Design studio RIZEN Atelier, with Founding Director Bradhly Le at the helm, is making a mark on the Australian design scene and doing it with style. Le’s expertise is a given and his talent is on show with the Fanuli Contract re-design in Sydney.

RIZEN Atelier and Fanuli have collaborated to provide a transformative brand journey for Fanuli’s workplace culture and retail experience. The result is a sophisticated showroom located in Cremorne, Sydney that raises the level of the experiential for customers and defines the future for the furniture business. Already the design has received recognition through awards such as the Australian Design Awards 2023 and Australian Better Future Awards 2022, where Silver was awarded in both cases.

Fanuli came to Le and RIZEN Atelier with a clear vision – to extend its existing Sydney showroom and create a new and exciting experience for customers and staff. The new design was to embody the spirit of the brand, yet elevate it and provide an inspirational offering for clients. While Fanuli has remained family-owned since it was established in 1976, the business has evolved to become a leader in its sector and the new design encapsulates this journey and supports it for the future.

Le explains further: “Collaborating with the Fanuli team was a dream. The Fanuli brothers Fabio, Sandro and Carlo all had their own measures of success on what was important to them. However, what was great was they all understood the value of design and how this can positively elevate their staff wellbeing and the productivity of their commercial business.”

Related: About RIZEN Atelier

RIZEN Atelier has also included a dedicated Fanuli Contract space within the showroom to support and enhance the business’s commercial activities. Blending workplace with retail, RIZEN Atelier has responded to and exceeded the brief, integrating the brand and ethos effortlessly throughout the space.

“The design of the retail space is clean, elegant and complete with memorable moments that replace traditionality and details from 15 years ago with more contemporary finishes and a colour approach that feels fresh and timeless. Each design element within Fanuli Contract draws on elegance, with a sense of refinement and a hand-crafted quality reflected through the innovative yet restrained level of finishing and detailing,” comments Bradhly.

The Fanuli showroom becomes a journey of exploration where spaces are conceived as a grouping of apertures containing workspace and products that are revealed as the guests move through the store. Masonry finishes set the tone of the interior with blackened steel features that define active thresholds. Meanwhile, walnut timber has been introduced and provides elegance and warmth to complement the strength of the steel.

The interior is dramatic with wall sconces, pendants, table and up-lights used to great effect, and these help to bring the furniture groupings into clear focus. Screening provides demarcation of areas, while the play of light and shadow creates an elegant and timeless aesthetic. In the showroom, a latticed timber panel is affixed to the ceiling and supports lighting but also adds interest to the design.

“In Fanuli Contract every element of the design is there for its purpose as much as its beauty with an array of materials consisting of blackened steel, masonry, walnut timber, glass and overlayed with art and the elegance of the fabrics,” says Le. “But my favourite feature of the design is the masonry breeze block wall that provides a veil and privacy to the glass fronted office, offering a striking backdrop to what is on display, enhances a feeling of comfort for the office and allows a delicate fall of light that subtly interacts with the space.”

The products of Fanuli’s furniture partners Flexform, Riva 1020, Kristalia, Penta and Bonaldo are shown at their best within the materials-led approach to the interior design undertaken by RIZEN Atelier.

The new Fanuli showroom with its designated Contract area is not only supremely functional but very beautiful. Clients will feel at home the moment they step inside the entrance, but will also be inspired to create through this meticulously designed interior that has been conceived and realised by RIZEN Atelier.

Perhaps the last word should come from the client and Fanuli Director, Fabio Fanuli: “The new design has given us more showroom space to elevate the customer experience, as well as providing some much-needed additional working areas. Our Contract team who work exclusively with interior designers and architects now have a dedicated space, separate from our retail team. For them, the new design and layout fosters better collaboration and encourages creativity and communication.”

RIZEN Atelier
rizenatelier.com

Photography
Nicole England

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