A look inside Space Atelier’s new interior in One Sydney Harbour

It was in the 1960s when Italian furniture brand B&B Italia commissioned architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers to design their prestigious headquarters in northern Italy. The building was experimental and innovative architecturally, and representative of the furniture brand’s own finely tuned design approach. Sixty years later, that connection with Renzo Piano has come full circle with One Sydney Harbour. Marking his second project for the city, its developer Lendlease is working with residents and the Space Atelier team on carefully curated interiors that respond to the elegance of the architect’s newest landmark. 

‘Our brief was to deliver exceptional quality,’ remarks David Hartikainen, Space's head of interiors, 'and to completely personalise the interior. We looked at the interior’s bones and how we could best customise the space with new wall finishes, artwork, lighting schemes and layered styling. We then worked closely to craft and curate an interior with bespoke furniture pieces and designs from across the Space collection.’

Gaining a reputation for skilled in-house designers each with extensive brand training in Italy, the Space Atelier team has a depth of knowledge across Space’s collection, punctuated by world renowned brands and designers. Headed up by David Hartikainen, the team works closely with clients seeking an end-to-end bespoke interior design service no matter where they are in the world, along with the all important professional discretion that comes with it. Well versed in the curation of highly personalised homes, the team’s focus always hones in on the details.

‘The Phillip Jeffries wallpaper is woven wool and linen with a small silver thread that shimmers. So it provides a subtle and lovely texture to everything that is happening inside and pays tribute to that classic Sydney harbour viewpoint. When you look at how Renzo Piano designed the building it was all about the prism of light and how it responds to the harbour,’ explains Hartikainen as he describes their latest interior at One Sydney Harbour. ‘When we approach an interior we always listen to the original intent of what the architect was trying to do. I think it’s both important and respectful. The architecture has so much language behind it and when you pay attention the end result is so much stronger.’

A year in the making, the starting point was getting to know the client, how they live and what they wanted to achieve. ‘That's really the most important thing in the beginning,’ continues Hartikainen. ‘We then put pen to paper and listen to the brief and the architecture and start to develop the design, the colour palette, the lighting scheme, and the overall mood inside.’

A canvas of abstracted vivid green by contemporary artist Dale Frank, an Agape Casa dining table made from one piece of cool grey Carrara marble, the curvy upholstered Maxalto Caratos armchairs, and golden geometric pendants by New Zealand artist Max Patte, now define the apartment that is a balance of high function and full character. Key to this was the material palette of finishes that are practical but still crafted.

‘This is first and foremost a home for the two clients and eventually their family home too, so it needed to be very functional and not overly precious,’ says Hartikainen. ‘We made sure that every piece was comfortable and practical but didn’t avoid beauty. The simplicity of the Agape design paired with the Caratos armchairs became a winning piece beautifully framed by the harbour below.’