of its design and intuitive garden by Myles Baldwin Design. Building on this, we explore the collaborative synergy between eight Australian architects and landscape architects in our special feature, Finding Connection.
I speak with British landscape designer Miranda Brooks on her family’s move from Brooklyn to the bucolic beauty of the Cotswolds in a transformed farmhouse and gardens. Homesick for the seasons of her childhood, Miranda reflects on the creativity afforded by stillness.
We understand biophilic architecture and design across continents through conversations with Jacobsen Arquitetura, PPAA and K-Studio, respectively, based in Brazil, Mexico and Greece. Mexican architecture also takes focus through the work of JSa Arquitectura and Robert Hutchison Architecture in their three self-sufficient, small-footprint structures located in the mountains west of Mexico City. We enter an entirely different terrain in Mexico’s high desert with HW Studio Arquitectos to see how Casa Enso embraces its surroundings while offering protection against them.
We’ve thrown out the seasonal rulebook in our Detail pages which promote fluidity between our indoor and outdoor spaces. As with the entire issue, these pages emphasise how design at every level, can enhance our relationship with the natural environment – to improve our collective wellbeing and that of the planet.
– Sophie Lewis, editor
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