Published bi-monthly, Urbis features stylish interiors, spaces and objects, fascinating places, interesting people, technology updates and car reviews. Through its sophisticated design, Urbis appeals to design-savvy consumers and style-makers, as well as design and architecture professionals.
Editorial
Urbis
Contributors
Shorts
Things to do • These events are layered with spring spirit and some serious musical melody.
Urbis Drive • Andrew Kerr savours new cars that combine benchmark performance and efficiency.
Mineral springs • Roman and Japanese bathhouses, balnearios from the Iberian Peninsula: all had roles in inspiring this playful-yet-luscious selection of spa-like objects and textures.
TOP SHELF: Al fresco • Cool spring breezes from Northern Italy flow seamlesly over to Spain, carrying with them the seeds and scents that inspired this fresh, green trend.
Kitchens & Bathrooms
Refuge in stone • In the worlds of architecture and interiors, skincare company Aēsop is renowned for in-depth collaborations and oasis-like mood-making. Urbis attended the opening of its Sydney Pitt Street Mall branch to discover what makes this space work.
Books • Bookish hors d’oeuvres to see you through those peckish moments.
Technophile • Robotics, artificial intelligence and web connectivity are coming to help you in the most-tiled rooms of your home. Primp your kitchen and bathroom with this crop of technological wonders.
Low-key
Pieces of mind
Round off
Luxury green
Rooms for ritual • Australian architecture firm Hecker Guthrie is best known for its fresh, relaxed yet highly crafted aesthetic. We spoke to its co-director, Hamish Guthrie, about how these principles are used when designing kitchens and bathrooms.
FISHER & PAYKEL
Fine art
Hybrid • Combine your favourite looks as you would with clothes: assuredly, and with forethought. Bonus points are yours if the end result is something completely uncategorisable.
Strong case
Open house
Inside Story • We speak to Brady and Sarah Gibbons, directors of young, award-winning New Plymouth practice Gibbons Architects.
Paper logic • Magazine publishers and lovers of all things analogue Bonnie Brown and Zack Holmes show us the objects they love.
Spaces
ELEMENTAL • This home is at ease within the rugged nature of Queenstown’s Jack’s Point.
PRECIOUS METALS • A PARED-BACK PALETTE OF NATURAL TEXTURES AND SPECIALISED FINISHES GIVES THIS PARNELL HOUSE A SENSE OF TIMELESS SOPHISTICATION.
HINT OF OAK • A double-fronted, heritage Victorian house with a mature oak tree at its heart receives an alteration that injects plenty of joy and vibrancy.
LIVING PAVILION • An Arts & Crafts home in Auckland’s Remuera receives a sympathetic renovation that looks to both history and the future.
DRAMATIC CONTRAST • WANTING A LARGER OUTDOOR SPACE WHILE ALSO SEEKING AN INCREASE OF THE INTERNAL FLOOR AREA SEEMS MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE… OR IS IT?
Jingle Jangle Picnic • Yes… this is a bit as though Cindy Sherman had met Bill Hammond in an Alice in Wonderland-themed picnic. Yet, this self-portrait by American artist May Parlar continues on the serious themes of alienation and solitude in public spaces that have followed much of her award-winning career. That does not, however, lessen the surrealist joy of this avian merrymaking.
