Architect, Director of TERROIR, and curator for the upcoming exhibition 'Danish Design at the House' Gerard Reinmuth is passionate about good design in all its applications. We catch up with him ahead of the Sydney Opera House opening to hear about some of his favourites.
Your name: Gerard Reinmuth
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What you do: Architect (Terroir), Teacher, Curator, Writer, Traveller (and very amateur body-boarder).
Your latest project: Danish Design at the House
Who are three people that inspire/excite you:
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1) Bob Brown
2) Jørn Utzon – the work (built and unbuilt) is the greatest combination of ambition and modesty.
3) My 2.5 year old son. He’s little, but always inspires me to be better.
What is your favourite…
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Car/bike/plane/boat model: Ferrari Dino 246 (because I am a child of the 70s and it was one of the last of the “Dinos”, named after his son who died tragically in the 1950s).
Chair model: Hans Wegner CH07 Shell Chair (1963)
Residential space: My apartment in Bondi, it’s home.
Commercial space: Richard Goodwin’s studio, in Leichhardt, my home way from home.
Functional product: Any of the lights in Danish Design at the House. Lighting is so important and the Danes still do it best.
Handmade good: A leather folio that a local craftsman made for me in Hobart in 1991.
Mass-produced good: My Vespa and my Alfa.
Meal: Anything that ends with a really good chocolate dessert
Restaurant: Noma, Radio, Manfred (if in DK); Fratelli Paradiso, Apollo, Sean’s (if in AU). And for pizza and gelati, can we go past Pompei’s, Bondi?
Drink: Petaluma Coonawarra, the older the better
Bar: Malbec, in Elmergade or Istegade, Copenhagen
Item in your studio: “Yellow trace” paper. To open a roll means to relax and let your mind wander as you find a solution.
Piece of technology: Sennheiser PXC 450 Noiseguard headphones, flying has never been better.
Historical figure: Count Struensee, who came to influence the court of Denmark’s “mad” King Christian VII. A German abstract thinker and intellectual, he reformed Denmark with 1069 law changes in a year, abolishing torture and starting the democratisation of the country. After an affair with the King’s wife and a subsequent child, he was executed. Imperfect, but idealistic.
Fictional character: I was always into Batman. He is only human in the end – just with good equipment.
Vice: Under-utilised gym memberships in two countries.
Virtue: Generosity toward and promotion of my peers.
What does the term ‘Design Hunter’ mean to you? Find things that inspire you and surround yourself with them.
Image: Brett Boardman
brettboardman.com
