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Every architect I’ve ever met is a stickler for detail. And the greatest architects place equal importance on both the big picture, and the minute details of any given project – right down to the door handles.
Hannah Tribe is one of our favourite Sydney architects. Her practice, Tribe Studio, is a tight-knit team of 12 talented people, who tackle projects ranging from huge urban design to small interiors. Though based in Sydney, the studio take on projects across Australia and around the world.
Hannah has just started a new business with her long-time collaborator and master of all things metal, Adam Corry. Together, the pair are making a unique range of handcrafted door hardware called BIT PART.
‘This work is quite distinct from my architecture, urban design and interior practice, which is about the whole’ explains Hannah. ‘The practice directs the lead roles, while BIT PART creates the bits and parts.’
Adam Corry is a metal craftsman, and owner / director of Fabricae, a sheet metal fabrication business in NSW. For Adam, working with metal runs in the family. He has followed in the footsteps of his grandfather – a coppersmith, his father – a sheet metal fabricator, and his uncle – a metal metallurgist!
Adam is a creative problem solver, and for many years has been Studio Tribe’s go-to guy for all kinds of creative metal fabrication jobs. ‘I have an idea of ‘why don’t we make a thing that looks like this’ and Adam has this wealth of experience with metal work and engineering and moving parts, and he works out how to make it better and make it work.’ Hannah says.
BIT PART was born out of necessity and frustration. After recently building a new house with his family, Adam found himself feeling increasingly frustrated with the lack of quality hardware available. ‘We selected hardware we thought was good quality (with high price tags), but it wasn’t long before things started falling apart and rusting’ he recalls. Coincidentally, around the same time, Hannah had encountered a similar problem. ‘Hannah phoned me up and said, “Why are all the door levers in the world drooping? Is this something we can fix?” What started as a couple of rough sketches soon grew into a fully formed collection of handcrafted door hardware.
Whilst door handles and joinery pulls might seem like minor details in the context of a whole building, Hannah offers a convincing argument for their importance. ‘BIT PART refocuses our attention on small bits and pieces as the point of sensory engagement in the home’ she says. ‘The bits we are making are the accessories, the jewels of the house… and if the house is a great outfit, the spaces light filled and good to be in, it’s important to ensure the accessories aren’t letting the whole outfit down!’
The full BIT PART range can be purchased online – with joinery pulls starting from $48.40.
