THE PRACTICE / MARLOW VANE
Brutalist by Nature.
Personal by Design.
Six people. One clear approach.
Bold architecture, considered at every scale.
An independent Redfern studio specialising in brutalist architecture and interiors: honest materials, expressive structure and spaces shaped around people.
Our StoryOur Story
Eleanor Marlow started the studio in 2009 at her kitchen table in Surry Hills with a borrowed plotter. Theo Vane joined three years later, and the two have led every project since.
We have stayed deliberately small. Six people in a restored warehouse in Redfern, a workshop full of models, and no more than eight projects on the go at any time.
We are drawn to the honesty of brutalism: structure you can read, materials left visible and forms shaped by purpose. Our clients work directly with a principal as we turn that approach into places for everyday life.
How We Think
- 01
Site first
We begin with the ground, the climate and the way light moves. Concrete volumes, deep reveals and sheltered openings grow from the site rather than a predetermined shape.
- 02
Fewer, better materials
Board-formed concrete, dark steel and carefully placed timber. We let texture, joints and structure remain visible, choosing each material for how it feels, works and ages.
- 03
Built to last
Monumental form should still feel good to live in. We balance strength with daylight, warmth and a human scale, designing useful spaces that can adapt over time.
A Practice in the Making.
- 2009
The studio begins
Eleanor sets up at home in Surry Hills, with a single house on the Northern Beaches.
- 2012
Theo Vane joins as principal
Bringing a furniture maker’s eye for detail, and the studio’s first workplace commission.
- 2016
Our first public building
A small regional library, which taught us how much a building can give back to a town.
- 2019
A home in Redfern
The studio moves into a restored 1920s warehouse, with room for a proper model workshop.
- 2024
The Bond Store opens
A mid-century concrete harbour warehouse opens its doors as a gallery and creative studios.
- 2026
Fern Lane begins
Our first apartment building, twenty-four homes around a garden, is under construction.
Recognition
- 2025Headland House↗Award, new houses
- 2024The Bond Store↗Award, heritage and adaptive reuse
- 2024Ridgeline Studios↗Commendation, sustainable architecture
- 2024Escarpment House↗Shortlisted, residential architecture
- 2023Kent Street Workplace↗Award, interior architecture
LET’S BEGIN WITH A CONVERSATION
Good places start
with good questions.
Tell us about your site and your interest in brutalist architecture. We’ll explore how bold form, honest materials and natural light could shape the way you live or work.
Talk to the studio