DESIGN IN DIALOGUE
INTERVIEW BY
Alice Blackwood
Fiona Lynch, fresh from being named once again in
Vogue Living’s annual top‑50 of Australia’s leading
interior designers, explains how she uses stone, timber,
metals and textiles to shape spaces of quiet intensity.
How would you characterise the Fiona Lynch Office approach—what defines the way you and your team think about design?
We endeavour to create interiors that are forwardthinking and drive new ideas about how we live and interact within a space. We really take a unique approach to each project, whether working on a residential or hotel project. Our process is inquisitive and evolving, balancing creative exploration, technical expertise and delivery. We consider how materials and light make us feel. We employ clever planning and problem-solving to make the most of a space and seek opportunities for greater flexibility. Especially with our high-end residential projects, we focus on the longevity of materials as well as joinery detailing. We want our clients to enjoy their homes for a long time, so we design our spaces to adapt and change and transcend
changes in fashion.
How do you think about designing for private life
versus shared experience?
We view each project as an opportunity to learn and grow our understanding of design. Every client is different and teaches us something new. That genuine collaboration—the exchange that unfolds as we move through the design journey together—ultimately shapes
a successful project. In residential work, we focus on creating spaces that feel deeply personal. We want each home to authentically reflect our clients, to feel lived-in, comfortable and truly their own. Hospitality projects bring a different complexity. We’re designing for a customer experience, aiming for an experience that feels effortless. We’re currently working on a five-star hotel on the Gold Coast in collaboration with our client and Marriott International. Our approach is to create a timeless interior that is sensory, layered and lasting.
Understanding materials and how they age over time is essential, so the spaces will still feel beautiful and considered in 100 years’ time.
Image: Gabriel Saunders.
What does that ambition for timelessness look like
in practice at the Marina Mirage Gold Coast?
In this project—a $500m redevelopment combining hotel
accommodation and private residences—we’re exploring
understated luxury through beautiful materials and minimal
details. Our palette directly reflects the local coastline and
hinterland, playing with the reflectivity of water and sun through light-toned materials in cream, sand, bronze and brass. Some surfaces mimic the abrasive texture of fossils and oyster shells, while others are smooth and reflective like the sea. It’s a timeless approach designed to feel relaxed while reflecting south-east Queensland’s beautiful natural environment.
You’re also working closely with the famed Japanese architect
Kengo Kuma on a series of apartments in Dubai. How did this collaboration come about?
In Tokyo a few years ago I visited the beautiful Nezu Museum,
where Kengo Kuma designed a washi paper-lined teahouse.
The simplicity of the building and his exploration of natural materials expressed in a minimal way is exquisite. Working closely
with Kengo on his first project in the UAE has been an incredible
experience. Kengo loves timber and natural stone—as does our
team. We have been challenged to explore different ways of using
materials and detailing on this project, and have learned so much! Kengo has been inspired by the desert terrain and designed an architectural form that moves with the cadence of Dubai’s sand
dunes. The result is a very organic form which is in stark contrast
to Dubai’s modernist towers.
“The tendency is often to design for broad appeal, which can result in something quite minimal and conservative. […] The market has shifted: buyers want homes with a stronger design.”
Closer to home, you recently completed the multi-residential
development, 623 Collins Street. How did you move beyond
convention here?
Our client, Sterling Global, wanted to explore a more layered, hotel-like approach to the interiors. With multi-residential projects, the tendency is often to design for broad appeal, which can result in something quite minimal and conservative. Since Covid, the market has shifted: buyers want homes with a stronger design
sensibility, something closer to a hotel experience. For 623 Collins
Street, we focused on material depth, proportion and restraint, allowing the building’s history to guide a timeless design language. We balanced soft tactility with architectural precision through bespoke detailing and a muted palette reflecting our commitment to understated sophistication. Stone, timber and metal work together to create a rhythm of texture and tone.
Your monograph, Material Wonder, captures over a decade of work across 20 projects. What does it say about your evolving
relationship with materiality?
Material Wonder explores our relationship with stone, timber, metals and textiles. Each project was selected for its exploration
of a particular material. We chose these projects—mostly residential—because residential work often gives us the greatest freedom to explore craftsmanship, particularly through interior joinery and considered material choices. The book became a way to reflect on how our material thinking has evolved over time, and how interiors can grow richer and more alive the longer you live within them.