Interview W/ Ian Tran from DOMUS VIM
What is DOMUS VIM and is it just light boxes for restaurants?
Domus Vim in its current form may seem like a light box company for restaurants, but it is a 13 year iterative journey of my design career. Originally started as a laser cutting service for architects and students, the studio has evolved with my interests. Through the opportunity to explore various corners of design through offering fabrication services has helped me learn what I was interested in and what I’d like to never do again.
I spend a lot of, if not majority of my time outside of work dining in Sydney’s restaurants and bars, so when the opportunity came to making a sign for a restaurant, it was a bit of a lightbulb (lightbox lol) moment. It’s a pleasure to work in an industry that I also share so much passion for.
How'd you get into your practice?
Many people don’t know this, but Domus Vim wasn’t started by me. In the summer of my second year of undergraduate architecture I was offered a role as a laser technician to help cut materials for student architectural models. Eventually I was left to run the company and I left my job at EB games (Burwood forever!) and Domus Vim has been my life since.
Tell us about THE Chandelier you made for SIT
My work is heavily based on the immediate context that it sits (haha see what I did there) in. Things like the restaurants identity, the fitout, the location, the people, and fortunately for me Baba’s Place is so rich in information to draw from. Rarely do I ever look out for inspiration as I believe work that ties to the source direct will always lead to a richer and more beautiful product.
The moment I saw the email in my inbox, I knew straight away what we were going to do and so did Zaal & Alex. In Marrickville's Baba’s Place, doilies and lamps take centre stage - such is the Grandma-core they've perfected. In addition to that, the boys gave me a photo reference of a pop up they did in Melbourne, in which an uncomfortably bright globe was made more dull and aesthetic with the addition of a doilie thrown over it.
For me, the makeshift chandelier really captures the essence of the restaurant. The opportunity to immortalise these cultural touchstones and the story of the restaurant was an honour.
The chandelier is a laser cut crochet patterned perspex sheet that has been heat formed around a globe.
Any exciting projects you've got coming up?
Given the nature of openings and restaurants, I am under oath for any new openings, but I can say there are a few!
We recently just finished a beautiful hanging piece for a designer that I’ve admired, so that was a great little opportunity. This one’s heading to Copenhagen, so I guess that counts as us landing in Europe?
And also we’ll be heading to Seoul shortly with a little lightbox delivery against the advice of my CFO (me) who said that a DHL delivery was much wiser than a hand delivery. No one said I was a good CFO.
ALSO Also, there's another job for SIT coming. But you already knew that!
