At mattr.studio we want to share the fun and joy of small simple spaces and in doing so make the world a better place. We want to create spaces that add joy to life, make home-life feel like a holiday. We want to reduce the impact on the environment of the building industry - we want as many people as possible to understand that bigger isn’t necessarily better... particularly when it comes to cleaning up! 

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Some designers create beautiful but very expensive buildings, others big but less than aesthetically pleasing, and some cheap but with very little lasting value - which don’t contribute much to the owners joy of life. Our mission is bigger than just BIG, bigger than just design. Our mission is the almost impossible idea to combine beautiful, timeless spaces with efficient and effective function... to help people live more sustainable lives. It’s a fun and amazing challenge we look forward to taking on!

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We also want life and the working day to be fun (and potentially almost inseparable if we’re enjoying both that much)... we’d also like any project we are lucky enough to be involved in to be an exciting and joyful experience for our clients - we really want them to enjoy the experience… we also want to contribute to a better world in our own small way... and to do so means to pursue worthy and rewarding architecture + art, as well as to be masters of our own time.

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We recognise the need to advocate for small, smart, simple design and the advantages and benefits that brings to the environment (both built & natural). By initially examining the opportunities available with existing buildings to renovate, reuse - rather than ‘knock-down/rebuild’, and recycling materials (where possible) we can reduce the carbon footprint associated with the construction industry as well as reduce costs. If we’re starting from scratch we should be exploring green building systems. 

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“why are we building such big houses when we now recognise resources are finite? it’s time to address the elephant in the room… size matters - and bigger isn’t better.”  

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Do you need a 5 bedroom house? Or for that matter a 600sqm home? Why, in this day and age, are we building BIGGER and BIGGER? We should be conserving resources, minimising building footprints, preserving green-space, and saving the environment (and money) in the process!

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mattr.studio recognises the wanton abuse of resources in the construction industry, building design profession and the built environment and hopes to address these problems in some small way. We recognise we can’t do it all, but we can try. Every little bit counts.

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Bull-dozing trees for sub-divisions on cultivated farmland, zero-setback planning controls to fit more housing on suburbs - why not make the houses smaller? Costly mechanical services in lieu of responsive passive solar design that recognises both aspect and orientation, macro and micro-climate, and amenity for owners and neighbours. 

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At mattr.studio we advocate for better design. 

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We advocate for the use of materials and building methods that minimise impact on the environment, we aim to design more effective and efficient spaces with the goal of reducing the volume of materials required and the impact on green space surrounding the spaces we create, that utilise materials in more efficient ways, and reduce the need for complex mechanical means to temper the environment.

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That is... smaller, smarter, simpler.

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matt reynolds

@mattr.studio