Workroom was founded by John Bornas and Jo-Anne Gleeson in Melbourne in 1999. Their work ranges from high-end single- and multi-residential commissions to retail, hospitality and commercial projects. A talented team of architects and interior designers focus on collaboration, education, rigour and delivery. This leads to close connections being made with clients and longlasting relationships that lead to project after project with many of them.

The same can be said about the team. Workroom employs people that bring experience to the studio as well as people that can gain experience in the studio. By investing in the team, Bornas and Gleeson ensure not only that their projects are in good hands but the close-knit nature of the environment makes the studio a fun place to work.

Their approach to design is about a language. They tell a story. They tend to use materials that they think are right for the application. They look at materials for what they can bring to a project and exploit them for what they are. Their clients also play a big role in design. When designing for residential clients, Workroom is designing a house for them, so it has to respond to who they are and how they live. With commercial clients, Workroom is often dealing with a brand image that needs to be considered, so reflecting that brand through the architecture is paramount.

Workroom has always approached design with efficiency and sustainability in mind. What has changed in recent years though is the access they have to certain technologies allowing them to do things that previously would have been difficult or expensive. The advances in materials and products has also allowed them to incorporate more into their design. But in reality, the approach has always remained the same. The narrative in the architecture is told not by ego but by through the rigorous exploration of form, space and material in each and every project.

Workroom sees architecture as art with a purpose. Spaces can affect you – not in the physical sense but emotionally. Through a subjective, personal, artistic expression of someone’s brief, Workroom can create spaces that affect beyond their walls. Beyond the planning and configuration, architecture becomes a physical manifestation of aesthetic sensibilities. And often the simplest results are the most complicated to create. Workroom’s mission is to create beautiful and inspiring space.

Photography: Derek Swalwell, Jack Lovel, Maar Design