David Flack & Mark Robinson

Flack Studio
Australia

Winner
The Prodigy

Presented by

Melbourne-based multi-disciplinary design studio Flack Studio works across sectors, but residential interior architecture has always been a particular passion and forms the bulk of the studio’s portfolio. Projects are approached with respect for the past, an eye to the future, and above all, a conversation with the community of the project – the clients as well as the builders, joiners, tradespeople and suppliers.

David Flack established the studio with a determination to make design accessible to all. His early conversations with studio Director Mark Robinson (who has a background in film direction) focused on the studio’s point of view and voice, but also the potential for being part of a greater change through the voice of design – which can be political.

The studio seeks out conversations – through the interior as art that converses with its audience, through the home as a vehicle that fosters relationships and values, and through direct engagement with community. David and Mark took a firm step in 2016 to open up the studio and engage with the industry through monthly drinks and discussion sessions, Open House days, international study tours, and more. The studio also supports a play centre for children living in the local Fitzroy housing estate through fundraising and volunteer work.

Says David, “In setting up Flack Studio I wanted to express myself, while engaging with the local and international community by seeing interiors as art and having a conversation with an audience. I set out to challenge the status quo and change the Australian interior design community. I wanted engagement, community and voice to be the leading factors of our community.” He adds, with reference to the potentials of the wider Indo-Pacific region, “When you bring diversity and community together, you have a magic potion for change. We need change. Our systems aren’t working. Design can change that. Stand up and have a voice.”

Photography of (L-R) David Flack and Mark Robinson by Maegan Brown, Caulfield North (2019) by Anson Smart, Pettigrew Boyd House (2019) by Derek Swalwell, Sandy Bay Residence (2018) by Sharyn Cairns, The Elmore Residence (2018) by Sharyn Cairns, and The Rigg Prize (2018) by Sean Fennessy.