Project Overview

Knight Frank are an international property consultancy, and one of Australia’s leading experts on prime commercial property nationwide.

When relocating to their new head office in Sydney’s central business district, we were engaged to bring in an interpretive layer of branding and placemaking to the Geyer designed interior scheme.

Project Commissioner

Knight Frank

Project Creator

THERE

Team

PAUL TABOURE (EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR)
CHARLIE BROMLEY (HEAD OF ENVIRONMENTS)
JON ZHU (DESIGNER)
LISA KANANI (PROJECT MANAGER)

Project Brief

The creative brief for the project was to encapsulate the idea of Constant Innovation, a philosophy that helped define the company and shaped the design of their new workplace.

At the heart of the new space is an Innovation Zone - an open, collaborative space that encourages clients and staff alike to challenge conventional thinking and come up with new ways to problem solve and drive their business. Our task was to design a placemaking feature for this zone that would catalyse innovation whilst creating a distinct sense of place.

Project Innovation/Need

We created an articulated sculptural wall made of angular fins that, whilst static, had a sense of movement and undulation in line with the idea of ‘constant change’. 

The forms were based on the company’s strongly geometric brand mark, and when paired with considered lighting choices and falling shadows the monochromatic wall seemingly changed appearance throughout the day. This created a dynamic wall cladding as they undulated across the surface as a backdrop to the heart of Knight Frank’s office within the Innovation Zone.

This then set up a strong graphic language for the rest of the space, with the geometric motif rolled out to lift-lobby arrival graphics, privacy screening for glazing and animated locker-door patterning to their back-of-house facilities.

Within the lift lobby, these forms were also replicated to provide a snapshot of Knight Frank’s heritage, with changeable 'did you know’ facts providing a dynamic insight into the company’s varied history.

Design Challenge

The challenge was to interpret Knight Frank’s brand positioning of Constant Innovation to provide graphics that activated their new workspace - and in particular their Innovation Zone - whilst reflecting the ongoing history, achievements and brand values of the company.

The response called for an enduring design, resilient enough for a high-traffic area. The feature wall used acrylic blades to produce a lightweight installation, capable of being manipulated into the dynamic forms.
The monochromatic colour palette gave the final piece a classic, sculptural appearance that would seamlessly harmonise with the contemporary fit-out.

Effectiveness

The new Knight Frank offices are helping to support the organisation being an 'employer of choice', by increasing levels of staff engagement and fostering an environment of innovation and cultural change.

The facilities have been enthusiastically adopted by employees, with meeting rooms and communal workspaces regularly booked out by staff travelling from satellite offices to experience the new space.

Graphic Design - Environmental

This award celebrates creativity and innovation in the intersection of communication design and the built environment, and is concerned with the visual aspects of wayfinding, communication identity and brands, information design and shaping the idea of place. Consideration given to clarity of communication and the matching of information style to audience.
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