Matyas Architects & Interiors Studio

Project: Matyas Architects & Interiors Studio
Practice: Matyas Architects
Location: Brighton, Victoria
Planex products: Linea Sliding Door Cabinets

Matyas Architects & Interiors is an award-winning design studio which has gained a reputation for bespoke residential Architecture and Interiors in Melbourne and regional Victoria. Underpinned by over 35 years of design practice, their diverse portfolio also includes a range of multi-residential and workplace projects. The practice, led by John Matyas is passionate about creating high quality built environments with a strong contextual relationship, using sculpted, expressive forms and natural materials to create a sense of quiet luxury and promote wellbeing.

After 20 years in a humble office in Middle Park and commuting from Brighton, John (Director) had been looking for an opportunity to find a new location for Matyas Architects & Interiors. Looking without success for approximately a decade, he came across an opportunity close to home to build a new multi-use building in Bay Street, Brighton, a mixed-use neighbourhood with a nice blend of offices, retail and residential usage. The plan quickly went from finding a new office location to building a new studio. The four-storey complex contains John’s now residence, design studio and a commercial tenancy on the ground floor.

Matyas Architects & Interiors studio is located on the first floor of the building. Upon entering the space you are greeted with a large entry bench which acts as a functional space for casual meetings, but also a breakout space for the team to spread out and collaborate. The open-plan office has two meeting rooms to the right, borrowing an abundance of natural light and greenery from the North facing terrace. These rooms can be separated, or opened up to create one larger open space by moving the full-height sliding glazed doors into the studio space. The 14 spacious work stations are located at the South end of the Studio. The Architectural and Interior design teams work closely within the same open space allowing the teams to easily interact and maintain an awareness of all projects as they develop.

With a mix of custom-built and bought loose storage units, the cabinetry was designed to be fluent and flexible, providing much needed storage, but also bringing colour and a point of interest to the length of the space. The practice chose Laminex ‘Green Slate’ as the feature colour, a muted green that would bring personality to the space, whilst withstanding the test of time. With the built-in cabinetry against one side of the studio, Matyas Architects & Interiors purchased Planex’s Linea Sliding Door Cabinets to provide storage to the rest of the space, allowing for future flexibility as they can easily be moved. Not only are Linea cabinets heavy duty, easy to use and the shelves able to hold ample weight (essential for the many samples and finishes), they have an acoustic backing that helps reduce excess noise within the studio. A number of Linea cabinets were powder coated in white and others in a custom colour to match the Laminex ‘Green Slate’ to highlight the feature colour throughout. There are two openings within the built-in cabinetry that act as a portal through to the rear of the house, creating a visual separation between the studio space and services areas. Pragmatically, the studio space works well, it is flexible with multiple small and large meeting areas, indoor and outdoor meals areas and plenty of storage.

As with all of Matyas Architects & Interiors work, they focus on the use of honest and natural materials where possible. They love the enduring qualities and honesty of raw concrete, exposed brickwork and warmth of timber, which are all featured throughout the project. It was important to design the studio space as they would their residential projects, with restrained finishes and considered furnishings. This gives their clients a taste of the inviting, sophisticated, functional and custom detailed qualities that Matyas Architects & Interiors bring to their projects.

Photography by Alex Reinders