If you’re walking down Collins Street in central Naarm (Melbourne), it’s hard to miss the splash of vibrant blue emanating from a ceiling in one of the office buildings. Should you follow your eyes towards the sky-like blue ceiling, you will find yourself in the lobby of 440 Collins St, which recently opened as a mixed-use space that combines a public café by Peoples Coffee, an office building entrance and a lounge.

Emily Addison, Associate Director of Studio Tate who transformed the lobby, says the design team aimed to make the space as welcoming and lively as possible. The blue was key to this. “It really breathes life into the lobby and activates a space that probably no one has looked at in a long time – pedestrians were walking up and down Collins Street and not looking in,” she explains. “Now, all of a sudden, this vibrant blue ceiling becomes a beacon to draw people in.”

The idea of encouraging everyone into the lobby was key to the concept of the refurbishment project, commissioned by Lendlease. The real estate and investment business wanted to reinvigorate the slightly tired 1965 building that was originally designed by Yuncken Freeman Architects.

For Studio Tate, who have worked on a number of lobby spaces across Australia as well as other work, residential and retail spaces, this particular part of a commercial building presents an exciting challenge.

“Historically, a lobby space was transient, purely a circulation space that people moved through to get somewhere else,” Addison explains. “What we enjoy about working on these spaces is that they can go from oversized, awkward, hard spaces into habitable spaces that people want to spend time in – to meet people, wait, have a coffee, have a meal or do some work.”

Today more and more building owners are seeking to activate the ground floor plane to give tenants and their employees extra incentive to come into the building, and to earn more revenue through hospitality offerings.

To enable the transformation of 440 Collins’ lobby, the design team drew on a palette that was dynamic, yet also restrained in terms of the number of materials and finishes used. They honed in on walnut furniture, Carrara marble, burgundy upholstery, oak timber panelling, opal glass linings, a polished stainless steel island kiosk and, of course, the blue ceiling. The design makes use of a “bold application of very few finishes used intensely to create the overall look and feel,” Addison explains.

Related: Another office with standout blue, by Those Architects

The polished stainless steel columns and surfaces of the kiosk from which the café operates serve to reflect natural, ambient and artificial light as well as movement into all corners of the space, says Addison. “Mirrors are a strategy that we use quite a bit as a studio to activate and bring life to a tenancy,” she explains.

This was particularly integral for the south-facing and deep design of 440 Collins’ lobby space. Other important design elements include the bespoke fixed furniture such as banquettes, high tables, window benches and the external tables by Studio Tate.

The result of this attention to detail and boldness of design?

“At the end of the day, the outcome for our client and their tenants is what validates a good design,” Addison says. At 440 Collins St, “the tenant is busy, they’ve got a thriving business and people enjoy being there, so that’s the best outcome for us.”

Studio Tate
studiotate.com.au

Photography
Tom Blachford