Loft Residence is a minimalist apartment located in Sydney, Australia, designed by Oliver Du Puy with styling by Joseph Gardner. The transformation of this early 1900s concrete and masonry warehouse represents a masterclass in material honesty and spatial choreography. What was once a fragmented warren of partition walls and false ceilings has been stripped to its structural essence, revealing the raw poetry of jarrah timber floors and unfinished concrete columns. The designer’s approach echoes the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, finding beauty in imperfection and impermanence, while simultaneously drawing inspiration from Donald Judd’s iconic 101 Spring Street and the serene atmosphere of a Kyoto ryokan.

The material palette speaks to a sophisticated understanding of how surfaces can shape experience. Limiting the intervention to marble, oak, and stainless steel creates a visual harmony that allows the building’s powerful structural grid to remain the protagonist. The steel-clad kitchen functions as both culinary workspace and sculptural installation, its surfaces alive with reflected light that transforms from cool morning clarity to warm pinky-orange hues at sunset. Against this industrial backdrop, a marble island sits delicately between octagonal columns, serving as the magnetic center of domestic life where meetings, meals, and daily rituals unfold.

The furniture selection reinforces this commitment to material authenticity. Sourced from Japan and Europe with stylist Joseph Gardner, each piece was chosen for the honesty of their materials and the purity of intent in their creation. This approach extends to the art collection, where works by Gideon Rubin radiate what the designer calls “tender melancholia and colloquial erotica,” their unassuming scale creating intimate moments throughout the expansive space.