What do you get when ABW architectural principles are fused with an agile way of working? We talked to members of the futurespace team and REA Group’s CIO Nigel Dalton about their collaboration on REA’s new Melbourne headquarters. Marg Hearn reports.
August 19th, 2015
Dynamic digital property advertising business, REA Group started modestly in a suburban garage in Doncaster, Melbourne in 1995. Ten years on, with 600 staff and growing, the ASX-listed REA Group owns and operates market-leading Australian residential and commercial property websites: realestate.com.au and realcommercial.com.au. Internationally their interests include Chinese property site myfun.com and European sites casa.it, at Home.lu and immoRegion.fr.
According to Nigel Dalton, REA Group’s chief information officer (CIO), a new digital start-up company emerges almost weekly, with the goal of being “the next big thing” in the real estate industry. REA Group’s new Melbourne headquarters, designed in collaboration with futurespace interior and architecture practice, “is a response to the pace of those disruptive technologies.”
“Blending REA Group’s lean and agile system of working in multi-disciplinary teams – with futurespace’s Activity Based Working (ABW) expertise, produced a very unique workplace – which we’ve christened – Neighbourhood Based Working,” Dalton says.
The new workplace design unshackled REA Group from the constraints of legacy technologies and workspaces to “better support their collaborative and agile way of working,” explains Angela Ferguson, futurespace managing director.
Custom design agile walls were one creative product evolved for the project by Gavin Harris futurespace design director in partnership with Schiavello. The solution overcame the “big challenge” of facilitating REA’s process of working on walls and collaboration in an open working environment. The design of different spaces, nooks and crannies near a central marketplace and main street was a strategy to “multiply random bump-in factor and interaction between neighbourhoods.” The idea being – that increased opportunities for staff connection and communication help to foster innovation. “It’s a project that balanced – the need to address people, place and technology with equal importance,” Ferguson says.
Read the full story in Indesign Issue 62, available on sale August 20.
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
Channelling the enchanting ambience of the Caffè Greco in Rome, Budapest’s historic Gerbeaud, and Grossi Florentino in Melbourne, Ross Didier’s new collection evokes the designer’s affinity for café experience, while delivering refined seating for contemporary hospitality interiors.
Sub-Zero and Wolf’s prestigious Kitchen Design Contest (KDC) has celebrated the very best in kitchen innovation and aesthetics for three decades now. Recognising premier kitchen design professionals from around the globe, the KDC facilitates innovation, style and functionality that pushes boundaries.
Suitable for applications ranging from schools and retail outlets to computer rooms and X-ray suites, Palettone comes in two varieties and a choice of more than fifty colours.
Savage Design’s approach to understanding the relationship between design concepts and user experience, particularly with metalwork, transcends traditional boundaries, blending timeless craftsmanship with digital innovation to create enduring elegance in objects, furnishings, and door furniture.
CUBES and Indesign hosted a soirée at Milan’s NooN cocktail bar and restaurant on Wednesday 18 April.
Hanex 100% Acrylic Solid Surface is an ideal surface material for residential and commercial applications because of its beauty, durability, aesthetics, design flexibility and colour choices. Dimensions: Standard sheet size: 3680 x 760 x 12mm Applications: Residential: Kitchen and bathroom benchtops, integrated sinks and bowls, bathroom and wall cladding, lighting and objects of art. Commercial: […]
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
Wood Marsh’s 40-year legacy shines through landmark infrastructure projects. Recently completing stunning stations at Coburg and Moreland, their designs blend modernity with community needs.
Drawing on the concept of a watering hole as a gathering place in nature, GroupGSA has rejuvenated Sydney Water’s headquarters located in Parramatta.