The experience of space isn’t static yet our interiors generally have static function. What if a space could have a mood and change itself based on what it felt like at the time? Like humans, this could mean dinner, breakfast, lunch, exercise, work, party, special event, art, experience, workshop, making, creating, going to the movies, gardening and socialising, but all within a framework of recycling, reuse, adaptability, nurturing, excitement and transformation.

This is Space & Time in North Melbourne – formerly a mechanics workshop. One space, multiple functions, multiple businesses, multiple experiences governed by only one factor: time of day. This project can be a workplace, a workshop, a commercial kitchen and catering company, a boardroom, an events space, a café, a gallery, a showroom, a restaurant, a private dining venue, and an exercise space to name a few, but above all else it is a meeting place.

Our set brief was that sometimes, these functions happen simultaneously, sometimes not, and sometimes only occasionally, but all use a series of customised and designed elements that transform via their interactions throughout the course of a day to create the desired spaces. This extends the life of an interior and a building, making it work hard, creating a dynamic collaborative structure that still has a financial incentive but also a social imperative.

As the space is leased, 95 per cent of the interior (including the kitchen, ceiling and lighting) was designed to be removed and reconfigured in a different interior volume if the time arises, essentially extending the fit out beyond spatial constraints of location. This allows the space to have the ability once again to be re-used in another type of space found in the city, thus amplifying its sustainability credentials.

Space & Time represents a paradigm shift in the way we see workplace and wellbeing. Fostering inclusive and diverse workplace practices, Space & Time goes beyond a studio, or event space, or retail endeavour; it empowers human environmental interaction, enabling users to think beyond their surrounds.

Furniture, Lighting, Finishes and Fittings & Fixtures: Russell & George.

Photography: Paul Martin