Image Credit : Richard Glover
Project Overview
Embracing its scale to provide a sense of humanity and connectedness, this is a place for people, for collaboration and community. Embodying Westpac’s global mindset with local context and emphasising one-team connectedness, there is a timeless Australian vernacular where people are no longer bound by brand, ownership, geography, or technology. This is a place that embraces holistic health and wellbeing by nurturing a broader notion of wellness that embraces financial security, career development, a sense of belonging, nutrition, reflection and of course the physical.
Westpac’s 60,000sqm Barangaroo workplace introduces a new working philosophy–WorkSMART which takes a holistic, human centred approach facilitating an innovative, flexible working environment and integrates Westpac’s different brands and geographies.
This new workplace is an excellent example of evidence-based rather than trend-based design decisions. The design process challenged both traditional and early adoptive ABW workplaces addressing the most common issues associated with agile working to date, interpreting and building upon these learnings.
Delivered with an intrinsically Australian narrative, the workplace enshrines a diverse landscape of flexibility and choice for Westpac’s’ people and visitors. It expresses tactile and honest materiality with conversational Australian references and stories gathering around the shed, the campfire, the veranda.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
PROJECT LEAD & DESIGN STRATEGY: Melinda Huuk
2IC TYPICAL FLOOR DESIGN: Petrina Kernchen
LEAD DESIGN CLIENT FLOORS: Uta Wolf
PROJECT COORDINATION: Allan Griffiths, Michelle Di Giorgio
PROJECT TEAM: Liz Cooper, Jon Downie, Brian Simmons, Luis Gito, Louise Mackrill, Louise Everitt, Jessica Margiotta, Mukesh Mavji, Graeme Bowie, James Duval
Project Brief
Embracing the mantra to ‘think big don’t act big’, a genuine commitment to human-centred design is evidenced in the breadth and depth of the consultant team which included an ergonomist, nutritionist, wellbeing pattern, landscaper, diversity team, and a dedicated Westpac WorkSMART team.
Unlike other large-scale workplaces, Westpac didn’t have a central atrium providing visual connectivity. A critical aspect of the design was to enlarge base building voids and connecting stairs, creating strong visual connectivity across the vertical communities and linking key destinations.
These staggered void penetrations were negotiated within the lease and provided a pivotal point around which social hubs and working villages were nestled, demystifying the notion of inter-floor interactions to foster nomadic community conversations.
The multi-floor strategy encouraged a broader radius of movement giving people real reason to travel between floors, whilst community destinations provided the incidental social glue to bind a broader mindset. Visitors are in turn are provided with choice a landscape of choice from informal quick meets located outside the security threshold all the way through to dining suites.
Westpac’s new headquarters encapsulates the all-in, innovative approach Westpac took to ensure this was truly a place for its people.
Project Innovation/Need
The Westpac team embraced a broad group of consultants (internal and external) to address a holistic approach to performance enhancement including; the right places to right for the task at hand, nutrition, health/wellbeing, enhanced ergonomic movement for behavioural budging, continual learning, accessibility, financial advisory, vacation care support and general support amenities such as concierge functionality and IT. This building has set a new benchmark in a valued added people proposition.
The absence of a central void and atrium made scalability and connectivity critical design imperatives. Large floor plates luxuriously flooded with natural light were landscaped with inserts to denote more human volume, providing props and behavioural cues around which activities could intuitively nestle (from concentrative to collaborative).
De-emphasising traditional breakouts and blending work positions, every space is considered another place to exchange. Technologically enabled the environment provides an immersive brand experience.
Employing intuitive, human based space planning the workplace facilitates instinctive team or individual activities. Wellbeing encompasses physical health, financial health, learning, and family/life balance including Australia’s largest green rooftop promoting alternative working and community. Over 9,000 indoor plants also improve air quality/mood and the rooftop’s two main cafés offer significant function space.
Design Challenge
A key design challenge for Westpac Barangaroo lay in the design of a building with an agile backbone that could suit both static and agile work practices to enable the business time to make the decision on the style of working, whilst meeting the contractual obligations of an integrated fit out.
The team developed a component based kit of parts with a shell and scenery approach to ensure adaptabiltiy and agility.
Sustainability
The Westpac Barangaroo Fitout is a world leader in environmental performance, designed to achieve 6-Star Green Star Interiors Pilot rating.
•Outside air rates 100% greater than AS1668.2:2002 standard
•PMV levels between -0.5 and +0.5 ensuring optimal thermal comfort
•Over 95% of worksettings have high quality internal or external views
•Paints, adhesives, sealants and carpets are low VOC. Engineered wood products are low formaldehyde.
•8,531sqm(14% NLA) of employee amenities-cafes, outdoor terrace, wellness centre, yoga, consultation, faith and parent rooms, concierge, library.
•Loose furniture and joinery approved by a certified ergonomist.
•95% of workstations are adjustable, accessible to 100% of staff.
•Equipment/appliances selected by energy consumption performance, resulting in energy reduction target of 104kWh/m² of electricity & 3.7MJ/m² of gas 109kg CO2/m², saving 1,849,559 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions/year.
•All water supplied by base building WCs and landscaped areas is 100% recycled.
•92% of furniture, 92% of flooring and 91% of assemblies(including ceilings, walls, joinery) selected has a reduced environmental impact when compared to available alternatives.
•All common uses of PVC is best practice PVC, recycled or reused.
•All timber applications within the project and during construction works is re-used, recycled or Chain of Custody(CoC) certified virgin timber.
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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