I am Michael Artemenko and I am the co-founder and director of Melbourne based architecture practice, FIGR.
After graduating from Brighton Secondary College in 2002, I enrolled into RMIT school of Architecture and Design. Over a six-year period I dedicated all my effort and energy into my studies and graduated with Distinction in 2008. In my first year at RMIT I met friend and now business partner, Adi Atic, and we conjured a grand plan to start our own architecture studio.
After working at some of Australia’s most respected architecture practices an opportunity in 2012 came up to design my first solo project. A decent size family home in Beaumaris. Like most architects doing their first PJ (private job) this required a lot of after hours work in addition to my day job. To assist with the demands of the project I called in a favour from my old university pal, Adi. It was our first project together and it could not have gone better. The house became the stepping stone for what is now our business and studio, FIGR.
Our first project led to several more commissions. Soon we were at the point where we made the call to go out on our own. We founded FIGR in 2015 and have never looked back.
The two of us started out working out of a friend’s freezing warehouse around a meeting room table that was made from a sheet of plywood and 4 tyres. Today we employ 8 people and our projects are diverse, spanning large education, infrastructure, commercial projects as well as residential typologies. Our work has attracted industry awards and been published in magazines, books, and digital media all over the world. We continue to enjoy the opportunity to work with amazing clients and collaborate with interesting people.
Image: Michael Artemenko (R) & Adi Atic (L)
