Project Overview

Y&R approached The Bold Collective seeking a planning strategy that would help manage their expanding growth. An Activity Based Working model was adopted across three floors; namely Levels 14, 15 and 16 at 35 Clarence Street, Sydney. The space was occupied by a number of agencies within the Y&R Group / WPP umbrella and the brief was to inject the workplace with the personality of each brand while keeping a consistent aesthetic that would tie the three floors together and reflect a Sydney locality.

Project Commissioner

Y&R

Project Creator

THE BOLD COLLECTIVE

Team

ALI MCSHANE, MONIKA BRANAGAN, THERESE LOWTON

Project Brief

Our client was keen to explore an aesthetic of the historic Australian pub that reflected the history of the company's roots in Australia. Meeting and hush rooms were named accordingly and we developed a palette of finishes that included handmade subway tiles, reclaimed timbers, worn leather, rusted paint, ropes, chalkboards, neon signage, gooseneck wall lights, chain suspended indoor plants and black detailing.
Level 16, which is the top floor of the building and hosts a large outdoor area, was free from workstations and was to be used for client pitches, staff breakout and events. The existing flooring was covered in astroturf, which wrapped up some large tiered seating. We worked with what was existing and developed a light filled tropical space filled with colourful detailing, planting, driftwood wall panelling and a large reconfigurable informal boardroom table.
The result was a reinvigorated agile workspace that both accommodates the function of the companies housed within the three floors, but also inspires and encourages cross pollination between the different agencies through its various work settings and breakout areas.

Project Innovation/Need

In order to provide a range of work settings that would support an Activity Based Workplace, we strove to achieve better efficiencies in the workstation layout. The client was open to moving to a paperless workspace, and willing to reduce the workstation increments given the additional work settings they would be gaining. With this in mind, we were able to retain all of the existing workstation components and build new seamless work tops that would support an additional two people per cluster. Re-using the workstation components meant that we were able to both reduce waste and also allow for more budget to be used for the new alternate work settings, breakout areas and aesthetic refresh.

Design Challenge

There were a couple of big challenges with the Y&R project. These included: adopting an ABW model with a lean budget and managing the different expectations and requirements of each of the Y&R Group agencies and reflecting their branding while providing a holistic aesthetic that was consistent across the three floors.
Further, the technology that supports an ABW workplace determines the flexibility and user-friendliness. As Y&R phases in more agile technology, the staff will be better enabled to maximise on the freedom to work anywhere across the three floors.

Sustainability

The most sustainable element of the Y&R project was the extent of re-use and up-cycling. A large component of the furniture was retained and refreshed and where possible we worked with the existing built environment witin our planning strategy. For example, rather than throwing out the existing reception desk, we relocated it and clad it with large recycled sleepers which transformed it aesthetically. We adopted this approach across the project generally where exisiting elements were assessed, retained and re-appropriated if possible. The drivers for this thinking were both environmental and budget related.

Interior Design - Corporate

This award celebrates innovative and creative building interiors, with consideration given to space creation and planning, furnishings, finishes, aesthetic presentation and functionality. Consideration also given to space allocation, traffic flow, building services, lighting, fixtures, flooring, colours, furnishings and surface finishes.  

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