Inside IF Architecture’s Compact Collingwood Studio Where Every Detail Does Double Duty.

IF Architecture’s compact yet incredibly considered space in Collingwood doubles as a living laboratory for the firm’s design ideas. At just 100 square metres, the studio is far from your typical workplace. It’s an incubator—a place where previously unrealised concepts find form and existing ideas get refined through bold colour, dynamic shapes, and inventive spatial strategies. Every element here has been designed to work harder, and it shows.

The layout defies convention from the outset. Rather than tucking the meeting area into a corner, IF Architecture has placed it right at the centre of the studio. A striking double-sided curtain—its brilliant hues inspired by the iconic Tonight Show with Johnny Carson backdrop—provides subtle division while preserving sightlines to the entrance. One side functions as a presentation screen; the reverse offers an equally considered experience.

The kitchen takes a similarly unconventional approach, using stand-alone volumes rather than walls to create subtle separation while maintaining openness. A vertical timber joinery element meets an organic galvanised steel form to create a multifunctional surface that serves as a secondary meeting area. Surrounding the bench are designer Iva Foschia’s namesake leather stools for Grazia & Co—a signature piece used across IF Architecture’s residential and hospitality projects.

Both the custom timber conference table and the kitchen bench employ a teardrop shape—a strategy originally developed for the Little Prince Dining Room and refined here to subtly orient users towards specific directions. In the conference room, this means each person naturally faces the presentation screen.

The entire studio is drenched in soft blue hues, paired with galvanised steel throughout—valued for its sense of utilitarian familiarity. As the team explains, “Many of these details were developed through our ongoing collaboration with Baker Bleu, reflecting IF Architecture’s dedication to continual refinement.” Warmth emerges through natural timber, cork joinery, brass accents, and tanned leather, while accessories pick up on the curtain’s bright tones through blue chairs, a green pendant, and a pink rug.

Open-plan workspaces are defined by a galvanised steel partition with graphic circular perforations that balance privacy with visual connection. One side features a low-angled shelf displaying a curated library of published projects; opposite, a desk-height shelf holds prototypes, favourite material samples, and the office copy of Le Corbusier’s Polychromie.

A cork joinery volume introduces verticality to the studio, offering space for traditional design pin-ups and collaborative review, with flexible shelving behind its panels for testing material schemes and keeping the workspace uncluttered.

The IF Architecture Studio is a space where process is on full display—an immersive environment that invites clients into the firm’s creative world and inspires collaboration on spaces that are both bold and inventive.

A Refined Sydney Office That Blurs the Line Between Workspace and Retreat.

Located within a historic Art Deco building, this private Sydney office by Coffeyhallett trades corporate convention for something more interesting.

[Images courtesy of IF Architecture. Photography by Sharyn Cairns.]