Treasury Wine Estates Melbourne

Carr
Australia

The new workplace for global heritage wine brand Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) is true example of blurred typologies coming to life. Taking up residence in an iconic Melbourne tower, the company needed a workplace to accommodate its exponential growth through articulate planning to help break down silos for greater productivity and collaboration. But as a company with hospitality at its core, the new office presented the perfect opportunity to create a space for entertaining and enriching through spaces designed for eating and drinking.

A top-end-of-Collins Street relocation held ample appeal for TWE management and staff, but the new headquarters needed to address the previous premises’ shortcomings. The brief was threefold: craft a compelling and genuine brand experience for visitors, maximise planning efficiencies, and design with sociability in mind. The generous and meticulously finished arrival lounge now captures a confident interface with customers and guests. Solid timber, polished concrete, masonry and corrugated iron are honest and welcoming materials – reminders the company has “one foot in the vineyard” without resorting to pastiche.

Previously, several hundred staff worked side-by-side in a vast, linear program, which made interactivity haphazard and weakened team efforts. The new fitout addresses ergonomics with standing desk options now available to all staff. A highly visible new staff kitchen/café is a place of perennial welcome, which is filled with greenery and flooded with natural light from a central void. Table, banquette and huddle-style seating caters to different breakout modes, embedding the company’s appetite for fostering employee wellbeing and connection.

TWE’s new head office illustrates design’s persuasive power. Creating an inspiring place to work, the HQ succeeds in communicating the essence and ambition of the brand. Through workplace strategy, the project deeply understands the client’s needs, integrating new requirements into the fitout, future-proofing it for years to come. Breaking down silos was critical. As such, hosting areas are large and brooding, while the adjacent open plan work areas are brightly lit with meandering desk configurations that improve incidental employee interaction. Despite the contrast between these zones, all areas in the new workplace underscore the importance of sociability.

Furniture: Sean Dix, Andreu World (Zenith); Studio Pip, Simon James Design, Resident, Mattiazi (District); Wilkhahn; Humanscale; ESO (Stylecraft). Finishes: Dulux; Echopanel (Woven Image); Tarkett (RC+D); Polytec, Laminex; Signorino; Caesarstone (Artedomus); Havwoods; Otto Flooring (George Fethers); Kvadrat; Instyle. Fittings & Fixtures: Siemens, Ilve Electric, Fisher & Paykel, Phoenix, Vintec (Harvey Norman Commercial); Hafele; Billi; Abey.

Photography: Earl Carter