ellivo (Places for Work, Connection & Wellbeing)

The process of planning and moving to our new home at 293 Queen Street, in the heritage-listed Custom Credit House, gave us a chance to pause, reflect and explore what was important to all the people who use our spaces – clients, visitors, staff members and friends alike.

In true Ellivo spirit, we knew that our space needed to have plenty of character and needed to support various activities from focused work to small and large meetings, as well as casual gatherings and more formal celebrations. The building itself informed the rhythm of the layout – breaking up different spaces, while still allowing them to be connected.

Moving to a new space allowed us to consider the changing office environment – we realised a need to create a flexible space which allows multiple people to work in different modes, and within separate areas. We identified the needs of the various users of our studio and tailored spaces to suit each of these. We created quieter meeting spaces away from work zones to allow for individual and small-group work, quiet phone seats, scrum areas for larger project team meetings and a long library and layout space along the central circulation spine – to inspire and foster team interaction. We also made sure that industry gatherings could be supported through the latest technology and design.

The Garden Bar is a great gathering space for us, as we embrace coming together again with each other and our community. We are excited to share our studio and watch as it grows over the coming years.

In years gone by families would take an outing to the airport in their Sunday best to see off a traveller, visit the viewing platform and see the swans swimming on the ponds at the airport. The viewing deck will now be home to Aspire Perth and offer their travellers an extension of their Western Australian experience.

The lounge focuses on the views to the tarmac with a variety of work and leisure spaces. Ambience and wellness flows through from the furnishings to the local food & beverage offerings. Indigenous artwork, local photography and a palette inspired by the landscape flows through the spaces that cater for all types of travellers.

Connectivity and flexibility is considered at all points throughout the lounge with the ultimate focus on ensuring the lounge is robust and adaptable to continue the Aspire reputation.

Working with a long-established client, the brief went outside of the normal requirements for a fitout and challenged us to deliver a truly multifunctional space that could provide a fresh work environment with space for large board-meetings, as well as smaller client meetings and casual team events.

Central to the design was the context of the heritage-listed building and the existing bones, which had been thoughtfully restored earlier. The building offered amazing vistas from windows in all spaces – giving city and mountain views and an ever-present connection to the outdoors.

The fitout elements were carefully designed to sit lightly within the space, with subtle layering of materials to soften it and to provide a warm and welcoming aesthetic – all the while paying attention to not impact on the heritage building. Our design addresses the many types of meetings, presentations, and gatherings that will help to enrich the Australian Unity business and its users. As the central communal space merges from more formal meetings to champagne and information sessions, the furniture changes to enable theatre seating and cocktail tables.

Acoustics and AV integration was critical to allow all spaces to deliver comfortable, practical, and user-friendly solutions – and we worked closely with suppliers and consultants to ensure these elements were integrated subtly into the design. The spaces feel welcoming and take the office environment to the next level for the client; supporting their company values and helping to build culture.

Photography by Mindi Cooke

Situated in Everton Park, GO2 Health brings together Physiotherapists, Exercise Physiologists, Acupuncturists, Psychologists, GPs, Pathologists and other specialists - all under one roof. The team’s enthusiasm for the high level of care on offer is evident in all that they do; so we made sure that their new space would reflect and enable this further. We worked very closely with the client in the early stages of space planning to ensure the space flowed properly for both staff and patients. The space includes calm lounge spaces and ‘hydrate stations’ that allow patients to relax and chat before their appointments.

Visitors also have access to a flexible community room which enables various educational and support activities. Staff are also not forgotten in the new spaces - with a generous break-out room that can be combined with the community room if a larger space is needed. The colour and material palette reflects a homely, fresh feel, so that spaces are warm and inviting to all; and reflect GO2 Health’s approach to wellness.

Photography by Katherine O'Malley

The design challenge – to create a new home for the B+W team of engineers – called us to explore and deliver on their expectations while making big changes to their way of working. Leading the way, the directors needed us to create a space for collaboration, transparency and open discussion.

In essence the spaces are all about conversation – breaking down all barriers to encourage new connections. The fabric of the building (structurally designed decades ago by the B+W team) has been opened up to act as the conversation starter with new clients. The columns have been revealed, the concrete slab exposed and the original structural soffit was made into a design feature. The fitout exposes the way the building was put together; acting as a reference to the company’s work, as well as adding visual interest to the spaces.

The space also needed to act as a home – for the business, for colleagues to get together, for clients, business connections and so on. The expressed industrial finishes of concrete, glass and steel have been balanced with luxurious soft furnishings and curtains to create a calm and welcoming environment. As a consequence, adjacent collaboration spaces are abuzz with meetings, coffees and lunches. As there was little built form to contend with, the large open breakout spaces have also allowed for staff gatherings to continue whilst still respecting social distancing requirements.

Watch as Tanya talks about our design journey with B+W here.

Photography by Mindi Cooke

Relocating within the same building to one-and-a-half floors immediately presented the challenge of delivering something quite unlike what they had before. With a focus on user comfort and wellness, the new space has an abundance of greenery and alternative work and meeting spaces.

Connection between teams was also a change for the users; with many moving to an open plan for the first time. This increased visibility and collaboration within the office. With a mixture of offices and open plan spaces, we introduced private phone booths, lounges and collaboration spaces which provides more choice to the users. Staff have an abundance of space and separation between teams where needed thanks to careful planning early on in the design.

The café is the central meeting spot of the office – allowing all staff to come together in one lunch area to share, collaborate and contribute to the office culture. The outcome has created a new union between staff, and assisted in building on their identity while reinforcing their professional nature.

Photography by Katherine O'Malley

The new Caesarstone showroom sits next to the state-of-the-art warehouse facility in Yatala; and is designed for prospective clients to appreciate the look and feel of the Caesarstone product. With the changing light of day, and during the night, the space functions as a retail and event space. The focus is always on the product, and the quality of the light is all-important for showing the true colours and textures of the stone. Users can touch and feel large pieces of stone, collect samples and view slabs in the warehouse. The space also utilises touch-screen technology to allow clients to visualise the stone in their own projects.

The project was designed to be as flexible as possible, to enable Caesarstone to change their stone panels whenever they wanted to showcase new products. For this reason, the palette is crisp and simple – making the stone the hero of the spaces. The various Caesarstone finishes flow through into boardrooms, amenities & staff areas to reinforce the pride that the Caesarstone team have for their brand.

Photos by Rix Ryan Photography

The refurbishment of the Master Builders Queensland offices was a big step for the board, and a huge commitment to change. From the start, we were aware of the association’s heritage, and its importance to the building community.

We went on a journey with the Master Builders team where we explored who they were, how they wanted to be presented to the general community, and what mattered the most to them. This helped to identify the essence of the project for us – the few key things that needed to hold true through the whole fitout. These qualities included the following: heritage, craftsmanship, high- quality of workmanship, functionality, connection, and modesty.

This exploration led us to look at the history of Queensland builders – their craft, and the materials they work with. We created subtle touches through the fitout showcasing traditional materials in their raw form, to remind visitors of the origins of Master Builders. These little details helped to identify different spaces as you move through the building and help to create the sense of a journey – you go from timber through copper, steel and brass details as you get further into the building.

Another key concern that came out in early workshops with the clients was the connectivity between different teams in the office. The old layout consisted a segmented cluster of small rooms, which meant that space was being used inefficiently, and many of the staff felt disconnected from the rest of the office and from the members. We were able to combine spaces and win enough previously-wasted area to allow for centralised break-out spaces, small team meeting rooms and spaces for people to congregate casually away from their work desks. Most of the lower ground floor was repurposed as a refreshing lunch area with the feeling of an outdoor café, complete with extensive end-of-trip facilities.

Photography by Mindi Cooke

The building’s form seeks to be bold, minimalistic and timeless – designed to be efficient for both buildability and capacity.

Natural light and landscape is incorporated without comprising floor yield, to ensure a sense of calmness and tranquillity, supportive of the building’s Medical purpose. The building’s open corner addresses the main entry, with well-shaded balconies wrapping the upper floor, allowing for a private retreat for workers without disconnection from the ground plane. Double height atriums open both to sky and planters below seeking to breathe life into the building – trees are able to grow through atrium voids which are decorated with seating plinths at ground level.

The chosen material palette draws inspiration from the surrounding industrial context. It plays with a juxtaposition of textures through raw materials such as brick, concrete, steel and plywood.

We owe the success of the project to the strong support of our open-minded client and supportive builder, who worked with us seamlessly throughout the project to ensure the quality and vision of the project was upheld.

Photography by Scott Burrows

Being designers we were excited by the prospect of testing our approach to the end user by starting with our staff and clients and personifying their needs and mapping out their possible journey with us.  We soon realised that our clients and staff were all very different and this led us to create spaces that could adapt.

We created private spaces where meetings can be confidential, small meeting spaces and public spaces where people can connect. We wrapped all of these in a series of movable curtains that change the privacy and use of the spaces. We can cocoon spaces and make them private, we can adjust lighting and become more of an entertaining space. The uses are varied and practical to take us through the next five or ten years that we may be here.

This is a very young and vibrant business, bursting with enthusiasm that we were very excited by the first time we listened to their vision for their move to much larger premises.  Taking over a largely existing floor we had a modest budget with which to create their dream – the arrival to a law firm that was to be very AJ & Co.

From the lift doors opening on level 18 of Waterfront Place the foyer opens up through their arrival area to river and city views. There is no reception welcome, just a welcoming space, iPad sign in and then onto the lounge. Complete with bar and spaces to meet and relax, the space is to be shared and enjoyed.

Photography by Mindi Cooke

Their desire to demonstrate integrity and openness is embedded within their new home. From the moment you step inside the front door the client area is open and has views to Newstead beyond and the newly refurbished historical Gasometer. The combination of smoky glass, polished concrete, concrete, plywood and leather provides comfort and texture in the detailing and a most warm welcome.

With steep tree-lined streets, colourfully renovated Queenslander houses, and boutique bars and restaurants, Rosalie is a compact, attractive pocket of Brisbane that is a well-kept secret of the locals. We were approached by the client to deliver an eye-catching office building for the under-stocked Rosalie Village Centre. Our response was to compliment the eccentric character of the Rosalie, providing workers and visitors with a unique commercial and cultural experience.

Our brief was to create a space that will balance function, utilise natural light, deliver the best out of their modest budget and provide a welcoming environment for staff and patients alike. The clinic sits on the second floor of a large office building and is easily accessible with onsite parking. As you enter through the ground level, there is the option to choose either the lift or use the entrance to the grand staircase that leads to two different receptions on to the floor plate which is over 1000m2. The fitout is light filled and open-aired, balancing a refined yet young personality. Featuring pops of colour to retain branding, feature timber panelling and wall dividers for warmth and directing clientele, and feature lighting in the stairwell and reception all create a more homely feel for staff and patients.