A new contemporary Brisbane office fit-out has garnered accolades with its exemplification of design for workplace productivity and employee well-being. Stephanie Madison Reports.
July 3rd, 2014
The project, an office space for Albion-based Murphy Pipe and Civil (MPC), was recently shortlisted for both the Australian Interior Design Awards in workplace design and a Home Design Magazine Australian Living Green Interior Award for the office category. It also received an Australian Institute of Architects 2014 Queensland Architecture Awards Regional commendation for interior architecture.
Spurred by rapid growth and a need for extra space following the introduction of the spider plough into Australia’s pipeline industry, the inner city company enlisted the help of Marc & Co, Baber Studio and Jarosz Design to create an office providing additional shared, co-working and meeting areas.
Jarosz Design interior designer Kasia Jarosz says, in line with the brief, the design team aimed to create an environment reflective of the company’s strategic position within the resources sector and its core values of innovation, leadership, quality, authenticity and collaboration.
Jarosz says the design had to support those working in different facets of the business and “break the barriers” between management and employees.
MPC wanted to stay in its current quarters which also meant working with the existing fabric and making the building compliant.
The resultant space is the antithesis of generic with its sustainable, locally sourced and constructed materials and creative detailing.
Key features include hand-made boardroom and kitchen tables using repurposed timber, natural materials and bespoke custom-designed tables, desks, screens and carpets.
Express construction systems were used in an “innovative way” to bring architectural detailing into the interior while the concave and convex glazed façade led to the inclusion of adjacent break-out spaces featuring curvilinear joinery walls which created varying scaled pockets for informal meeting and gathering.
Jarosz says the completed project, which saw MPC move into its new 1660sq m office in December 2013, enhances employee comfort, provides “more efficient and collaborative ways” to operate, multiple work and retreat zones plus strategically placed planters, greenery and organic shapes to “encourage a sense of well-being”.
Baber Studio architect Kim Baber says the plan provided “rigorous, efficient workstation space juxtaposed with informal lunch, kitchen and social spaces”.
“Staff develop a sense of ownership of the social spaces as they are both generous and comfortable without diminishing the nature of engineering productivity,” he says.
Jarosz Design
Jaroszdesign.com
Baber Studio
Baberstudio.com.au
Marc & Co
Marcandco.com.au
INDESIGN is on instagram
Follow @indesignlive
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!
To honour Chef James Won’s appointment as Gaggenau’s first Malaysian Culinary Partner, we asked the gastronomic luminaire about parallels between Gaggenau’s ethos and his own practice, his multidimensional vision of Modern Malaysian – and how his early experiences of KFC’s accessible, bold flavours influenced his concept of fine dining.
Within the intimate confines of compact living, where space is at a premium, efficiency is critical and dining out often trumps home cooking, Gaggenau’s 400 Series Culinary Drawer proves that limited space can, in fact, unlock unlimited culinary possibilities.
The Sustainability Summit panel delves into innovative models such as the Nightingale Housing model and the AssembleFutures concept.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
Chinese handbag design firm, Songmont, has seen ARCHSTUDIO transform a disused factory into a space of great engagement and joy.
With craftsmanship and contemporary form at its core, Boyac and Origine present a special showcase as part of Melbourne Design Week.
Stephen McGarry redefines architecture as an emotive and contextual artform, blending storytelling, material sensitivity, and cultural memory in his shortlisted Bruce Street project.
In design, the concept of absence is particularly powerful – it’s the abundant potential of deliberate non-presence that amplifies the impact of what is. And it is this realm of sophisticated subtraction that Gaggenau’s Dishwasher 400 Series so generously – and quietly – occupies.