Darling Square, Sydney
For the public development in Darling Square, Sydney, Lendlease wanted to create a great place for community that reflects the unique qualities and significance of the site.
Lendlease approached ApMurra Furniture for the unique potential of bringing together story with design and fabrication. A two-year partnership commenced, collaborating with designer Elliat Rich and Outdoor Assembly, to prototype and deliver a suite of public furniture: The Wren Collection.
The Wren Collection
Inspired by the Fairywren, also known as the Muruduwin to the local Eora and Darug people of the Sydney basin. The Fairywren is one of the few small native bird species who has successfully adapted to urbanisation. Like us, they are social beings that feed in small groups, they also have short bursts of activity during the day but don’t travel very far. These traits mirror the human activities imagined for Darling Square and inspired the expressive, animated and playful range of furniture items which encourage community engagement both indoors and outdoors.
The suite of furniture comprising of a chair, low stool, high stool and table (circular or square) can be made to order in a variety of materials and colours depending on the ultimate use of the furniture (i.e. indoor or outdoor).
prototyping and development for a collaborative design process
To realise this collection of public furniture, ApMurra Furniture managed the design development and prototyping phase, connecting many collaborators across diverse fields. Multiple design development iterations occurred throughout the process involving Elliat Rich, Lendlease teams from various business units (RAP, Procurement & Development, and the Darling Square Project team), Outside Assembly and ASPECT Studios.
The prototyping stage, comprised of numerous iterations and tests, was undertaken in a collaboration between the ApMurra workshop team and Bushell Engineering. Bushell Engineering are an experienced metal work company who had an existing relationship with Outside Assembly and prototyping of furniture. This collaboration enabled the sharing of knowledge with ApMurra regarding practice, process, equipment and niche skills in this specific fabrication arena. Furntech, were engaged by ApMurra to test the chair product to provide a commercial rating.
There are now 50 chairs and 10 tables at Darling Square, manufactured by ApMurra Furniture.
Collaborating with ApMurra
ApMurra’s vision is to continue to develop a diverse range of high-quality, story-driven furniture for commercial and residential use in collaboration with artists and designers for delivery nationwide and to continue our commitment to training and job security for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their families in Central Australia.
The partnership between LendLease and ApMurra not only provided the Darling Square project a great public furniture suite but also aligned with Lendlease’s RAP (Reconciliation Action Plan) procurement goals and catalysed the establishment of ApMurra’s capabilities as a commercial furniture manufacturing business.
ApMurra are open to many forms of industry collaboration. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss any projects where ApMurra could lend our unique approach.
Darling Square Collaborators
Outside Assembly
Outside Assembly was founded by Industrial Designers Forrest Gillham and Surya Graf, with the desire to apply innovative thinking to clients needs. With more than 15 years experience of commercial design practice, the Outside Assembly team have been able to work on a diverse range of assignments from small domestic products through to major infrastructure projects. The design principles for Outside Assembly are always materials-led and process-driven, with a focus on the creative application of existing methods and new technologies for social, economic and environmental impact.
Elliat Rich
Elliat Rich is based in Alice Springs, Central Australia. She works across a broad spectrum of design for a diverse client base, remotely, locally and nationally. Her practice covers cross-cultural resources, exhibition design, public art and furniture, product development, one-off exhibition and limited run objects.
All projects align with an ethical imperative to increase equality between people and across species, now and into the future.