Earlier in the year, national design practice Architectus unveiled their new Melbourne office space. According to the architects, the move to a larger studio was driven by “the growth and success of Architectus in Melbourne”.
Architectus’ Melbourne team now occupies a 1,000sqm space in the heart of the city, on the main thoroughfare of Bourke Street. The interior design drew heavily from Architectus’ Sydney office at the MLC Centre, although translated to reflect a design that is “distinctly Melbourne”.
“The design strips the building back to its raw structure,” reads a design statement from the architect.
“With inserts of black writable surfaces, timber-clad walls and ceilings, warm textural carpets and soft translucent curtains, an environment more akin to a residential warehouse than a commercial office is created. A key driver within the design was to create a series of spaces which embrace a domestic ambience through light, furniture and form.”
In terms of specification, the space demonstrates a real contrast between plush materiality (such as Alpha loop pile carpet in meeting and design review areas, and Blazer quilt channel fabric for quiet booths) and pared-back industrial finishes (wide paramount oak timber boards, and Vienna upholstery leather for banquet seating).
Flexibility was a key driver behind the design concept. All of the settings within the building have been designed to accommodate various scales and forms of collaboration. This manifests in the placement of secluded booths around the floorplan, and culminates in “a large, informal design review space” in the heart of the office.
“Within the hub, a combination of planting with bespoke joinery, café-style furniture and the offer of barista-made coffee gives staff and clients a place to rest, work and collaborate,” says the architect.
In the interests of further connection, technology has been integrated throughout these various spaces.
Construction on the project began in January this year, and was completed just three months later, in April. Architectus officially unveiled their new Melbourne headquarters at a brunch event held earlier this month.
