Text description provided by the architects. Central to the project was the importance of achieving authentic co-creation with our staff, which was achieved via a workshopping and collaborative design process. Key values that were determined from this process were to;
• Become a prototype and catalyst for transformation across our workplace
• Create an inclusive and welcoming place for our professional community.
• Encourage and stimulate imagination, creativity and collaboration.
• Support our overall wellbeing
• Embrace change
Responding to the desire to create a sense of community, families and school groups are actively encouraged to engage with the studio to experience spaces that aim to stimulate inquiry and delight. These child-friendly zones welcome families into the workplace whilst allowing us to learn how children and students interact and respond to the individual settings, feeding back into our design work.
The buildings shell comprises of exposed high ceilings and polished concrete floors. The remnants of dye stains hint to the studio’s industrial past as a former shoe factory. The paired back shell is juxtaposed with the insertion of two striking plywood volumes on opposing sides of the tenancy. These volumes reflect the ethos in which the space was conceived - an intertwining of old and new and an enabler for a cultural shift within the wider national practice.
A series of settings have been created that enable analogue, digital and physical workplace activities to occur that inspire ingenuity and innovation. These settings offer varied acoustic performance combined with tailored functionalities to provide places for collaboration and retreat whilst facilitating choice of individual working environments. Each setting is designed with at least a dual purpose to maximise utilisation of the space.
Spaces for play are given equal importance to other work activities to promote participation, activity and movement. Sit to stand desks are aesthetically integrated into the space whilst a program of team plant selection and ownership fosters inclusivity and wellbeing.
We have committed to formal research on the space that will provide demonstrable qualitative and quantitative feedback of this prototyping exercise. The project will inform both our second phase of refurbishment and our ongoing design work allowing us to continue to evolve, inspire and innovate with our team into the future.
