#HTE
With a family background of three generations of stonemasons and tilers, Ryan Genesin of Genesin Studio had design on his mind from a young age. From accompanying his dad on site as a kid, Genesin went on to study Interior Architecture at the University of South Australia, graduating with honours and moving to Melbourne to join its then-budding design scene.
There, he spent time with leading Australian firms such as Hassell, SJB and Hecker Guthrie (then called HP&G) before coming full circle back to Adelaide to found Genesin Studio in 2008. Since then, Genesin has asserted himself as a transformative influence on South Australia’s landscape, with award-winning hospitality projects stalwarts of Adelaide’s nightlife and social fabric. Consistently sought after for National projects, the studio also has a satellite office in Melbourne’s Collingwood, established in 2011.
Beyond everything Genesin has already achieved thus far, he says his dream creative project would be a health and spa retreat next to a waterfall in the Amazon jungle, in collaboration with Oscar Niemeyer and Patricia Urquiola – a concept we would love to see brought to life just as much as him!
Over to Mr Genesin for more quirky insights, sound advice and sharp observation on running an Interior Design practice and the industry in Australia today.
Ban Ban Korean restaurant, Adelaide (2018). Photography by Andre Castellucci.
+ Wassup, Ryan? Thanks for FINALLY getting your shit together so we can do this interview, huh? It only took – what – like, 3 years? But like all good things, it’s been worth the wait. Anyway! Let’s talk shop. When did you first decide you wanted to become an interior designer?
From very young I was exposed to a sensory overload of work sites, construction smells, mechanic car workshops, sheds of tools and my Nonna’s semi-commercial sewing room filled with reels of yarn, fabrics and chalked templates. With an Italian background, my family has a history of 3 generations of stone masons and tilers. Having grown up from the age of 5 helping (what I thought was helping) my Dad onsite, I was taking part seeing the literal fabric of a space either being built new or renovated. I always had too many questions for my dad either walking through large scale spaces together wanting to know what each area was going to be used for or watching him work ‘why are you doing that?”, “what are you using that material for?”. My interest was naturally there for materials and processes and I thought of becoming an architect. As I grew up my cousin Kestie Lane was studying Interior Design at university and on occasion I would see her scaled uni models with tiny people and drawings left out somewhere and I was fascinated with this medium.
In high school I had a growing interest in visual arts and dabbled in work experience at a graphic design office and then later in an interior design office which felt like something I could do having a more tactile environment.
I studied at the University of South Australia and completed a Bachelor of Interior Architecture with Honours. In Adelaide at the time, employment and projects were very tightly held in A&D scene with mainly the larger firms doing the notable work. I was offered a short contract with Hassell by one of my uni tutors doing 3D Renders. Soon after I was offered a job at SJB Interiors Melbourne. Once there amongst a budding design scene, I hit the ground running with the excitement for a new city, a work-hard attitude and passion for the job. I found myself getting included on great projects and given many sink-or-swim opportunities on Melbourne and Sydney projects and learning at lightning speed having been seated next to a draftsman too.
After a year I was then offered a position at a small firm in Collingwood that were doing some great work at the time called Hecker Phelan & Guthrie (HP&G now Hecker Guthrie). After a hilarious interview with Paul, Kerry and Hamish it felt like a better fit; they felt like the crazy-cool aunty and uncle that all families have… I was sold!
+ And when did you decide it was time to start your business?
Working at HP&G were good times! I worked very closely with Paul, Kerry and Hamish over many projects varying from retail, commercial, residential, and hospitality. They all had their own nuances for detail which was great. We had a fun work crew riding on the work-hard-play-hard method. As more and more amazing projects were realised and published the team grew and we moved to a larger office in Richmond. As a number of years went by working on amazing projects, I matured as a creative and I felt it was the right time to have a leap of faith as opportunities arose to create some of my own amazing projects for people to experience back home in Adelaide. The final decision to move back was made and Genesin Studio was created late 2008.
After a short time being back in Adelaide my network in Melbourne started offering some amazing residential penthouse and retail projects which I then found myself back in Melbourne on a fortnightly basis. This then gave demand to setup our satellite office in Collingwood with good friends Ha Architects about 2011.
HDP Residence, North Adelaide (2018). Photography by Jonathan VDK. Architecture in collaboration with Williams Burton Leopardi.
+ What is your main priority when starting projects? Is there something that is fundamental to your practice – your philosophy and your process?
Our priority with the first meeting is always about communication and getting to know our client/s. We would always gauge our clients and their experiences to harness the best approach to gain trust and to establish the foundation of their design brief and budget. This alignment is critical to know where we are trying to get bang-for-buck and not assume clients have deep pockets. We are about good design and timeless design. Part of our process is lightly educating our clients along the way and making them understand their choices and what makes timeless design; is it the proportion, the materiality? etc.
We like to reinvent ourselves with every project giving our clients a bespoke outcome resulting in considered and sophisticated residential interiors, and innovative and experimental hospitality and retail spaces.
With residential it is a very intimate process. We look at people’s lives now and the future of how they want to feel in spaces. Thermal qualities of their home, do they like to be in sunlight or just see the sunlight, understanding the morning and night rituals to always create beautiful spaces. Through these processes we find ourselves becoming friends with our clients and their families which is a great sign.
Working on hospitality and retail projects will always have a different starting position. Business operators that have had years behind them will always have a wealth of knowledge but it is our job to make them understand their future business potential and their market position. We offer so much more to our clients then just a cosmetic upgrade. After understanding all of this we would start to pull together a collaborative team of consultants to suit the client and the project needs.
Moving back to Adelaide has given me different skills due to budget constraints and we find ourselves doing more with less. This does take a little more work from our end at times but we find the environments we create are more considered and tactile. We look at the materials on offer very closely. Like with our project Antica Pizzeria e Cucina, this was not set out to be a brick-on-brick narrative but we started by looking at the brick as new material rather than what it’s conventional purpose and then the design game began with slicing, pattering, cutting and bolstering etc. The outcome was very warm, brooding yet familiar.
The post Interview: Adelaide-Based Interior Designer Ryan Genesin of Genesin Studio. appeared first on Yellowtrace.
https://www.yellowtrace.com.au/interview-adelaide-interior-designer-ryan-genesin-studio-australian-interiors/