ellivo (Places to Work & Connect)

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

One of the most challenging briefs is to design for an ever-changing workforce, which will peak and decline in varying stages over the term of the lease. That was exactly what ARTC requested as Inland Rail are delivering thirteen rail projects across Australia over the next seven years. It was very rewarding to work with them and watch their staff move from a cramped and unworkable space to a custom-designed, 95% agile environment with a variety of flexible working environments.

Working within a Green star building, and with high servicing and density requirements, the layout needed to support collaborative, agile working. This was achieved by designing various different types of workspaces such as phone booths, quiet rooms and casual chat areas – as well as more conventional office desk areas including standing areas.

We were involved heavily with the team managers during the design phase, which has helped to enable a successful transition to the new space, and has encouraged new connections to form naturally within teams since the project’s completion. The company values are deeply embedded within the space and their sense of community informed the layout and the new way of working. The palettes throughout reference the many remote communities, the earth that they touch and the robust materials of rail within a Queensland context.

Photography by Mindi Cooke Photography

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 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

Our brief was therefore twofold, create a sleek commercial podium, and a multi-residential upper that responds to the transitionary nature of the site.

We drew upon early 20th century modernism as inspiration for the simple yet bold forms of the façade. Bands of concrete frame the showroom, which is softened by a double height curved glass façade that is grounded by a garden. The curved glass wall draws residents & visitors into the entry, giving back space and volume to the street and giving a sense of openness to the street.

A simple material pallet of concrete, glass, steel, metal cladding & vegetation create a balance between a commercial aesthetic podium and a human scale level of detail for the residential component above.

We used subtropical design fundamentals including vegetation, flow through ventilation, natural light & solar control to make sure we created a high-quality living environment for the residents & commercial tenants. This includes a communal recreation space on the roof with a pool and steam room to offer a meeting place for residents.

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.

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.

Aerocare have a proud history in Australia and New Zealand as a leading independent ground handling company. They were keen for their surroundings to demonstrate to others what they do and their enthusiasm. It was critical to us to include their sense of fun and let this fitout become part of the brand. Together we took a creative approach to work spaces in conjunction with them and the developer (landlord).

Harnessing the concrete and blockwork surrounds, the natural light and their strong aeronautical links, this inspired the selections, colours and elements within. Passion and energy was delivered through installations, graffiti mural and the ‘escape’slide which connects the two levels and defines in the built form who they are.

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.