GH Commercial was part of a unique collaboration to design a public space for a major exhibition project organised by the Australian Centre of Contemporary Art (ACCA) in Melbourne.
When ACCA engaged the three young founders of the Caliper Journal – an independent, youth-led architecture journal – to create a public space, they turned to GH Commercial to help them design it from the ground up. The designers – Lauren Crockett, Nicola Cortese and Stephanie Pahnis – were invited to design the Reading Space at ACCA’s ‘Who’s Afraid of Public Space?’ exhibition.
With public culture in perpetual flux, and collective social rituals transforming the ways we inhabit space, the project sought to break down the idea of the static monument. The designers wanted to create a room that would be reconfigured, added to, and archived through the collected agency of the public.
Pushing the bounds of public design
Though the designers initially sought out GH Commercial to produce custom rugs for the exhibit, they learned they could do so much more.
With the capacity to create full custom carpet design using local Designer Jet technology, GH Commercial was able to create a 1.96-metre wide sheet carpet, covering their entire floor space and becoming a grounding element for the exhibition.
Working collaboratively with the local GH Commercial in-house design team, the designers soon landed on their custom design, approved the hand trials, and watched their vision come to life on the Designer Jet technology based in Geelong.
Designer Jet technology – for any design in mind
Most projects introduce carpets in their design as an afterthought but at the ACCA project, it was truly at the centre of the design process. The designers noted it was the detailed texture and richness of colour achieved that really brought the Reading Space to life.
Instructional design references in the flooring guided users of the space through the room by giving them their own tools to make decisions, rather than telling them what to think. At the same time, the decentralised nature of the space and softness of movable materials ensured it was reflective of the public using it at any given time, instead of being a singular, centralised object.
Realise the possibilities of public space
Nothing in life is fixed, and public spaces are no exception. From sports stadiums to convention centres, airports to libraries, designers and architects in this space demand flexible flooring solutions.
World-class Designer Jet printing technology offers a solution you never thought possible in carpet. It works by taking any pattern, drawing or image and using precision engineering to inject the dye into the carpet, offering a flexible, creative and performance-driven flooring creation.
Made in Australia and available in a multitude of formats including 1.96-metre wide carpet rolls, tiles and planks, GH Commercial can produce small minimum order quantities in as little as 3 weeks.
So create a unique statement in any space, and realise infinite design possibilities, with fast, flexible and cost-effective customised flooring.
Image credit: Installation views, Who's Afraid of Public Space? - Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne 2021. Photography Andrew Curtis. Commissioned by the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne.
