As expectations around the workplace continue to evolve, flexible office providers are expanding what shared environments can offer. In Perth, Hub Australia has opened its largest facility to date: One Two Five by Hub, a 10,000-square-metre flagship at Brookfield Place designed by Hassell.

Set across four floors in Tower One on St Georges Terrace, the project accommodates 825 desks across private offices, suites and dedicated desks, alongside large-scale conferencing facilities, hospitality spaces and wellness amenities. The project reflects a broader shift in how workplaces operate — increasingly expected to support collaboration, social interaction and wellbeing alongside focused work.

For Hub Australia, the expansion responds to both business demand and changing expectations from organisations operating in Perth.

“Perth’s business landscape has matured rapidly,” says John Preece, Co-CEO of Hub Australia. “The success of our first Perth location highlighted strong demand from businesses for spaces that can scale with them.”

“One Two Five by Hub has been designed to directly respond to this business need. With large-scale event and project spaces, wellness areas, a Sports Lounge, curated programming and premium hospitality, the space reflects the city’s shift toward workplaces that support employee experience, flexibility and lifestyle integration.”

Beyond desk-based working, the facility integrates approximately 2,500 square metres of conferencing and event space capable of hosting up to 300 guests, alongside a café, podcast suites, wellness rooms and a rooftop terrace. For Preece, the project signals a broader evolution in flexible workspace models.

“Absolutely,” he says. “One Two Five by Hub exemplifies the evolution of flexible work into a hybrid model where the workplace, event venue and lifestyle destination coexist.”

“Our members don’t just come to sit at a desk — they come to connect, collaborate, host and attend events, focus on wellbeing and enjoy premium amenities.”

For the design team at Hassell, the 10,000-square-metre footprint created both opportunity and complexity. The challenge was to support a wide range of working styles while maintaining a sense of intimacy across the large environment.

“The scale gave us an exciting opportunity to design for many different ways of working,” the team explains. “Whether it’s simply dropping in for a coffee, finding a quiet spot for an informal meeting, or booking a longer-term space for a project team. We wanted the environment to support that full range of experiences.”

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The design uses the building’s vertical organisation to structure these different modes of use. Lower levels are dedicated to more public and short-stay functions, including the café, lounge areas, hot desks and informal meeting spaces, inviting people from across the precinct to spend time in the space.

“These levels also accommodate the large-format bookable spaces like conferencing facilities, training and meeting rooms, and podcast suites where collaborative work can be done,” the designers say.

Levels two and three shift toward more private environments, accommodating member-only workspaces, offices and shared kitchen facilities. A new internal staircase connects all four floors, encouraging movement through the building while drawing occupants upward to the landscaped terrace.

“It works as both an outdoor workspace with lush new planting and shade, and as a destination event space anchored by the wellness pavilion,” the designers note. “The overall intent was to make a large footprint feel human in scale, by providing choice, variety and pockets of intimacy at every level.”

Working within the architecture of Brookfield Place also shaped the design approach. Rather than imposing a separate visual identity, the interiors build on the qualities of the existing tower.

“Brookfield Place is one of Perth’s most iconic commercial towers so it was important the fit-out felt like a natural evolution of the building and not just something extra,” the team says. “We had great bones to work with, and we wanted to create a hospitality-led renewal that is warm, textured and inviting — which is strongly aligned with Hub’s aspirations.”

The project involved substantial structural and services upgrades, including extended mezzanines for conference and training spaces, new bleacher seating connecting Levels 1 and 2, new staircases and strengthened steelwork to support the higher density typical of co-working environments.

Material choices build on the tower’s existing palette while introducing warmth and texture. Spotted gum timber appears throughout the project — from ground-floor lobby platforms to the timber bleachers — sitting alongside stainless steel, glazing and bluestone.

“We took a layered approach,” the designers explain. “Distinctly new, but clearly at home in the architecture of Brookfield Place.”

Underlying the project is a shift in how workplace environments are planned. Rather than prioritising leased office suites alone, the design dedicates a larger proportion of floor area to shared amenities.

“The idea of ‘space as a service’ sits at the intersection of workplace, hospitality and home,” the design team says. “These spaces need to support performance like a premium-grade workplace, but they still need to feel as comfortable as home and as serviced as a hotel.”

That philosophy is reflected in the range of shared settings distributed throughout the building, including external workspaces, bookable meeting rooms, training facilities and communal tables.

“That includes a range of third-space settings like external workspaces, bookable meeting rooms, training facilities, shared tables and even simply working alongside others in the café,” the team explains. “These spaces are the difference as they enable choice, energy and connection.”

For Preece, the project offers a glimpse into the future of premium flexible work environments in Australian CBDs. “One Two Five by Hub illustrates that the future of premium flexible work is about versatility, experience and wellbeing.”

“Post-pandemic, businesses are seeking environments that balance the flexibility of remote work with the benefits of physical collaboration. Our model shows that CBD workspaces can offer more than desks — they can be hubs for events, wellness, community and productivity.”

Hassell
hassellstudio.com

Photography
Courtesy of Hassell