Image Credit : Richard Glover
Project Overview
In the Netherlands Rabobank is the pioneer of agile working – their company Interpolis was the world’s first recognised agile workplace model and continues to operate 15 years after its creation.
In Sydney Rabobank undertook a business transformation. Our charter for their 7,500 sqm project at Darling Park, was to create an environment that would act as an initiator of change across Australia and NZ, creating a new working environment to house a ‘nomadic colony’ to support their business until 2025. It was to create a ‘cooperative knowledge exchange’ where visitors could experience the cultural attributes of warmth, commitment and expertise that differentiates Rabobank.
The project is a strong example of the impact that an effective physical environment can have on inciting and transforming behaviours. For Rabobank this applied to their team as well as their customers and visitors. It epitomises design being used as a powerful business tool, to optimise and enable relevant human experiences that change perceptions and create a desire of people to engage with a place and enjoy their working environment.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Project Director/ Strategy - Sally Finlay
Project Leader/ ABW Specialist - Melinda Huuk
Project Coordinator - Allan Griffiths
Designer - Uta Wolf
Designer - Luis Gito
Project Brief
The brief asked for the new workplace to support Rabobank’s cultural transformation program including the elimination of perceived boundaries and siloed behaviours. It was to be an inspiring new workplace where greater empathy and understanding of rural existence could be nurtured, to help bridge the rural and urban divide, and deepen relationships even further between customers and staff.
It required an environment that would enable different parts of the business to come together quickly to solve for their customer needs enabling more nimble and mobilised working behaviours and experiences.
It also needed to shift people’s thinking, to step beyond ‘home zones’ and to confidently embrace a new, more nomadic mind set. These were fundamental transformational shifts that were grounded around where, how and when people work.
Project Innovation/Need
The transformation could not detract from Rabobank’s successful culture; its strong customer relationships formed in the field and around kitchen tables, where storytelling and meaningful conversations are had. The design concept was then built on the use of a kitchen table, as a pivotal icon. Now around the table, staff access executives, breaking down old behaviours of ‘floor centric ownership’ and demonstrating fundamental shifts in behaviour and outcomes.
Communal kitchens nestle adjacent to the forum learning hubs, where farmers are invited to share their stories, debate topical issues and where staff can constantly be reminded of the connection to the land.
Central to enabling a ‘nomadic tribing’ culture is the central engagement point combined with shared hub areas for informal working and learning in the more energised activity zones. The ‘nomadic colony’ of mobile collaborators is also enabled by vertical and horizontal pathways that access strategically located collaboration points.
A shared community and client floor nestles between 2 agile working floors above and 2 below a perfectly positioned transition point for community activities. Friday night drinks have evolved from floor centric activities to whole of community where now relationships and knowledge sharing deepens and enriches the culture even further.
Design Challenge
The key design challenge for the project was in navigating a staged program while residents were in situ and ensuring the impact to staff was minimised. An effective change program supported this process ensuring the staff were agile enabled and culturally ready for the transformational shift. Our engagement with them from the outset was critical as design signalled the start of the change and we needed to maintain their trust throughout.
Had we lost their trust in the design and implementation process, the task of transformation would have been even harder.
Hence the challenge was to use design as a tool to envision and remind them of the future, what there was to look forward to and reason to persevere through the changes to the environment around them.
The design for successful transformation also relied on the take up of the leadership teams in new behaviours and initiatives over the use of spaces and amenities, so they could lead the way.
The staged implementation program allowed for an incremental cultural transformation where early adopters were able to lead by example and become change advocates. The design hence became a cultural transformational tool.
Sustainability
Whilst the fitout was not targeting a green star rating the team was mindful of a sustainability position through environmental planning for natural light penetration, planting and selection of materials. Material selection was based on sustainability targets that would comfortably align to a 5 star green star fitout.
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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