GHD Melbourne - flexibility underpins new ways of working

Focusing on the iconic views out over the city skyline, we created a vertical village by stacking our three main social collaboration zones – ‘The Business Hub’ a large collaborative space, ‘The Social Hub’ kitchen and dining area and ‘The Reception’. Our design and engineering team overcame the challenges of inserting a feature staircase that links these centrally placed hubs.

A linear functional block containing meeting rooms, tea-stations, utility and storage spaces shields the main circulation path from focused work areas. Lockers line the walls, integrated into the timber laminated walls.

Simplicity, natural light, discovery and layering were key design drivers, with desks located along the perimeter of building. Flexibility was spatially achieved through a network of interconnected spaces that encourage interaction, collaboration, relief and focus.

A material palette of concrete, timber mesh and steel enhances the urban aesthetic and exemplifies the office’s location within the city fabric.

Our inhouse design and engineering team worked in close communication and coordination to expose structure and services, expressing the bare bones of the building.

The timing of completion coincided with the pandemic and shift to hybrid working. The inbuilt flexibility has robustly adapted to and transformed the ways of working.