WOOD MELBOURNE
There’s something completely joyous in listening to Oliver MacLatchy talk about his passion for timber and concrete. His energy is contagious and his vision for what can be done with two of the architecture and design industry’s most beloved materials is unmatched. The Melbourne-based designer-maker is constantly asking why not—Why can’t this be done? Why hasn’t this been done? —and then making it happen.
Struck by the need for more diversity amongst tapware and basin options whist renovating a house, Maclatchy established Wood Melbourne in 2013, to fill the market gap and introduce a range of handcrafted bathroom products rigorously architectural in both concept and aesthetic. The studio’s DNA has materiality, functionality, simplicity and creativity at its core and MacLatchy is on a mission to make bathrooms more interesting.
Zoe vanity basin, Olympia taps, ‘Anna' ParTaps Lugano spout
concrete, brass
All of Wood Melbourne’s concrete basins and taps are wet-cast by hand in moulds and then cured. The significance of these moulds in the overall manufacturing process can not be underestimated; any flaw or inaccuracy will be transferred to the end product, so each mould has been custom-made—perfected over time through trial and error—and each is painstakingly maintained to give the best results possible. Temperature and humidity have a big impact on the curing process, creating variations in the concrete’s colour and texture, and making each piece truly unique.