The Breathe Architecture Studio is about a homecoming to The Commons – its a decisive project for the practice, and one that continues to serve as a tool to express our architectural priorities and identity. Tucked behind a maze of bicycle parking in the southwest corner of The Commons, you enter through an inconspicuous door, hand-painted signage the only clue to what lays beyond. As the Breathe team grew over time, so did the studio – eventually occupying the adjacent tenancy.

The studio was an exercise in building more with less. Giving space, height, light, and air. Its honesty is an expression of ethic over aesthetic. Data cables are curated in infinite lines on the walls. Five thousand pencils pixelate the skin of the double height meeting room. These spines give acoustic attenuation and hint at the architect’s endless search.

The studio is small and spacious simultaneously; school lockers provide banks of material samples to the quiet architects hidden behind. A series of smaller breakout spaces provide places to retreat. Lush vines climb out of the phone booths or lockers and onto the mesh screen above providing a link to nature, its imperfection and its beauty.

The studio celebrates and highlights the beauty of imperfections found in each carefully selected raw or recycled material. Every mark and variation in the recycled messmate kitchen tabletop are tell-tale of its previous life, giving it depth and warmth. The material palette is simple, natural, and unembellished– concrete, mild steel, raw brass, recycled blackbutt, black formply, and cyclone wire and wild greenery come together to create a series of small yet delightful architectural moments.

The Commons rooftop deck, surrounded by verdant plants, provide the setting for lunchtime conversations or a quiet place to recharge and take in the Brunswick skyline and the city beyond. Programmatically the studio is a physical manifestation of the Breathe team. It is small and introverted by its nature yet is an efficient and incisive tool for the constant pursuit of ethical and sustainable outcomes.

The Breathe Studio is functional, comfortable and inviting. It’s designed to be warm and engaging, effortless and inspiring.