EXPLORE THE AUSTRALIAN ARCHITECT’S VIRTUAL PARISIAN APARTMENT EXHIBITING HIS LATEST FURNITURE COLLECTION.

In response to the closure of Australia’s borders amid the current international crisis, Australian architect Daniel Boddam has envisioned and orchestrated an ingenious way to showcase his latest furniture collection, by designing a virtual apartment.

Boddam chose to design a quintessential Haussmann-style apartment in Paris - a city in which he cherishes, where the space has been designed according to the architect’s imagination. The apartment measures 183 square meters featuring an entrance hall, living room, kitchen, bedroom, ensuite, study and powder room, that is designed characteristically with an abundance of natural light and material restraint. The architect who has had extensive experience in working with luxury residential design that includes heritage-listed projects, works on a design philosophy that is based on a considered simplicity. This philosophy is articulated in all of his architectural projects and furniture collections that he designs, including this Parisian apartment which embodies the same sentiment. The architect worked with Avo Studios to create the CGIs and animation to realise the project in a virtual format.

Inspired by Matisse who famously proclaimed “I will make myself my own pool”, when his desire for seeing divers in Cannes was unfilled due to illness, drove him to produce his acclaimed artwork ‘The Swimming Pool’ in cut paper - so too has it led Boddam to conceive his own Parisian apartment to launch his latest collection.

“Travel has been an important part of my life since childhood, and Paris holds a particularly special place in my heart,” says Boddam, who was born to an Australian father and Venezuelan mother. “The experience of confinement has been unsettling on so many levels, however instead of lamenting what was, I decided to explore what could be through 3D visualisation”. 

The latest collection features the Geo tables which have been inspired by the raw yet robust Australian landscape and defined by an unconventional application of ‘rammed concrete’, while the Coast Collection of seating and lighting draws on Boddam’s life by the sea in idyllic Byron Bay. The apartment also features the Wave Sofa and Chair, a duo characterised by the undulating rhythm of rolling waves, and the Oscar Console available in a range of heights, inspired by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer for its curved edges and architectural presence. 

“There’s unspoken poetry in placing a piece of furniture inspired by the raw Australian landscape in a historic setting,” says Boddam. “The immediately familiar Haussman vernacular heightens the ‘Australianess’ of the furniture’s expression by establishing a dialogue between the primitive and the modern.”  

The ‘Australianess’ expression is continued within the apartment’s curated collection of artworks and photography featuring Australian artists that include Clara Adolphs, Chris Warnes, Oliver Whatts and Boddam’s wife Kelly Geddes.  

Although the project is imagined in Paris and takes the audience on a virtual tour from wherever they are located around the world, Boddam’s collection purely holds an Australian sentiment and integrity. The collection is made with concrete and timber that is produced in Sydney, as well as mouth blown glass from Adelaide. The pieces are made to order, and are currently available to purchase worldwide through the Daniel Boddam studio.

VISUALISATION & VIDEOGRAPHY | AVO STUDIOS

PHOTOGRAPHY | KELLY GEDDES