When Tower, one of New Zealand’s leading insurance providers, decided to revamp their Auckland head office, interior design studio STACK responded by creating a suite of plug-and-play agile workspaces interspersed with enclosed meeting rooms.
“Tower prides itself on not following the pack, but rather having the energy and innovative spirit to do things differently,” says Jacquette Barrington, senior designer at STACK Design. “They wanted a high energy digital workspace that showcased who they are.”
The new workplace extends across a full level and is connected by two footbridges across the central atrium. Embracing the idea of a collaborative work environment, STACK set out to bring the organisation together through an open and agile design that would avoid the siloing prevalent in the previous multi-level head office.
“To have such an extensive range of products that can be fully customised quickly at no extra cost was so important as we needed to be conscious of both the time and budget.”
“The Milliken Couture experience was key to bringing the space to life,” says Barrington. “We selected six colours from the Milliken Chroma Blanket Box – which offers simplified custom colour selections – and were sent samples to choose from in just 10 days.
The custom-coloured carpet was used to define different zones within the space, with the pattern of the flooring creating a flow throughout the space.
“This allowed the team to intuitively know where they were within the fit-out and to always feel a part of the team. LED ‘zigzag’ lighting in bright colours and dynamic angles emphasised this approach and helped to create a space that felt as unique as the Tower offering.
In the circulation areas and work zones, the design team utilised carpet tiles from Milliken’s Free Flow range in the Foundation design (part of the Property Industry Foundation Product Pathway).
As an industry leader, Tower also had ambitious sustainability goals that needed to be addressed in the fit-out – and Milliken’s equally ambitious commitment to sustainable manufacturing and creating carbon neutral products was the perfect fit.
The company’s M/PACT carbon neutral program has seen all carpet, LVT, and entrance flooring tiles become carbon neutral globally, alongside other sustainable initiatives, such as the installation of solar panels at Sydney’s manufacturing facility to generate up to 30 percent of electricity onsite.
At Tower’s Auckland head office, it’s all part of the transition from traditional office working to a more flexible workplace. “Ultimately, we want to deliver the best products and services possible to our customers,” says Blair Turnball, Tower chief executive.
Image: Supplied
