What's behind the Ruum approach is a genuine desire to make good design more accessible to
more people. Having spent over 15 years in the residential building industry,
I became acutely aware of what I often refer to as a chasm in the marketplace, where
traditional project building will stop and one-off bespoke architecture kind of starts.
Ruum can be best described as a redefined pathway to architectural design living,
where somebody that may want an architectural well-designed considered solution
could understand about costing and process from the very first conversation. Ruum approaches and
forms a relationship with a selected architect who then designs a small signature range of homes that
reflect their personal design ethos their views of materiality and their direct response to
modern Australian living, and that's what we've delivered with the Chamberlain Architect release.
One of the things that is really important when you see a Chamberlain Architect's house
is the attention to the plan. This project here represents a lot of our ideas about
modern Australian living. Open plan spaces and flexible living. It wants
to kind of complement the way you live not push you in a certain way. That clear
circulation, passage and path through the house is an absolute prime example of what we tried to do
with the Ruum houses. It was about trying to imbue these houses with enough character
but also allow them to be flexible enough so that people could make their own use of the spaces. It
might be a bedroom in one person's configuration or it might be a second living or a study.
A home should have moments of delight, you know there should be something about the architecture
that just surprises you and with the Ruum houses we were able to create those moments of delight
through the inclusion of the courtyards. They just open up the space and they allow the light
to come in and we were able to set up each house so that it can work with different orientations.
We've got a smaller home that would suit smaller inner city blocks, right through rural houses
that are sitting on larger blocks, so I think there's something in there for everybody and
I think that inherent flexibility allows the homes to be adaptable to whatever situation
you find yourself in. By the time the homes are designed, Ruum embarks on relationship building
with selected suppliers, curating the very best industry leaders in their own particular space.
When we approached Fisher Paykel to learn a little bit more about their advances in both
cooking and refrigeration, we were taken through the experience centre and the one thing that stood
out to me was their commitment to research and development and design excellence. Their
technologies that were evolving were astonishing. Once we learnt about the clear trajectory of where
they were going in this space it was a pretty easy decision. They're very well suited and at home
with good design and good architecture and that's probably what I like most about their product.
When you're working with something that can be just so seamlessly integrated,
it stops becoming a kitchen design as such. They feel like an extension almost of the
living spaces. We were delighted to be able to use the new column refrigerators that Fisher
and Paykel have developed. The dish drawers are incredible. With the cooking appliances, we went
with the Fisher and Paykel all black series and I think one of the biggest breakthroughs with this
whole idea of integration has been the emergence of the induction cooktop. We don't have trivets or
gas burners anymore, it's a really seamless sleek slice of glass that sits on your kitchen bench.
Companies that have a passion and commitment to design reflect what we're trying to do as
architects. The Ruum model allows us to do all that work up front and present that as a
finished package. That just opens up architectural design to a lot more people. They've certainly
been able to deliver that with each of the five designs within the Chamberlain release. Built
by award-winning builders, the client is able to take advantage of the time efficiency attached to
a home that's already considered in design. They know what they're paying from the start and what
is a common theme with all of the partnerships that we've carefully created within the Ruum model
is a common belief around quality and passion and a genuine desire to be the very best we can be.
The relationships of everybody involved in Ruum is the key to us delivering the
end result to the client that's seeking a better design solution than what's out there.