Image Credit : Mike Chorley Photography
Project Overview
Bay 9 sets out to redefine the ‘shared office’ concept, by giving businesses the opportunity to occupy private spaces within a larger collective community. This creates a collaborative environment where good ideas come to grow.
Located under the northern approach to the Sydney Harbour Bridge and filled with rich heritage, Bay 9 is truly a beautiful canvas. Embracing the industrial heritage of the site, the project incorporates a material palette of concrete, glass and steel, in order to find the balance between the cold industrial shell and a warm inviting space people are inspired by.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Project and Interior Architects: BJB Architects
Concept and Design Architects: Brenchley Architects
Contractor: Modern Architecture
Steel Fabricator: Dedicated Steel Fabrication
Project Brief
The brief was to reimagine an empty concrete warehouse into an inspiring workplace environment which promotes free thinking and creativity amongst likeminded startups and entrepreneurial businesses.
Project Innovation/Need
In the fast paced world of startups, the need for convenient readymade spaces to nurture the growth of small businesses has quickly become the preferred office type. Bay 9 takes this niche requirement and demonstrates how a single concept can be developed into a working business model.
Offering all of the functionality of an office is a given, however creating a space which lends itself to collaborative thinking and growth between likeminded businesses, is what makes Bay 9 unique.
The individual office spaces provide a sound proof cocoon for working in, whilst the extensive use of glass ensures natural lighting is dispersed throughout and maintains the creative community environment. Various meeting spaces both formal and informal as well as the Bay 10 coffee shop adjacent provide ample opportunities for meeting with colleagues and clients.
Design Challenge
What others may see as a challenge we embraced as a critical feature of the project, and that is Bay 9’s heritage. Whilst there were limitations in regards to what can be altered within the original fabric, we were able to work within these parameters so that they did not become restrictive to the overall project.
Once this initial challenge was overcome, we were able to work with, rather than against the space. This is a critical aspect when undertaking an adaptive re-use project and even more so when the original fabric is steeped in so much industrial heritage.
Sustainability
The industrial heritage has been preserved and enriched through the use of a raw, exposed steel structure and repurposed shipping containers. A strong focus on creating a richly textured and layered building fabric from raw and unfinished materials establishes a benchmark for responsible sustainable architecture.
The adaptive reuse of Bay 9, Middlemiss Street has breathed new life into an otherwise neglected space, whilst minimising resources and the footprint of the project, as well as protecting and showcasing historic value.
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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