Alien-inspired design scoops national award
by Noel Towell
Nathan Muller has an unconventional approach to interior architecture so it should come as no surprise that he achieved his recent success with the help of some alien intervention.
The second year interior design student has taken out first prize in the prestigious Design Institute of Australia Australasian Interior Design Student Competition which was awarded as part of Interior Designex 2004 at Darling Harbour in Sydney.
The competition brief was to design a three dimensional wall and provide a 300 word explanation. Sounds simple enough but Nathan believes that an unorthodox approach was the key to catching the judges’ eye.
“Most of the entries were very literal,” he says. “But mine attracted attention because my story revolved around 18-legged extraterrestrials that brought in the materials to build the wall, a wall that communicates with those on the same propinquity.” That’s time and place to the rest of us.
The materials supplied by the obliging extraterrestrials include polonium, a rare radioactive substance, and corundum, a form of aluminium.
None of the 48 other entrants to the competition could compete with Nathan (and friends) so he walked away with the goodies – a $3,000 Hans Wegner chair, a year’s subscription to Design Australia magazine and a cash prize.
When he’s not studying at City West, Nathan is a partner at Phat Coffee, the well known café and hang-out on Hindley Street West. It’s where his dual interests of interior design and the hospitality industry come together. “I want to specialise in restaurant, bar and café fit-outs,” he says. He’s well on his way with four venues already designed and fitted out.
Nathan says a creative approach to interior design doesn’t always involve
aliens: “Once you’ve got inspiration to believe in the idea, the biggest
part is to be able to sell the idea, to be able to make others see what you
see.”