Virtual Travel Through Design – Daniel Boddam

Responding to international border closures, Daniel Boddam embraces the opportunity to design an entirely imagined project, the Paris Apartment. Applying his known reductionist approach, the project becomes a showcase of his latest designed furniture pieces as he uses this unique time as a gift.

Having established his practice in 2013, Daniel draws on his upbringing immersed in design with architect parents in the unfolding of his own work and approach to design. His intuitive understanding of space and appreciation of deliberately considered spaces and objects allows him to approach each project with an instinctive understanding of its sensitivities and potential.

Having established his practice in 2013, Daniel draws on his upbringing immersed in design with architect parents in the unfolding of his own work and approach to design.

As we find ourselves in unique circumstances, Daniel has chosen to use the time of pause as an opportunity for contemplation and creativity. Inspired by Matisse’s proclamation, “I will make my own pool” and the many fortunate architectural contemporaries (like Philip Johnson, for example) who have been able to be their own client, Daniel has designed a speculative project, the Paris Apartment.

His intuitive understanding of space and appreciation of deliberately considered spaces and objects allows him to approach each project with an instinctive understanding of its sensitivities and potential.

With a portfolio specialising in residential architecture, the scope of Daniel’s work encapsulates both new and restored heritage recreations. In speaking to his methodologies, he says, “I love experimenting and exploring the bounds of materiality, reimagining what has come before us rather than being constrained by the past. It’s at this intersection of primitivism and modernism where I feel most inspired.”

As we find ourselves in unique circumstances, Daniel has chosen to use the time of pause as an opportunity for contemplation and creativity.

The belief that each space should conjure a human connection is the ground foundation for the creation of a sense of calm found through materiality and texture. His extensive travels and time spent living and working abroad influence his design in both furniture and architecture and inform his classical and considered approach. Through a modern lens, inspiration from the diverse and texturally rich Australian heritage and landscape also contributes to the resultant work.

The Paris Apartment was inspired by an opportunity to imagine an entirely virtual apartment as a showcase of Daniel’s furniture design and to uniquely capture this unusual time of international border closures. The apartment is imagined in minimalistic Haussmann style, capturing the Parisian spirit. Daniel says, “travel has been an important part of my life since childhood, and Paris holds a particularly special place in my heart. The experience of confinement has been unsettling on so many levels, however, instead of lamenting what was, I decided to explore what could be through 3D visualisation.”Typical of his work, the restraint in materiality and palette sees the apartment as a sponge for natural light and its reductive approach allows the featured furniture (his Geo Collection of Tables, Wave Sofa and Chair and the Coast Collection of seating and lighting) to be showcased unencumbered.

As an expression of the studio, the Paris Apartment captures the ethos of Daniel Boddam’s work. He says, “considered simplicity is at the core of our studio’s philosophy and is articulated consistently throughout every project and furniture collection. Virtually embracing function (through the Paris Apartment project), I wanted the space to represent a calm and peaceful environment showcasing the collections.” The appreciation of history, has been re-interpreted in a modern way through the project. Daniel adds, “driven by this pursuit for calm simplicity, I kept the structural material palette, the windows, walls and ceiling monochromatic, all in grey stucco, a finish that is light and sympathetic with European interiors.”

Looking forward, Daniel sees a growing collection of furniture and lighting. He wants to “continue to explore luxurious and emotive materials, through collaborating with local artisans. By applying a modern lens to materials, colours and textures inspired by our raw landscape, I hope to share more of our uniquely Australian perspective on design. With this in mind, I’m creating one-off experimental pieces to inform future collections.” His opportunistic approach, and the fusion between European and Australian sensitivities, results in beautifully classic architecture and furniture design, which references both history and a fruitful future.