Stories | Assemble Papers

Tomoko and Takaaki Shiratori in Komaba

Tomoko and Takaaki Shiratori have lived all over Japan; from a 'New Town' in Yokohama, to Aichi Prefecture and now in Nerima, Tokyo. Their shared love of gardening means the rooftop is filled with fruits and vegetables, while Tomoko has a passion for reading aloud and talking, which she says, keeps her energised!

Environment

On The Beach: From Shack to Sales Pitch

Jurien Bay and Wedge Island in Western Australia were landscapes once dominated by informal settlements. However, suburban developments are now reaching WA's central coast. Felix Joensson, from our West Coast partners Future West, asks the question – how do we create beachfront suburbs with soul?

Blueprint City

Bakehouse Studios: Culture Is What We Do When We’re Really Living

For nearly twenty years, Helen Marcou and Quincy McLean had been supporting Melbourne's musicians and artists through Bakehouse Studios. Then in 2010 their beloved live music community came under threat, and their position at Bakehouse unexpectedly primed them for political activism - work that continues today.

Blueprint City

Designing Club Culture: Don’t Fight It, Feel It

Born in the 1960s, discothéques were early incubators of experimentation in design, new media and ways of living. From fashion trends to regulations around noise, alcohol and propriety, what resonates above all is how nightlife shapes wider urban life. Alexis Kalagas charts a wonderful and colourful history of nightclubbing.

Home Made

Portable picnic: onigiri

Onigiri is a staple found everywhere in Japan: from the aisles of convenience stores to fancy food halls. This week, the wonderful Julia Busuttil Nishimura shares two quick recipes for home made onigiri with mustard greens and umeboshi, and mushroom onigiri (scroll down for more), for a rice-filled belly on the go.

Blueprint City

Reimagining the Gaybourhood

As a number of Melbourne's prominent gay venues started to close down, Sam Cremean felt a sense of loss. This prompted him to investigate what was happening to gay neighbourhoods internationally. He discovered that these important spaces were slowly disappearing from cities around the world.

Assemblage

Sunyata: The Poetics of Emptiness

Where European architecture starts with the exterior shape of the building, Asian buildings are imagined from the inside out. Curators of the acclaimed Indonesia Pavilion at Venice Biennale 2018, Ary Indra and David Setiadi, elucidate how 'emptiness' is sculpted in Indonesian architecture, one remarkable building at a time.

Blueprint City

Kids’ City Copenhagen

A combination of people-centric urban design, progressive parental leave policies and heavily subsised childcare is making it easy for families to stay in Copenhagen, rather than head for the suburbs. It is in this context that Kids' City Copenhagen was designed. Janie Green speaks with COBE founder & director Dan Stubbergaard, about the philosophy behind Kids' City.

Pollinate

Imagine Ageing: Sibling × Arup

We are living longer than ever before - but what services do we need to ensure livability at all ages? For Sibling architects, researching ageing now is an investment in our own future quality of life. AP editor Jana Perković brings Sibling director Timothy Moore into conversation with Bree Trevena, research manager at Arup Foresight, the engineering firm's think tank on urban futures.

Less is More

Old Yet Relentlessly Modern: Kyudōkaikan

Western influence in Japan has a fascinating and turbulent history. Architect Keith Little looks at how that complex relationship is embodied in Tokyo's Kyudōkaikan, one of the few buildings to survive the rapid economic growth of the twentieth century. Recent restoration of the complex was funded through an innovative business model, which reflects the temple's masterful blending of the old and the new.

Ears

AP x Liquid Architecture: Eavesdropping

Eavesdropping is a part of life: we hear things that are not intended for us all the time. Yet the word’s meaning has changed over time. For our second collaboration with Liquid Architecture, sonic artist and researcher Sam Kidel has prepared us a mixtape that uncouples voice and personhood: “I created the mix as a tool for feeling into unsettled experiences of voice.”

Eyes

Balimbing: Filipino Queerness

Gregory Lorenzutti was working in Tacloban City when he met a group of young performers preparing for the first fiesta since Typhoon Haiyan had devastated the region, 18 months earlier. In this photography series, Lorenzutti captures the beauty of Filipino queerness, and the complex story of how LGBTIQ families were affected by the city's rebuilding.

Editorial

Farewell and Thank You Pino

Six years after co-founding Assemble, Pino Demaio has decided to resign from his role as Director. Pino remains focused on his strategic design practice, Local Peoples, and his editorial interests through Matters Journal.

Living not Decorating

Laura & Megan: Personal Politics

Australians Laura Castagnini and Megan Wong moved to London four years ago to pursue their passions: contemporary art and political activism. Between feminist art history and human rights law, this is a couple whose shared life is dedicated to shifting culture. We visit their home in Camberwell, close to radical art spaces, farmers' markets and tiny green parks.

Perspectives

What Does it Take to Unbuild a Wall?

At the 16th Venice Architecture Biennale, no less than three national pavilions examine the walls around nation-states. How complicit is architecture in separating us from each other? Our resident wall critic Amelyn Ng reflects on the architecture of isolationism, and the geopolitics of walls.

Blueprint City

Sound Diplomacy: The Social Value of Music

Sound Diplomacy helps city governments worldwide build 'music cities'. When we listen to music we tap into a universal form of communication that transcends language. Sound Diplomacy's Shain Shapiro speaks to Cat McGauran about why good policy must enable music to be played, listened to and enjoyed in cities.

Perspectives

Venice 2018: De-obfuscating Architecture’s Mandate

The 16th Venice Architectural Biennale put generosity of spirit and a sense of humanity on top of architecture's to-do list. AP editor Jana Perković and regular contributor Amelyn Ng were there to take stock of the responses – from the most grandiose nation-affirming pavilions to the most humble off-program.

Living not Decorating

Planet X: An Intentional Community

The Planet X housing co-op in Sydney's Chippendale area gives members of the LGBTIQA+ community more than just stable housing. Anita Delle-Vergini speaks with Chris Ryan and Holly Zwalf about the life-changing potential of co-op living.

Editorial

Supercast: a multi-sensory experience

In collaboration with RMIT Design Hub, Assemble Papers is excited to bring you Season 1 of our podcast, 'Supercast', exploring the sensory experience of built and unbuilt environments. Listen now at supercast.fm.

Living not Decorating

On Dining Tables and Divorce

Rectangular dining tables are pervasive in western culture. Ella Lord explores the power dynamics at play around dining tables, and speaks with two couples who have designed their own tables that reflect the non-traditional structures within their families.

Living not Decorating

David & Sean: An Intrinsic Way of Life

Attention to detail and a shared passion for design has seen Melbourne artists David Rosetzky and Sean Meilak transform a rundown terrace into a home filled with light and love.

Eyes

Sharehomes

Share housing into adulthood has its benefits - cheaper rent, shared household chores and a friendly face to share a cup of tea with. Bri Hammond takes us into six Melbourne share houses, whose occupants would not dream of renting alone.

Assemblage

Paola Balla: Blak Matriarchy

Much of Paola Balla's everyday work involves deconstructing the invisible privilege of whiteness. The Aboriginal artist and curator speaks with Jana Perković about blak matriarchal feminism, and being invited back to curate for a second time at ACCA.

Assemblage

Urbane Künste Ruhr: Art After Coal Mines

Once an industrial hub, Germany's Ruhr region has been forced to change with the global economy. The direction of those changes have been shaped significantly by the public and innovative art organisations like the Urbane Künste Ruhr, writes Manuel Zabel.