HDR’s architectural and engineering teams come together in its new office at 25 Martin Place: the iconic Harry Seidler building.
August 4th, 2022
HDR’s new Sydney headquarters features an open plan office configuration as well as breakout spaces, exercise and stress management rooms and programs, parent facilities and high-quality lighting and air conditioning that put staff wellbeing at the forefront.
HDR associate director Max Navius says the design process was created through several processes that helped define the needs and requirements of HDR’s personnel.
“HDR is a global company, so there are global guidelines that we have to follow. At the same token, there are also requirements from the architectural and engineering teams that come in a brief. The brief for the office was broken up into collaborations and meetings, and from there, we came up with a strategy on how to come up with the design,” he says.
“We first looked at the identity of HDR and who we want to be as a practice. We looked at how the architects and engineers collaborate, and that saw us create a number of open spaces for collaboration, as well as private meeting booths.”
Low VOC products, sustainable materials and repurposed furniture complement the existing heritage design language and underline HDR’s commitment to sustainability.
“Our new office is a physical representation of our brand, our culture, and a place where our talented people can gather to drive innovation and new ways of thinking about the built environment,” says HDR’s Managing Principal of Architecture, Cate Cowlinshaw.
Cowlishaw has led the move to the new Sydney office alongside Garry Wall, HDR’s managing director of building engineering services.
Collaboration areas and contemporary design were design priorities for HDR’s new office. The fit-out has six meeting rooms, four meeting nooks, two quiet rooms, a samples room, design review space, wellness room, 103 workstations, and spaces for impromptu and planned collaboration.
The front of house area is imagined as a hospitality space which includes a reception, event space, meeting rooms, collaboration areas and a kitchen.
“We want everyone to feel relaxed and begin their day with a tea or coffee. For our clients, it’s like a café,” says Navius.
Colour has been used to differentiate between collaborative and formal work zones, which saw the company shortlisted for the Dulux Colour Awards. Blue is utilised for more public areas, with white seen amongst private working quarters. The office has achieved a 6 Star Green Star Rating.
HDR is currently working on a number of projects within the research, education, defence and commercial sectors.
HDR
hdr.com
Photography
Courtesy of HDR
We think you might like this article about Think Brick’s new carbon rating system ideas.
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!
Natural forms meet technological sophistication to produce GH Commercial’s Pattern Perfect® Native Collection of carpets. Step inside the factory to see how local flavours inform the design.
Durable and adaptable seating creates dynamic teaching and learning environments at the new Centre for Creative Industries at St Andrew’s Lutheran College.
Australia’s leading producer of solid-engineered oak flooring has recently launched a new suite of innovative resources to support creativity and ambition in the architecture and design community.
Bidding farewell to mundane and uninspired office spaces, colour has transformed our workplaces into layered and engaging environments. So we sit down with Karina Simpson, Hot Black’s Workplace Lead, to talk about the influence colour has on the workspace landscape through the prism of Herman Miller’s progressive colour philosophy.
Nestled cosily inside the ANZ Docklands campus in Melbourne, Foolscap Studio has designed a separate little world to transport the visitor out of the office space. ANZ Centre Gallery is a calming space presenting a previously less visible collection of art.
With a little buff and polish, as well as some expert joinery, boutique architectural studio Fabric Architecture has brought warmth and tactility into these law offices.
Group GSA has delivered Westpac’s new office hub in Parramatta. Taking inspiration from a different type of gathering, the new workplace prioritises connection without compromising productivity.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
As part of this year’s Sydney Festival, a major public artwork by Brenda L. Croft is unveiled along the Barangaroo waterfront. At once thoughtful and bold, ‘Naabami (thou shall/will see): Barangaroo (army of me)’ highlights First Nations women and girls.
Want to make your mark in regional Australia? With the Bridge Art Project, Echuca-Moama Art Gallery receiving funding, it’s time for the creative juices to flow and architecture to shine.