Project Overview

Following the development of a workplace strategy and guidelines document describing Aurecon environments in Australia, Asia and New Zealand, Geyer helped Aurecon select a site and designed their Melbourne accommodation. Aurecon’s workplace comprises 4.5 floors within the C7 Development at 850 Collins Street and is home to over 700 employees. The workplace offers the opportunity to align the environment with their global business strategy and Aurecon’s brand, improve productivity and reduce operating costs.

The design demonstrates that Aurecon are leaders in Sustainability by targeting a 5 Star Green Star Fit out and Office As Built Rating and immerses clients in a vibrant, open, collaborative environment.

The resulting fit out successfully represents a contemporary, innovative organisation that is a leader in their field.

Project Commissioner

Aurecon

Project Creator

Geyer

Project Brief

The workplace environment enables staff to engage with clients and visitors in a way that demonstrates their culture and brand attributes and supports the transition of their work practices to a client centric, collaborative and agile model.

The design philosophy reinforces Aurecon’s brand proposition – Global, Vibrant, One Aurecon – by adopting different design approaches for each floor based on regions where Aurecon operates globally, and providing technology and physical opportunities to share knowledge or engage in story telling about Aurecon's expertise across the world. Planning principles remain consistent but materials, furniture, lighting and super graphics are based on each floor's region. The result is vibrant and visually interesting with unique attributes to each zone.

A key local driver was providing an environment that clients/consultants would want to visit to work collaboratively with Aurecon's people in an energetic, bustling environment defined as 'our place is where it happens'. Collaborative and touchdown environments are adjacent to work areas on all floors to enable workplace transparency and expose clients to Aurecon’s culture and brand attributes. An interconnecting stair enables a vertical vista throughout the floor plates and easy access to all areas reinforcing the “One Aurecon” attribute.

Project Need

Innovative to the Engineering industry, Aurecon moved their people from a silo/office based individual working philosophy where they had a heavy reliance on paper and physical storage to a collaborative, client centric and less paper intense environment more conducive to contemporary, mobile work practices.

This design outcome was achieved through ubiquitous communication technology, open plan work areas, the introduction of collaborative/team based work settings, work area designs that are activity based and enable fluid discussions/teamwork and technology enabled support areas to suit teaming across regions and concentrated working.

Reduced built environment assists in knowledge transfer by eliminating physical obstructions and increased agility is enabled through the introduction of room defining furniture and flexible bench desking allowing Aurecon to respond to changing business and market drivers. ‘Rooms’ are created without walls by articulating flooring material, lowering the ceiling plane with hung light fixtures and using furniture to provide a flexible solution.

The aim was to bring the brand to life enabling “One Aurecon” - globally focussed and working in a vibrant atmosphere. This is led from the top where Executive’s adopted open plan working environments which is leading edge in the engineering industry.

Design Challenge

Aurecon were committed to adopting best-practice activity based working, but were concerned about a blanket approach not being appropriate for the different work styles within the organisation. Geyer identified components of ABW that were appropriate and reflective of the readiness of the organisation.

Aurecon were committed to adopting contemporary workplace approaches while remaining sensitive to the realities of their ‘paper based’ business. Geyer worked with Aurecon to identify small changes that would have a big impact on the efficiency and culture of the organisation. ¬This included dramatically reducing paper usage through the introduction of lockers and central paper locations, removing individual offices and introducing bench desking, and increasing amenity space including dedicated space for learning and socialising.

Currently, technology does not support Aurecon transitioning to a full paperless workplace: hard copy large-scale engineering plans are still an important tool that technology cannot yet replace. Screen technology is rapidly improving, as are work styles within the business. Geyer continues to work with Aurecon to identify components and people who can evolve to mobile working practices.

Sustainability.

Geyer and Aurecon invested in initiatives benefiting the business and occupants in lieu of chasing points to achieve a 6 star Green Star rating. For example, Aurecon chose not to install grey water as water consumption is typically low in a workplace. Instead, natural ventilation was provided through user adjustable external louvres to perimeter meeting rooms, base building lighting was replaced with low energy T5 uplighting reducing light quantities and consequently energy consumption, and ceiling heights were raised or removed to increase natural light penetration.

Change management was undertaken to significantly reduce paper by implementing a waste management system with recycling integrated into team collaboration bays, significant investment in improved technology, electronic filing systems, follow me printing and reduced physical storage. All furniture, workstations and joinery are modular throughout a largely open work area to enable adaptability for future change without undergoing construction work and were generally selected for their sustainable attributes.

The result is that Aurecon's ESD Consulting team can use the workplace to demonstrate their sustainability expertise by walking interested parties through the building and identifying tangible sustainable design initiatives in the base building/fit out design and demonstrate sustainable work practices in action.