The old Savoy Theatre in the heart of Sydney’s financial district has received an ultra-glamorous fit-out to lure people back to the office.

It now boasts The Bureau, a new workplace building design with a difference – amped up interiors delightfully crafted with a strong theatrical bent, paying homage to its original Art Deco aesthetic.

It’s all thanks to Kingsmede designer, Natashia Steed, who channelled her childhood flair for the dramatic to create the new office offering – ‘workday luxury’.

“Our key focus was to create an office that felt like a home away from home,” Steed says. “With so many people making the transition from home back into the office, it was important for us to achieve a space that felt warm and inviting and put people at ease the second they walk in.”

With its brave blue hues, electric tones and layers of thoughtful lighting, the space couldn’t be further from the typical all-white corporate office.

Instead, it is vibrant, homely and inspiring, more in keeping with a luxury boutique hotel, with 16 private, fully-furnished offices, a lavish business lounge, informal meeting areas, quiet rooms, meeting and board rooms, plus end-of-trip facilities.

“Our approach incorporates aspects of community life where people live together and separately. We wanted to create a space where everyone can work at their own pace, regulating their interactions with others, and use the communal areas in accordance with their needs,” she says.

What impresses the most though? For us, it’s the unexpected details that work beautifully within the space.

Take, for example, the extensive and carefully curated collection of over 200 artworks, selected by award-winning interior architect, Richard Archer of Archer Design.

Many of the pieces were once housed at the old theatre, and today pay homage to what was once the go-to venue for foreign film screenings. In particular, are references to the late Wayne Thiebaud, an American artist known for his colourful and jubilant depictions of commonplace objects – slices of pie and cake.  

“Good art will bring joy and intellectual stimulus to any observer,” Archer says.

Adding 5-9pm buzz, The Bureau also contains a wine cellar stocked with high quality drops from around Australia.

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“Our members love to handpick a bottle of wine to relax at the end of a busy day,” Steed says.

Plus, there’s a full-time butler, along with all the modern tech touchpoints that make the transition from home back into the office more streamlined.

Beyond the tech and glam, the space has also been carefully crafted by women, with women, entrepreneurs and start-ups in mind, to foster an uplifting and enriching professional environment. Each membership is curated so that occupants can move into already well-designed space, removing the stress from finding, leasing and decorating offices of their own.

For Steed, this project was a chance to create a unique space that makes a statement, meet the needs of the modern worker, but also visualises what working could look like within a space that has been purposefully designed to harness creativity, collaboration and productivity.

“I truly believe The Bureau marks the start of a new wave of networking and community through people-focused workplace design,” she says.

Kingsmede
kingsmede.com.au

Photography
Pablo Veiga

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