An Exercise in Storytelling – FMD Architects
Driven by Founder and Director Fiona Dunin’s cross-disciplinary experience, Melbourne-based FMD Architects harnesses an integrated approach to tell captivating stories of people and place. Each project is underpinned by a strong conceptual narrative that ties landscape, architecture and interior into a cohesive whole while faithfully applying best practice sustainable principles.
“Launching my own practice was partly driven by a desire to develop my architectural skills,” explains Fiona, whose background in interior design has instilled the studio’s holistic philosophy. Known for the skilful distillation of poetic and pragmatic considerations, FMD Architects seeks to amplify the natural amenity of the home, fostering a greater sense of wellbeing and connection to place. “Each project needs to create a harmonious relationship between architecture, interiors and landscape while being a unique response to the clients’ particularities,” she reflects. “Understanding light, natural ventilation and the impact of the surroundings is at the core of every design.”
Hinged on these endeavours, Fiona imparts confidence in her team that every project can pursue its own trajectory. “Sometimes the concept can be developed in plan, sometimes it’s all about the section through the site. Sometimes it’s a conversation with the client or something around the site which triggers the design response,” she hypothesises. While this may seem haphazard, “it’s about listening to the client and observing the site and surroundings to build a story about the place and the people who live or work there.” This highly adaptable approach allows FMD Architects to home in on the unique elements of each project and respond inventively.
For Bustle House, the inspiration came from a single sentence during briefing when the clients described the original house as the ‘old lady’ and the extension as the ‘new lady’, driving FMD Architects to explore the project as portraits of the two female owners. Similarly, at His & Her House, FMD Architects considered the house as a tender expression of the clients’ new shared life – a coming together of stories, memories and identities. Both concepts find expression through form and materiality – the first, reinterpreting the tiered and sweeping forms of a bustle dress, and the latter, a central gesture of interlocking skylights located at the heart of the home.
In other instances, contextual references provide intuitive direction. At Cross-Stitch House, the client sought a new beginning in her home, only bringing sentimental tapestries that her mother had made. “We explored the tradition of tapestry and stitching techniques as a means of binding the new addition to the old house,” says Fiona. This concept extended to the blurred interfaces between architecture, interiors and landscape. “While the site and spaces are compact, the physical and visual connection of the home’s continuous timber beams allows the interior and exterior to converge, creating a sense of one large singular space.”
The conceptual rigour of FMD Architects is enhanced by the practice’s interest in trialling new materials and construction methods. CLT House, a country home built entirely from cross laminated timber, is a strong example of this. “The wide-spanning timber is celebrated by exposing the structure throughout, demanding absolute precision in the construction system to achieve a finely crafted outcome, which works from the larger scale to the finest joinery details,” explains Fiona. The project bridges architectural thinking and sustainable construction methods – a central consideration that Fiona and her team thoughtfully ingrain in every project.
The recently completed Coopworth, a contemporary farmhouse on rural Bruny Island, marries sustainable initiatives with the practice’s signature sense of poetry and pragmatism. The off-grid house reinterprets the red lead sheds dotted over the island, drawing on a utilitarian palette of materials and culminating in a dramatic ceiling lined with Coopworth wool from the property. Sealed with clear polycarbonate corrugated sheeting, the wool enhances thermal performance while celebrating agricultural connections as an abstract wool fresco. “The home’s natural ventilation and passive heating and cooling effectively eliminate running costs without compromising the quality or experience of space,” Fiona says. “It’s a marriage of practical and experiential aspirations.”
Fiona engages her full team to collaborate on every stage of a project, with the belief that every individual has the capacity to enrich the built outcome. “I often start with hand sketched plans to start conversations with the client,” she tells. Once the initial layout and orientation is approved, the team begin blocking in three-dimensional volumes and experimenting with form. “It’s a collaborative and organic process, bouncing ideas around the office, developing and refining the approach as a team,” she says. “Every architectural gesture needs a reason for being.” This way of working has been a gradual evolution and a source of immense reward for Fiona. “The excitement of seeing a design come to life remains one of the most gratifying aspects of working in architecture and design. I know it shouldn’t, but it still amazes me when the built outcome looks like our early models,” she laughs.
Fiona’s nurturing approach to her team and value for close client relationships has been critical to the success of her practice. “I started the practice with a single project in Lorne, and to my amazement a lot of architects supported me and referred me for other projects – I’m forever grateful for the support of my peers,” she muses. Now working on projects beyond Australia, the team at FMD Architects are buoyed by a sense of optimism for the next phase – ready to embrace new challenges while remaining steadfast in their design ethos.
