Once in a while, a design opportunity arises to weave an extraordinary existing fabric with contemporary technologies. The transformation of the much-loved 1927 building in Darlinghurst into Yirranma Place was one of those moments.  Built in the 1920s interwar Beaux-Arts style, this building was first utilised as a gathering place for the First Church of Christ Scientists. In the 1980s it was purchased by a private developer and transformed into his own private residence. Private ownership limited public viewing and access to structures and grand interiors of the past.

SJB’s brief was to open the building and give it back to the public as a commercial office development. The project takes cues from Carlo Scarpa’s Castelvecchio Museum in Verona, a 1960s restoration of a medieval castle that layers new elements using time-honoured crafts with modern manufacturing processes. Consideration in circulation and curating spatial experience as a journey with plinths, bridges, doorways, and staircases arranged in asymmetric or playful ways ensures that the existing fabric is left intact to shine through.

The mezzanine structure was envisioned as a ‘Scarpa-esque’ simple floating plane sitting on handcrafted highly mirrored carved metal posts that align directly with the structural grid below. The mezzanine features gentle vaulting to the underside giving space beneath character and delineation allowing for more formal meeting areas and workspaces alike. The depth created by the vaults allows for hidden structure and elegant cantilevers over two edges and critically conceals mechanical and electrical servicing to spaces above, below and double-height spaces on all four sides.  Light touch interior renovations reflect a guiding principle to acknowledge and celebrate past forms through a sequence of beautiful spaces sitting within the existing shell – new additions are sculptural, robust and respectful of the heritage fabric..

Spatially, the workplace design supports a ‘one team, one dream’ ethos whilst allowing solitary working zones amongst the largely collaborative spaces. It was of utmost importance to respect the bones of the architecture whilst venturing to introduce a modern identity that communicates the Foundation’s approach to staff and visitors. Their goal to innovate and support long-lasting change is reflected in furniture selections that are both quirky and impactful as well as durable, hard-wearing, and expertly fabricated. The interior palette and detailing are sensitive and complementary to the heritage yet dressed in bold layers that speak to the vibrancy of the surrounding area of Darlinghurst. Local artists, craftsmen, and designers are supported through the good practice of sustainable and ethical sourcing.

Furniture: Cult (Adam Goodram), Living Edge (Heman Miller), Designer Rugs, Kvadrat Maharam, Designer Goods, Anibou (Artek, USM). Lighting: Viabizzuno (Manfred Draxl), Euroluce (Flos, Oluce). Finishes: Surface Gallery, Olde English Tiles, Artedomus, Fibonacci. Fittings & Fixtures: Artedomus, Exquisite Solutions, Winning Appliances, Harvey Norman, Zetr, Auburn Wood Turning.

Photography: Anson Smart

Our Place @ RMIT QV (“OurPlace”) involved an ambitious centralisation of RMIT university’s 1100 administration staff, from eight various CBD locations and ways of working into one tailored contemporary workplace, representing a huge working transformation for RMIT University.
The CBD workplace spans 10,000 square metres over three floors, levels 5,6 and 7, in Melbourne’s QV building at 222 Lonsdale Street, aligning with a base building upgrade of the iconic DCM building.

At its core, the functional brief was a real-estate and people led process of reducing capital overheads, rolling out new IT systems and delivering a workplace which allowed for collaboration and communication between the different operational teams. Weighed down by old fit outs, fixed furniture, heavy reliance on paper, slow processes and time inefficiencies, the project brief focussed on relocating staff into a single unified campus-led new home which would elevate operations and enable RMIT to deliver its global charter ‘To become the go to brand in APAC, an online anywhere university driven by student and industry needs for lifelong learning’.

Previously, the operations staff worked in siloed-discrete environments; the project aim was to create a sense of connection back to the university; an extension of the campus, a seamless end to end experience to support both students and academics. Also critical to the project was a greater transparency, variety and a ‘beyond reproach’ solution in terms of diversity and inclusion.

The spaces were strategically divided into 11 human scaled zones as “destinations” for socialising, eating, learning, development events and wellness initiatives; and six “neighbourhoods” created for workspaces, focused tasks, co-creating, collaborating and meetings. Each zone imbued with various differentiated characters and design emblems naming and a shared narrative and intuitive wayfinding.

Furniture: Schiavello, Steelcase, Dexion, Tait, Fermob, Cult Design, Something Beginning With, Stylecraft, Form + Function, District, Unifor, Space Furniture, Kfive and Kinnarps, Living Edge, Thonet, Fenton & Fenton, District, Dedece, Design Nation. Lighting: Mark Douglass Design, Darkon, Modular Lighting Partners, Erco, Inlite, Space Cannon, Light Project, Fat Shack, ISM, ARK lighting. Finishes: RC&D, Ege Carpets, Deborah Bowness, Radford Cole & Son, NLXL, Designers Guild, Tint Design, Redfort Architectural Fabrics, North Indigenous Textiles, Bábbarra Women’s Centre, Timorous Beasties, Kvadrat Maharam.

Photography: Shannon McGrath & John Gollings

The design of Midtown Workplace highlights the importance of place and human connection in an increasingly virtual world. Underpinned by the conceptual narrative of exploration, the workplace is a magnet to foster innovation, collaboration, and connection. This workplace delivers a sustainable and adaptable model that accommodates new ways of working for an increasingly distributed workforce. Spanning 9 levels, the workplace is within an adaptive reuse development that merges two ex-government buildings into a single A-Grade tower.

The base building is a story of connection and innovation. Two existing towers connected as one, old structures connected with new. A void and bridge created a physical connection between the paces, creating a united place that can be accessed via a staircase which works as the building’s “spine”. The central atrium is fringed with planting and drenched in daylight, anchored by an auditorium, ‘The Pit’, at its base.

‘The Pit’, a magnet for cultural exchange, is a space for teams to gather as a whole and galvanise their vibrant culture. The organic form responds to the curved nature of the sky terrace base building envelope and provides a moment of whimsy to the otherwise strictly geometric and almost brutalist workplace.

Cox’s design response explores the tension between the pragmatic and the poetic, doing more with less. The design adopts a brutalist approach to the interiors, showcasing the existing concrete structure with as little decoration as possible. The overwhelming majority of materials are left in their raw state, untreated metals that hero our client’s core products and serve to reduce the impact of superfluous decoration and embodied energy. The use of recycled materials from the original building has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 11,000 tonnes – equivalent to running the building carbon neutral for four years.

Furniture: Haworth (Zody Task Chair), Vitra, Unifor, Cult (Hay Palissade), Wilkhahn (Confair Folding table), Herman Miller, Living Edge. Lighting: LAD Light and Design Group (Prolicht, Iguzzini, Darkon). Finishes: Andrews Group (Bolon), Forbo, Autex, Kvadrat Maharam Fabrics, Fibonacci Stone. Fittings & Fixtures: Caroma, ZIP, Nespresso.

Photography: Christopher Frederick Jones

Located in North Sydney, the new Microsoft Australia Head Office breaks the mould of a traditional workplace and is a fully immersive experience. Designed to reflect places of awe and wonder within the Australian natural landscape, the workplace provides a journey of discovery from parametric walls that mimic the Figure 8 Pools, with reflective ceilings to represent the rippling effect of the water, to cave-like environments and tunnels of greenery.

The project is a bold, future-shaping workspace that veers confidently away from the archetypal tech office. The design puts people firmly at the centre. It includes two floors of customer interface and learning facilities, wellness facilities, studio and editing suites, an immersive live-stream cylinder, an X-Box Room and neighbourhoods designed to support various operational and development functions.

The five work floors are linked by an inter-connecting stair providing visual connectivity and encouraging collaboration through all levels. The stair is illuminated via a digital art installation that runs continuously throughout all floors and references Microsoft’s digital code. The programmable installation provides Microsoft with the opportunity to inform the environment’s mood, reflect the water, or interact with the activity of the users traversing through all levels.

The environment delivers a benchmark outcome for Microsoft in the context of environmental performance and well-being, embedded with strong biophilic references to benefit all users. Elevating the concept of collaborative workspaces and delivering an industry exemplar in the provision of focus space for quiet concentration, the design raises the technology workplace bar.

Furniture: Haworth, Herman Miller, Living Edge, Stylecraft, Zenith Interiors, Wilkhahn, Cult Design, Jardan, Envoy. Lighting: Koskela. Finishes: SAS International, Supawood (Supaslat), Rimex Metals, Interface, Karndean, The Andrews Group, Interface, Milliken Ontera, Forbo, Shaw Contract, Tarkett, Polyflor, Kvadrat Maharam (Steelcut Trio 3, Quay, Mantle, Remix 3, Jaali, Pilot), Norfolk Blinds, House of Bamboo, Elton Group, Intrim, Laminex (Aged Ash, Charcoal), HVG, Surteco, Dulux, Weston, Warwick Fabrics, Emily Ziz, Caesarstone, CASF (Corian), Artedomus (Inax Yuki Border Tile), Skheme (Zellij Brick Tile), Woven Image (Zen Embossed Panel, Echopanel, Aire), Europanel (Eurohush S9), The Andrews Group (Baux Acoustic Tile), Kube Contract (Hauki). Fittings & Fixtures: Zip (Zip Hydrotap Elite 5 in 1, Zip Hydrotap Arc), Harvey Norman Commercial (Envy, Radiant, Clark), Clipsal (Saturn Series), Living Edge (Muuto Dots Coat Hooks), Index and Co (Semi Circle, Streamline, J-Pull Joinery Handles, Arcadia Entry Door Pull), ZETR (ZETR double GPO)

Photography: Steve Brown

In a global first, Google has embarked on its first ever partnership with indigenous peoples for its new purpose- built workplace in Auckland, Aotearoa, New Zealand. In acknowledgment of the need to approach this collaboration with a world best practice, Google appointed Warren and Mahoney, to lead the engagement process alongside cultural advisor Anzac Tasker and local iwi (indigenous peoples) Ngāti Whātua.

Google Aotearoa’s new home wears a narrative woven around place, featuring stories of land, people, and culture – each bringing the richness of Aotearoa, New Zealand to its users. The workplace considers its users and visitors through an experiential lens, inviting each person on a journey from the peaks of mighty mountains to the shores of our rugged coastlines. Through personification workshops with Te Aroha Grace from Ngāti Whātua Orākei, the design team arrived at the central idea of Te Tai (the tide) as the metaphorical embodiment of Google in Māori. The tide gives and receives, representing the relationship with Google and Ngāti Whātua Orākei which goes beyond the project itself and builds on a future partnership. We inverted Google’s mission statement by bringing the magic of Aotearoa to Google.

Bringing the concept of Te Tai to life is an immersive digital ceiling which plays curated audio-visual scenes and offers a rolling reel of Aotearoa. This experience can be tailored throughout the day to change the identity and ambiance of the arrival sequence in the space.
An impressive wooden centrepiece, made from locally sourced timber sheets from Kaitaia is carved into large, sheer walls representing a gorge running through the heart of the workplace.

Furniture: Schiavello (Kada), Europlan (Haworth), Fletcher Design. Lighting: Erco, Energylight, Zumtobel. Finishes: Juken NZ, European Floor Toppings, Inzide, Heritage Carpets. Fittings & Fixtures: Greenmount Interiors, United Make/Monstavision, There/Big Ideas, Wildfire.

Photography: Sam Hartnett

THE LINK is about connections. It envisions an office that encourages fluid and seamless linkages between people, nature, and spaces.

With the client’s fengshui requirement on five elements as the main theme, many exciting and unique materials are designed into the interior spaces. At the same time, the design consciously uses modular components in the details and furniture, while varying only the finishes and colours. This connects each respective floor with a coherent yet unique aesthetic.

THE LINK addresses the social wellness and needs of our future working environment. Using the variety of green spaces, these are opportunities for the users to connect social and also with nature. The close proximity of greenery allows functional use such noise buffer, heat buffer and natural ventilation to the interior spaces. The natural landscape also increases the social well-being, providing an optimal office environment.

THE LINK provides a social network using the central skylight, in the form of physical, acoustic and visual connectivity. This resolves the challenge of the narrow plot area by linking the various floors through the vast and tall volume space. Multiple spaces and features are seamlessly designed around this skylight allowing a variety of different activities to take place, according to user needs. The space also utilises a fluid concept in the form of design features, such as the ceiling profile, floor finishes, shared worktable and spaces. The fluid forms are a consistent language that allows the spatial experience flow seamlessly, expanding beyond the tight floor width. The shared work table brings the staff together physically while allowing for flexibility in the allocated space and area.

Furniture: Iwa Design Pte. Ltd. Lighting: Project Image Pte. Ltd. Finishes: EDL, Contrac-Image Trading Pte. Ltd., Armstrong Flooring Singapore pte. ltd. Fittings & Fixtures: W. Atelier Pte. Ltd., Toto Sanitary Wares.

Photography: Finbarr Fallon Creative Office

Competing locally and globally for top litigation talent, MC’s new 230-person premises is designed to radically differentiate the firm. The 5,500sqm workplace design exemplifies the firm’s forward-thinking approach to attracting talent by providing an unparalleled employee experience in a premium ecosystem designed for the development of exemplary litigation skills.

Jasmax’s interior design brief was to celebrate contemporary Aotearoa, connect people with the natural environment in a workspace dedicated to wellbeing, and expel preconceived notions of ‘the typical law firm’. The resulting space uniquely includes a living terrarium, providing employees with a sensory experience akin to walking through the Waitakere Ranges. Also unique to New Zealand is a precise replica of Auckland’s High Court supporting professional development.

The space includes six staff workspaces celebrating aspects of contemporary Aotearoa arranged across two buildings either side of a full-height atrium interconnected by generous link bridges and stairways. Social and learning and development activities programmed around this atrium ensure people and activities intersect and overlap around the naturally lit heart of the floorplate. An array of formal and informal work settings also accommodates varying working styles, including silent concentration spaces, collaborative meeting rooms, a café and breakout areas.

Unique to New Zealand, the resulting space includes a living terrarium, providing employees with a sensory experience akin to walking through Auckland’s Waitakere Ranges. Biophilic design principles have been used throughout the terrarium and workplace with the aim of reducing stress, enhancing wellbeing, and increasing motivation and creativity through connection to the natural environment.

Cementing its bold and holistic commitment to staff wellbeing, MC has also become the first law firm in the Asia-Pacific region to achieve WELL Pre-Certification and is aiming to be the first to secure WELL v2 Certification.

Furniture: Zenith Interiors (Swiss Design, Zenith Interiors), UFL (Andreu World, Sancal), Aspect Furniture Systems, Simon James Design (Resident), Cult (Hay, Fritz Hansen), Kada (Vitra, Actiu,Framery, Schiavello, Kada), Unison (Segis, Pedrali), Tim Webber Design, Citta Design, ICO Traders, Harrows, Vidak, IMO, Hawthorne Group, Forma. Lighting: Phillips Lighting, Energylight (Naboo, Energyline, Triona, Exenia), Murano Plus (Bramble), ECC (Gervasoni), Lightplan, Thorn Lighting (Zumotobel), Inlite (Deltalight), Brightlight, LightStudio. Finishes: Potters (Mars ClimaPlus), Autex, Forman (Armstrong Ceilings), Decortech, Resene, Sculptform, Godfrey Hirst (Feltex), Jacobsens (Shaw Contract), The Tile People, Briggs Veneers, Laminex (Formica), Ecoply, Jacobsens (Tarkett), Artisan Collective (Emma Hayes), Textilia (Camira), APT Innovation (Fenix, Corian), Inzide (Forbo), Outside In. Fittings & Fixtures: Mico (Caroma, Paffoni), Brita, Purelite, Plumbing Plus, Plumbline, Methven, Hideaway Bins, Acero, Joinery Hardware.

Photography: Jono Parker

Built in 1963, the Hobsons Bay Civic Centre is the central administrative office for Hobsons Bay City Council and base for 330 staff. The building needed to be brought up to modern standards to sustain Council’s future service delivery and avoid hefty maintenance costs. The new design needed to be creative, socially sensitive, sustainable, healthy and contextual, reflecting a significant cultural change within the organisation. The result is a micro-city that enhances community connection, accommodates different working methods, and highlights transparency by blurring the boundaries between public community spaces and private working areas.

Three gardens and water features (roundabouts) are scattered along the pathway containing information about Hobsons Bay’s three Kulin Nation language groups and their ties to the land. The path comprises presentation zones, collaboration zones and a floating meeting room set on a pool of water housing rescued piers. Openable louvres connect an internal garden atrium and natural ventilation to the pathway.

In the ‘shade zone’ stands the oil pod covered in black zinc shingles representing Hobson Bay’s long history of the industry. The busy activity of the north-south pathway permits a Danger Zone (a space with loud visual patterns and music) to support stimulation seekers. The heritage pod stands in the ‘light zone’ – an abstract interpretation of local federation architecture. Focus rooms are peppered throughout the light and shade zones and in the green planted pod to the north and recycled brick pod to the west. A quiet zone encircles the brick pod with its neutral palette and quietness.

Furniture: ASPECT, P4, Stylecraft, Ownworld, Footprint Furniture, Flinkspace, Koskela.

Photography: Nicole England

Exotic Food (XO) is a public company whose business involves exportation of Thai food and flavours to countries worldwide. The foundation of XO’s success lies in its potential to constantly be adaptive to changes. The decision to improve and expand the office, especially, in this particular time, coincides with the belief that “office space will remain and become more important, even in the time when people no longer need to physically be at an office in order to work.” The current and future offices will therefore not only cater to work practices of the past but are expected to represent and communicate the organisation’s corporate identity while facilitating collective goals and unity among employees.

Utilising the colours red and black, and other elements helps to convey XO’s identity and create a strong, unified image, discernible to both the company personnel and visitors.

XO is divided into four sections. The “Support Core” is designed to improve staff’s work efficiency and consists of small meeting rooms, phone booths for online meetings, managers’ offices, workshop room and storage. “Main Core” comprises the main office area and other functional spaces such as the canteen, bar and amphitheatre. The “External Core” has been created to accommodate visitors and is made up of two main meeting rooms that can be partitioned or connected into one large conference room supporting various functions from formal meetings, group workshops or class lectures. The “Internal Core” is a casual workspace designed to encourage team-working environments.

The front of the ‘Main Core’ when combined with ‘External Core’ and ‘Internal Core’, creates a large, connected functional space referred to as the XO Core. This particular part of the floorplan is used to host activities representing the organisation’s corporate identity, especially those with a large number of attendants such as Town Hall or company parties.

Furniture: Flo, Modernform, Wurkon. Finishes:Wilsonart, Rococo, Feltech, Pentens, Toa. Fittings & Fixtures: Hafele.

Photography courtesy of IF

Dexus Place is a co-working, private suite and event space located in 80 Collins, Melbourne. The creative strategy of the “Alter Ego” grounded the project with a unique proposition which drives a highly experiential workspace. As a community space, it celebrates uniqueness, difference, and extremes, inviting all kinds of users and members to enjoy the facility.

The facility must work very hard to achieve its revenue, it provides workspace for 240 members across 2680 square metres and there are 17 private suites, supported by six meeting rooms and five event spaces, terraces, and communal lounge zones. There is a blend of hard spaces (exposed and raw) and soft transitions (plush and colourful) which clearly define destinations in the environment. The choice of materials is additive to these experiences.

The hero of Dexus Place is the stair – it is clad in ripple steel with a large prismatic ceiling above and a three-storey drop of sheer curtains to diffuse, reflect, and refract light in the space. Victorian ash anchors the host space on level six, with copper clad joinery and steel mesh to play with light further, while level five is a softer carpeted zone in the quiet lounge.

Dexus Place has a design language which is expressed in the following ways. It is a provocation of extremes, exploring a broad spectrum of ambience. It amplifies light, playing with light and shade in interesting ways. There are soft transitions which are active and passive, heightening user awareness of change. It is unapologetically urban, honouring honesty of the built form and services. Wherever possible, sustainable, recycled and/or circular products where specified in carpets, paints, workstations and ceilings.

Furniture
Joy and Indigo Armchair, Lola Lounge, Billie Bench, Otis, Sidney & Pepper Tables – Jardan
Arper, Adapt by Ross Gardam, M.A.D Furniture Design, Stylus & Thinking Works – Stylecraft
Orbis Workstation System, Platform Chair * Stools – Zenith
Very Task & Wire Stacking Chairs – Haworth
Custom Bar Leaner / Underline Table – Design Nation / District
Kartell Comonbili – Space

Finishes: Staab Décor, Baumann, G-LUX holder, National Tiles, Instyle, Interface, Mr Fräg, Milliken, Autex (Frontier Acoustic Baffles, Tundra), Havwoods, Kvadrat Maharam. Fittings & Fixtures: Lotus, Caroma, Billie, Alpha Catering, Bradley, Corian.

Photography: Nicole England

The Ballarat Gov Hub is a workplace for over one thousand employees and its design suggests that an office can, and should make a civic contribution. Repairing public space, it includes new structures and spaces for the community to inhabit and more broadly, it takes climate change seriously and mitigates carbon emissions wherever it can.

Within Ballarat’s civic precinct, the Gov Hub is highly connected to the neighbourhood of library, civic hall and park, creating a positive urban impact. Inhabitants are close to a diverse network of activity at ground level – smaller brick chambers are a tactile and engaging presence for retail, community, and office activities. They also visually tie the precinct together, with brickwork being the dominant material of the adjacent Civic Hall. A new glass conservatory, with its own timber structure, creates a welcoming microclimate year-round for all.

Two lifts provide flexibility, while generous interconnecting stairs offer choice of route and access, ideally suited for a post-pandemic world. The Gov Hub’s primary structure is mass timber, a combination of CLT (cross laminated timber) and GLT (glue laminated timber), which radically reduces its carbon footprint. Its interior is organised into neighbourhoods, each defined by primary timber columns and beams. The emphasis is on creating a productive team environment.

An outer skin of solid zinc wraps the low rise, five-storey building, sidestepping the typical glass box. The gabled-roof form appears similar in shape to a large rural shed, while the scattered window pattern creates a more domestic interior experience. This form significantly reduces heat load. To the south, a glazed end is sliced open to reveal shared gathering spaces including a timber lined attic to make visible the work of those serving the community.
The Ballarat Gov Hub is civic in nature, personable in scale and sustainable in outlook.

Photography: Peter Bennetts

9-15-Deloitte Center for the Edge is nine agile work zones wrapped by plywood shells for a compact office. The idea of the compact office might increasingly become ubiquitous due to the desires to work from home in the post-pandemic world. However, for Deloitte Center for the Edge (Asia-pacific) office in Singapore, a multitude of working spaces was conceived to accommodate a myriad of working styles. The 32 square metre office, located within the National Design Centre in Singapore, is designed with innate agility to transition from enclosures of individual concentration to collaborative spaces.

Different anthropometric work boundaries and patterns were studied to create the nine distinct work zones that include Soft Working, Octopus Bar, Niche to Meet, Dedicated Word Station, Work with View, Privacy Booth and bum seat, Work Platform, Meet and Greet and Think Wall.

The nine work zones have been conceived as a “loop of working spaces” that is further supported with six ancillary spaces which include a Felt Shelving Wall for the client’s research booklets and an Artefact Wall for an interchangeable display of showcase items. The geometry of these spaces was derived by experimenting with the client’s research booklets and this inspired the creation of curvilinear plywood shells to enclose each work zone. The plywood shells vary in height according to sightlines and are orientated at different angles to create the perception of separate zones. The taller plywood shells increase the privacy for the individual and act as health barriers between adjacent zones. Further cut-outs facilitate visual interaction and shells have been staggered to emit daylight and create visual depth.

The new office for Deloitte Center for the Edge remains a hive for collaboration and challenges the new normal of the work environment with a wide range of work zones in a very modest footprint.

Furniture: Vitra, Artek, Affordable Abodes (Kenafcrete lamp), Roger & Sons. Lighting: Glos, 42 Degrees Asia. Finishes: ReMARKable.

Photography: Khoo Guo Jie