BresicWhitney Lower North Shore by Those Architects, photo by Luc Remond.
From grand corporate settings and extensive adaptive reuse to smaller boutique projects, here are a selection of workplace projects that caught our eye in 2024.
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“Design is central to their identity, whether it’s for clients or their own environment,” explains Martin Musiatowicz, director of Kart Projects. “They [Mass Studio] wanted an office that felt personal, warm and inviting – something that could persuade people back post-COVID without it feeling like a requirement.” The result sees Studio Mass HQ emerge as a workspace that intentionally blurs domesticity with the industrial heritage of the building, and where flexibility is fused with a sense of permanence.
BresicWhitney Lower North Shore
Those Architects
BresicWhitney Lower North Shore is set within the historic Mosman ANZAC Memorial Hall, a building over 100 years old. With this heritage framework in mind, the project is executed with a light touch. The first decisive step in the design process was to identify which elements of the building were to be retained, with character features such as windows and a wooden stairway fully maintained. The interior space has then been significantly opened up by removing partition walls. In their place, less obtrusive devices distinguish different spaces of the design, making for a more open and multifunctional workplace overall.
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The defining challenge of this project, at least from the outside, seems to lie in the juxtaposition of two starkly different material and formal architectures – put simply, a glass box on top of a brick base. There are, of course, more layers of nuance. The base is a single-storey, red brick former warehouse, much of which has been carefully retained, restored and built around. Above – seven storeys above, in fact – rises a glazed office tower. While the design obviously makes no attempt to replicate the heritage building, there is an emphasis on sensitively fusing the two parts through formal references and spatial arrangement.
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Sledgehammer Games HQ
Studio Tate with Elenberg Fraser
Tucked away in the metropolitan hum of Melbourne, Sledgehammer Games’ headquarters is a design-led reverie of retro nostalgia, realised by the deft hands of Studio Tate in collaboration with Elenberg Fraser. “Emotionally, the design balances fun and focus, allowing the team to feel at ease while still being in a highly productive environment,” says Anita Zampichelli, Associate Director of Studio Tate. At first glance, one might think they have forayed into a time capsule, where the golden era of 1970s and 80s gaming collides with the sharp sensibilities of modernity.
Within the urban landscape of Auckland, Anthony Harper law firm – one of New Zealand’s most storied legal institutions – has undergone a significant evolution in its workspace with a move to ANZ Tower. This relocation — an intentional departure from the often-staid design of traditional law firms — was deftly handled by Wingates, who conceived a workspace that prioritises inclusivity, flexibility and the wellbeing of its occupants.
As a whole, the project is defined by a thoughtfully limited material palette of timber, poured concrete overlay flooring and wood wool ceiling tiles. Softer leather and textural fabrics also recur, creating a welcoming and tactile environment. Amenities include the café as well as a library, parent and prayer rooms, and largely non-hierarchal workstations, while the fit-out has also achieved a five-Green Star rating thanks to its emphasis on reuse and refurbished furniture.
The Deloitte Headquarters at Quay Quarter Tower spans 14 floors, covering 27,000-square-metres with four interconnected vertical villages. The design of the up-scaled building caters for myriad working styles, allows for flexibility and adaptability and while Deloitte is a global brand, this project reflects its place with a local interior context.
On Wurundjeri/Woiwurrung Country, Studio Edwards has reshaped, refitted and redefined 900 square metres of office space for digital agency, Today Design. The project is aimed at facilitating a workplace culture of collaboration and innovation, but it’s the sustainability angle of this project that really stands out.
Midtown Workplace
Cox Architecture
In the heart of Brisbane’s CBD, the Midtown Workplace is a building brought to life through the merging of two existing commercial towers to create some novel new spaces. The project previously garnered attention as an entrant in the Workplace category at the INDE.Awards.
The adaptive reuse project was spearheaded by multidisciplinary design practitioners FK, modernising the 36-storey tower for contemporary needs while preserving its architectural heritage. Originally serving as the National Australia Bank’s headquarters, the building was acquired by ISPT in 1998. In 2019, ISPT commissioned FK to retrofit the building, focusing on sustainability, flexibility and enhancing tenant engagement.
Ok, so we actually covered this one at the end of 2023, but it still makes the cut. With the completion of the revitalised precinct as a mixed-use site that now includes workplace, community and event spaces, Wardle has in fact take up residence on level 21.
Find projects, profiles and ideas relating to workplace design here
