14 Amazing Australian Architects to Follow on Instagram
Architecture is one of those industries you don’t necessarily need to know much about to appreciate, in part because we spend our whole lives going from one building to the next. However, when you take the time to read up on and look at different styles, especially from different firms, there's a lot of magic to be uncovered.
Luckily enough for us in the modern era, information is available at our fingertips. We can spy in on some of the most incredible buildings across the world online and be inundated with inspiration. And there are a bevy of incredible Australian architects who are pushing the boundaries of design with their arresting architecture.
The below list of Australian firms goes to show that learning a little, even just from, can deepen your appreciation of beautifully designed buildings. These Instagram accounts also offer an abundance of design inspiration whether it be for your next home or simply for your viewing pleasure.
14 Australian Architects to Follow on Instagram
1. @mathiesonarchitects
If you're partial to ultra-modern design, following Mathieson Architects' Instagram account will add some incredible and much-appreciated imagery to your feed. Design Director Phillip Mathieson leads an approach to design that is grounded in Modernist principles of authentic, timeless, and planning rigour. The firm's affinity for sleek, high-end design has seen them create some incredible projects across a range of residential, multi residential, commercial and hotel/hospitality sectors.
2. @robmillsarchitects
Acclaimed architect Rob Mills is renowned for his high-end residential and commercial architecture, delivering bespoke designs filled with fresh air, light, and space to breathe .The award-winning firm strongly believes in the intersections between nature and architecture, with Rob going beyond the duties of a typical architect by assisting clients in sourcing land. Each home is influenced by the location in which it sits and and is sympathetically designed to be in harmony with the surroundings. A perfect example of this is the iconic 'Ocean House' in Lorne whose design was informed by its unique positioning between coast and bush. Rob is known for favouring concrete as a building material because of its durability.
3. @aboutsjb
It feels as though SJB projects can be found just about everywhere in Sydney and Melbourne. This highly regarded multidisciplinary studio has been involved with a huge catalogue of projects ranging from hospitals to private homes, offices to restaurants, so there's plenty to be inspired by on their Instagram account.
4. @luigiroselliarchitects
Helmed by Milan-born, Swiss-educated architect Luigi Rossell, the Luigi Roselli Architects team have covered a very wide range of projects from offices and factories, to libraries and residential homes. The firm have a particular interest in sustainability and re-use and are a proudly carbon neutral practice. Their arresting modernist designs are distinct for their sculptural style which favours organic shapes and fluid lines. One notable project from this incredible studio is 'The Book House', which was inspired by the owner's request for a home that looked like three stacked books.
5. @taylorknightsarchitects
Taylor Knights are a Melbourne-based architecture firm that create minimalist lines and simple forms to express space and comfort in the home. Their Instagram is filled with not just finished buildings, but the whole process, including design plans, interiors and site visits with their studio pup Rupert. They bring the outside in with windows that look out onto perfect green spaces, and meet up with interior rooms filled with beautiful design. Sustainability and environment are crucial to their practice, and this is evident in their stylistic approach to architecture.
6. @robkennonarchitects
Rob Kennon Architects make sleek buildings that engage in a minimalist way to their surroundings with nods to Californian modernism. Their buildings take on sustainable methods to preserve the environment while adding tranquil space to fill the client's briefs. Their Instagram lives up to an architecture lover's dream! Their feed gives access to some of the best homes in Australia and provides context and background to their practice, as well as inspiration for your next build and what furniture suits the modernist aesthetic.
7. @sansarc.studio
You may already be familiar with Sans Arc from the house "that nearly broke Instagram" aka Plaster Fun House. Their style is clean and modern with fun curves and arches that turn regular spaces into expressions of personality. Plaster Fun House took this to the next level with blue, all-tiled, bathrooms, curved kitchen benches in pastel pinks; all housed in a minimal white rough-cast plaster finish, invoking dreams of sunny Spanish homes. The rest of their IG highlights a distinct style of curves, fun colours, and cosy spaces in Adelaide. Keep an eye out for a chalet-style bar in SA tucked between two buildings, and another little bar, called Malt & Juniper, that has an open bar/window externally finished in jade-coloured stone tiles.
8. @carterwilliamson_architects
Started up by architect Shaun Carter, Carter Williamson takes a playful approach to create memorable spaces that are homely and inviting. Their Instagram reflects this and provides a sneak preview to some of the stunning homes and innovative uses of architecture. Colour also appears across their Instagram, with bright blue tiles and vivid rainbow patterns. Shapes and forms make up most of their fun style, including the Blues Point Hotel's outdoor deck, in North Sydney, that sits within a tree-height curved wall in stretched wood. The original brief was to ensure noise didn't escape the venue and affect nearby residents. Carter Williamson ran with the brief and adopted the art deco style of the original pub while providing little cosy nooks for patrons.
9. @auhaus
Auhaus Architecture is as sleek and modernist as they come, and their highly polished Instagram reflects this. Brutalist architecture pops in from time-to-time, leaving the feed with strong aesthetic values that continue through to the joinery hardware and lighting, all which is made in house. Their Instagram not only allows you to peek in on their award-winning designs but enables you to consider the architecture in new forms and expressions through lighting and perspective. The firm takes a sustainable approach to their designs, working with the landscape, and adding eco-qualities that mean their homes will last for a long time while causing minimal interference. The Torquay Concrete House takes this literally, with not only an internal courtyard but a garden on the roof, reflecting the surrounding wetlands.
10. @editionoffice
Edition Office designs spaces that emphasise an artistic aesthetic, both literally with gallery and museum buildings, but also as sculptures and installations within homes. Based in Melbourne, the architects have worked with Artbank, Station Gallery in Melbourne, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander War Memorial with Daniel Boyd, and at the National Gallery of Victoria with Yhonnie Scarce to create architecture brutalist chambers on the gallery grounds. Alongside art pieces, they also feature tranquil spaces, for homes and offices that are places to reflect on their Instagram. Including the Point Lonsdale House which uses wooden features to create an oasis of light and shadow; or the Hawthorn House which sees the ceiling extend to concrete curves, pulling the outside in.
11. @retallackthompson
Retallack Thompson is an emerging architect firm that understands space and minimalism through their builds. With experience from Sydney and Berlin, the architects understand how to make the most out of small areas. And, a closer look onto their website reveals how they use their skills as architects to help build houses for those who need them, as well as helping to combat future housing issues in rural communities. Their Instagram offers a view into this world, and their houses are perfectly manicured. The feed itself is a dazzling white highlighting soft curves and angles. But, I love the internal courtyards that pop up with a view of the cactus gardens; or corner highlighted in pink. This is one company to watch!
12. @clarecousins
Multiple award winner Clare Cousins is a real treat for architect lovers on Instagram and her feed follows her around on her travels and at home. Expect a colour coordinated journey that follows a simple pattern of shapes, curves and patterns. Clare Cousins Architects' style is modern and exciting. Including their recent Aesop Fitzroy store fit-out, which is decked out in millennial pink and floor to ceiling windows into the internal courtyard.
13. @stuart_vokesandpeters & @aaron_vokesandpeters
Both Stuart and Aaron offer a different lens to look at architecture through their Instagram and give an insight into how architect firms can come together. Aaron's feed is minimal, with lots of negative space surrounding the images, Stuart’s is full of large photos that give full detail and context to their projects. Between them, their architectural firm crosses different fields of design theory. From Modernist builds to farmhouse renovation. They go between residential builds and homes with ease. All which take on personable vibes and cosy nooks.
14. @danielboddam
Daniel Boddam Studio is an Australian architecture design practice driven by a pursuit of simplicity. Since its launch, Boddam’s studio has prided itself in quality and innovation. As Boddam puts it, it’s about building relationships and never taking the easy route. The studio have a talent for creating calm, refined living spaces with personality and those who are partial to clean design will swoon their Instagram account. We stepped inside Daniel's light-filled Byron Bay home in our The Makers series which you can tour here.
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