Competition: Kanebridge Quarterly supporting the next generation of Australian designers
Kanebridge Quarterly is proud to partner with Australia’s Next Top Designers competition at The Design Show in Sydney
2 min
The pandemic may already feel like a distant memory, but it had many lessons for the way we live — some with long standing impact.
For designers, architects and builders, one of the biggest takeaways was the value of supporting Australian design and manufacturing. With supply chains severely compromised, extending delivery times from a few weeks to several months, those who could design and make high quality furniture, flooring and lighting on Australian shores found themselves in high demand. And it was not just delivery times that were driving renewed interest in Australian design and manufacturing. Superior products designed for local conditions, as well as the ability to customise products to suit each clients’ needs showed the market for Australian products is significant, particularly at the upper end of the residential market where the desire to ‘connect’ directly with makers continues to grow.
It’s long overdue recognition for a sector dominated by imports, even at the highest end of the residential sector.
THE NEXT GENERATION
The long-term success of Australian design and manufacturing depends on supporting the next emerging generation of designers, which is why Kanebridge Quarterly magazine has partnered with Australia’s Next Top Designer this year, offering a cash prize of $10,000 to the winner for the first time.
Launched in 2022 by Design Show Australia, Australia’s Next Top Designers was created to shine a spotlight on emerging designers, makers and creatives with breakthrough products and concepts shaping the future of design.
Editor in chief of Kanebridge Quarterly, Robyn Willis, says the prize provides opportunity for emerging designers to develop prototypes, invest in marketing or further their education, formally or through travel experiences.
“It’s genuinely exciting for Kanebridge Quarterly to be partnering with Australia’s Next Top Designer this year,” she says. “The awards offer a platform for the next generation of emerging designers to showcase their work to industry while the prize is a practical pathway to help them on their way to the next stage of their career.”
DESIGN TITLE WITH A DIFFERENCE
Kanebridge Quarterly magazine is a seasonal title distributed across Australia focusing on the three pillars of Property, Money and Living. Aimed at a curated, engaged audience, it’s a beautiful publication, low on jargon but high on information about everything to make your residential design project successful.
Each year it dedicates an issue to all things Australian made. Stories about Australian designers, innovators, thought leaders, destinations and more highlight the depth and breadth of local talent in a beautifully packaged publication designed to have a long shelf life.
As part of its collaboration with Australia’s Next Top Designer, Kanebridge Quarterly magazine is running editorial spreads in its Winter 2024 edition to coincide with the show, followed by a focus on the category winners in the Spring 2024 issue.
“It’s part of our ongoing commitment to stand with industry and bring the work of local designers, makers and innovators to a wider audience thirsty for practical ways to integrate quality furniture and lighting into their residential spaces.
We’re delighted to be a part of The Design Show and Australia’s Next Top Designer.”
Learn more about Australia’s Next Top Designer Awards and apply to enter at designshow.com.au/antd. Submissions close Thursday, 4 April 2024.
Stay above the noise and ahead of the crowd with Australia’s best advice and inspiration on property, investing and residential design in Kanebridge Quarterly magazine.
This stylish family home combines a classic palette and finishes with a flexible floorplan
Just 55 minutes from Sydney, make this your creative getaway located in the majestic Hawkesbury region.
3 min
There are Corvette fans for whom the base US$68,300 car is plenty powerful enough. After all, it produces 495 horsepower and can reach 60 miles per hour in 2.9 seconds. But hold on, there’s also the approximately US$115,000 Z06—with 670 horsepower and able to reach 60 in 2.6 seconds. These split seconds are important for busy people—and for marketing claims. And if that’s not enough go power, there’s the even more formidable 900-horsepower ZR1 version of the Corvette, starting around US$150,000. The hybrid E-Ray, at US$104,900, is pretty potent, too.
But if they’re still too slow, fans of American-engineered muscle can consider the exclusive Texas-built Hennessey Venom F5, a limited-edition carbon-fibre hypercar. Ten years ago, the Hennessey became the world’s fastest production car, defeating the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, with a top speed of 270.49 miles per hour.
That world title is much sought after, and is currently held by the Sweden-built 1,600-horsepower Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut, with a two-way average top speed of 277.8 mph. But Hennessey is still very much a contender. The company is hoping the 1,817-horsepower F5 (with 1,192 pound-feet of torque) can exceed 300 mph on the track this year.
Hennessey photo
Hennessey’s previous Venom GT model (introduced in 2010) was based on the Lotus Exige, with a GM LS-based engine, and was built by partner Delta Motorsport. Spokesman Jon Visscher tells Penta , “The new Venom F5, revealed in 2020, is a 100%bespoke creation—unique to Hennessey and featuring a Hennessey-designed 6.6-litre twin-turbo V8 engine boasting 1,817 horsepower, making it the world’s most powerful combustion-engine production car.” Leaps in performance like this tend to be pricey.
This is a very exclusive automobile, priced around US$2.5 million for the coupe, and US$3 million for the F5 Roadster announced in 2023. Only 30 Roadsters will be built, with a removable carbon-fiber roof. The 24 F5 coupes were spoken for in 2021, but if you really want one you could find a used example—or go topless. In a statement to Penta , company founder and CEO John Hennessey said that while the coupe “is now sold out, a handful of build slots remain for our Roadster and [track-focused] Revolution models.”
Only 24 Revolutions will be built in coupe form, priced at US$2.7 million. There’s also a rarefied roadster version of the Revolution, with just 12 to be built.
Hennessey photo
The Venom F5 coupe weighs only 3,000 pounds, and it’s not surprising that insane speeds are possible when combined with a hand-built motor (nicknamed “Fury”) created with power uppermost. The V8 in the F5, installed in a rear mid-engine configuration, has a custom engine block and lightweight forged aluminium pistons, billet-steel crankshaft, and forged-steel connecting rods. Twin turbochargers are featured. The F5 can reach 62 mph in less than three seconds, but top speed seems to be its claim to fame.
The driver shifts the rear-wheel-drive car via a seven-speed, single-clutch transmission with paddle shifters. The interior is not as spartan or as tight as in many other supercars, and is able to handle very tall people. The butterfly doors lift up for access.
“With 22 customer Venom F5 hypercars already delivered to customers around the world, and a newly expanded engineering team, we’re focusing the Venom F5 on delivering on its potential,” Hennessey says. “Breaking 300 mph in two directions is the goal we aim to achieve toward the end of this year to claim the ‘world’s fastest production car’ title.”
Hennessey says the car and team are ready. “Now the search is on for a runway or public road with a sufficiently long straight to allow our 1,817-horsepower, twin-turbo V8 monster to accelerate beyond 300 mph and return to zero safely.” The very competitive Hennessey said the track-focused Revolution version of the F5 set a fastest production car lap around Texas’ 3.41-mile Circuit of the Americas track in March, going almost seven seconds faster than a McLaren P1.
The Revolution features a roof-mounted central air scoop (to deliver cool air to the engine bay), a full-width rear carbon wing, larger front splitter and rear diffuser, tweaked suspension, and engine cooling. It’s got the same powertrain as the standard cars, but is enhanced to stay planted at otherworldly speeds.
This stylish family home combines a classic palette and finishes with a flexible floorplan
Consumers are going to gravitate toward applications powered by the buzzy new technology, analyst Michael Wolf predicts
