Oblica establishes a collaborative studio model in Adelaide
Written by
02 March 2026
•
2 min read
The Australian fireplace market has long prioritised function over form. Performance was non-negotiable, but design often came second. Oblica was founded to challenge that hierarchy.
Now, through Curated by Tom’s new Kent Town showroom, Oblica establishes a dedicated presence in South Australia, not as a standalone retailer, but within a shared architectural setting alongside Trennel Architects.
The move signals more than geographic expansion. It reflects a shift in how fireplaces are specified within contemporary builds.
Oblica positions the fireplace as sculptural furniture, an elemental centrepiece that anchors a room through materiality, proportion and presence. Rather than disappearing into joinery or recessing into walls as pure appliance, its designs are conceived as architectural gestures. Fire becomes spatial device as much as heat source.
In high-performance residential builds, this distinction matters. The fireplace intersects with flue planning, structural framing, ventilation, finishes and circulation. When brought into early-stage conversations, rather than selected late as decorative insert, it influences layout, ceiling lines and spatial hierarchy.
The Kent Town showroom has been intentionally configured as a working studio rather than a display floor. Shared with Trennel Architects, it enables designers, builders and clients to consider fireplaces within broader material palettes and architectural intent. The collaboration model reflects how many projects now unfold through iterative dialogue between design, performance and construction.
The partnership also reflects a broader recalibration in South Australia’s design ecosystem. Access to nationally recognised brands has historically been concentrated in the eastern states. By embedding Oblica locally, Curated by Tom positions Adelaide practices to engage with fireplace design as part of architectural authorship rather than post-script addition.
Fire has always held symbolic weight in domestic architecture. What changes now is the expectation that it must also hold design integrity.
Oblica’s arrival in a collaborative studio setting suggests that fireplaces in contemporary builds are no longer peripheral. They are structural considerations, spatial anchors and increasingly, part of the architectural language from the outset.
Explore Oblica on ArchiPro and browse the Fireplaces category to see how architects are integrating sculptural fire elements into contemporary residential projects.