City VISION
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words Paul McGillick interviews stephen crafti photography Peter Clarke architect Bates Smart, Geyer location Melbourne | AUS PROJECT 171 Collins Street
a new building in melbourne’s collins street combines elegance and innovation with a sense of place. indesignlive.com
The Idea elbourne is a city acutely aware of its past. Arguably, this once made the city deeply conservative. But today there is a healthy dialogue between the past and contemporary living. In fact, Melbourne is a wonderful example of how a genuinely contemporary city derives greater dimension and texture precisely because of its living links to the past. The new six star Green Star premium grade building at 171 Collins Street exemplifies this. The site is part of the city’s most historical precinct. Collins Street itself is rich in history. But the new 18-storey tower is also set behind the heritage-listed Mayfair building, a 1913 Romanesque Revival structure. The complex now connects through to Flinders Lane, once the heart of the rag trade in Melbourne. Close by is the neo-Gothic St. Paul’s Cathedral. Views of St. Paul’s received protection during the tenure of Evan Walker as Minister for Planning (198290), who also ensured that height controls protected the historic core of the Melbourne CBD. The white glass of the building’s façade is a perfect foil to the Cathedral, especially given the way the building gently folds in and out to soften its profile. The white ceramic frit quietly echoes the spires of the Cathedral, while the machine-grooved glass assemblies subtly reference the textures of the historic brick warehouses along Flinders Lane.
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opener The reflective white glass and gently curved profile of the building enable it to engage with its context, especially with the spires of St. Paul’s Cathedral LEFT above The concierge desk LEFT below The nine-storey atrium with glass shard veil opposite The visitor lounge opposite the concierge desk at the base of the atrium, with the routed travertine wall hinting at the rag trade history of the site through its stitch patterning
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his is a supremely elegant space, T at once monumental and delicate. Paul mcgillick
indesignlive.com
opening page The tower
of 8 Chifley Square rises up through its city context opposite Looking up the tower and its extruded steel bracing abovE (LEFT) Looking up from the street to the entrance lobby ABOVE (RIGHT)
The vast lobby space BELOW Site plan
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The building and public domain
he building, designed by Bates Smart, was co-developed by CBus and Charter Hall, and built by Brookfield Multiplex. It is primarily a commercial project, but with some retail and hospitality. It is largely defined by the 82-metrehigh tower with a podium-like element on the Flinders Lane elevation. The commercial space is lifted up off the ground so that the ground floor is a single grand lobby, running from Collins Street through to Flinders Lane. This is a supremely elegant space, at once monumental and delicate, its walls lined with travertine and routed to reference the signature stitching of the rag trade. Complementing the travertine is the dolorite stone floor and hidden lighting which washes discreetly over the walls. There is a concierge desk at the Collins Street end, while the BHP Billiton reception and Business Centre are further down towards Flinders Lane. The glorious achievement of the ground floor is the nine-storey atrium above the foyer. This is topped by a glass ceiling which enables people to see the tower as they enter from Collins Street. Turning around, they can then see the glazed inner wall of the Mayfair Building. This wall, like the eastern parti wall and tower wall, is screened by a woven veil of glass shards. This veil unifies the space, camouflaging the tenancies while allowing the people in them to see out into the atrium. According to Bates Smart’s Tim Leslie, this was about “how to make something veiled transparent�, because the atrium also draws natural light into the lobby with the crystalline screen generating a day-long drama of shifting light. The screen also functions in a prismatic way, scattering the light and softening it, interacting with the palette of the travertine walls to create a beautifully soft atmosphere in the lobby. Important here is the lighting. Bates Smart worked closely with Electrolight to create a light trough around the edge where the wall meets the floor. This uplights the travertine walls, spreading a warm, gentle glow throughout the lobby space.
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opposite The Flinders
Lane entry to the lobby presents a subtly industrial look to reflect the lane and its history abovE The BHP Billiton Business Centre is entered from the lobby, and allows clients to meet staff without needing to go through security indesignlive.com
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In Discussion
Key contributors to the 171 Collins Street project discuss their roles in realising this remarkable building.
Kristen Whittle, Design Director at Bates Smart, discusses the way the building responds to its heritage context.
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eveloped by Charter Hall and Cbus, 171 Collins Street, home to BHP Billiton (occupying 50 percent of the building) has been eight years in the making. It’s a premier city location. It’s not just thinking about the other buildings, but the relationship to Federation Square and the river corridor. From the outset, we were going to treat this project like a jewel in the city. The glazed tower extends over 17 levels, higher than the precinct allowed for. We had to demonstrate to the various authorities that we wouldn’t overshadow St. Paul’s Cathedral or the building’s heritagelisted façade (designed by Architect Nahum Barnet in 1913). Bates Smart worked closely with Lovell Chen Heritage Architects in restoring what was originally ‘The Mayfair’. Like St. Paul’s, with its faceted turrets, 171 Collins Street features a faceted glass façade, with sixmetre-wide ‘ribbons’ of glass creating a striking woven texture. It’s like a resplendent piece of fine crystal. This ‘cut crystal’ not only adds a shimmering glow to the streetscape, but also creates a cacophony of light against
the travertine walls in the lobby, also finely faceted in parts. We wanted to create something that had this crafted sensibility, linking the building to the history of Collins Street, where premium quality merchandise was sold. And of course, there’s the legacy of Flinders Lane, as a manufacturing precinct until only the last few decades. Linking Collins Street to Flinders Lane was also important. Initially, there were ideas to create an arcade of boutiques, but this wouldn’t have been appropriate given the premium tenants occupying the building. The materials used for 171 Collins Street are deliberately restrained: fritted glass, steel, travertine and dolorite stone. Concealed lighting and generous natural light animate the building. It’s like the materials used for the cathedral, limited to orange sandstone. By reducing our palette we allow the rich decoration of the cathedral to stand out. It’s not about competing with the past, but responding to it. This building (171 Collins Street) is designed to be here in 100 years, so it was important to create something that was quality and highly crafted. We wanted to create a building that was significantly more than another glazed tower in the city. The design might appear relatively simple, but it’s extremely complex with the finest talent executing each detail.
Tim Leslie, Studio Director at Bates Smart, gives an insight into the highly innovative glass screen in the building’s lobby.
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he frit pattern developed by Bates Smart covers the entire 80-metre-high tower. It’s a first in the world where screen-printed glass has been applied to an entire building. With St. Paul’s at our ‘doorstep’, we had to make sure the design wouldn’t dominate the skyline. From the start, this had to be a ‘backdrop’, particularly to the cathedral’s lower two spires. In some ways, we were creating a false
sky where you’re first drawn to the cathedral. If you look around at the buildings in the city, all the windows appear almost black. We had to come up with a system where nature didn’t create these dark outlines. We carried out numerous studies and looked at different frit patterns. There was a considerable amount of time spent discussing the benefits of using a dotted pattern or a mesh pattern, involving a variety of densities. The building had to also read as one monolithic form. Bates Smart built several prototypes and placed these on a rooftop to gauge exactly the best quality of light that could be achieved. We used white and silver frit (partially fused material used as a basis for enamels) and made sure the joints in the panels were thin so the exterior appeared as if it was carved entirely in glass. We ended up selecting a frit with 40 percent density that allows you to fully appreciate the view from inside, while still providing that one monolithic form. We were also conscious of the design at ground level. When you walk along Flinders Lane, you see the strong rustication of the late 20th Century buildings, with their deep reveals. We’ve responded by using mirror-back coating on the glass on the lower levels of the Flinders Lane façade. You get this strong play of light and shadow on the glass, not unlike the heritage buildings in the lane. Creating a veil from within the atrium was also paramount in the design. With KPMG to the east and a blank brick wall to the west, the glass woven screens framing the lobby provide luminosity, while camouflaging neighbours. We didn’t want to use coatings for this glass or mirrors. The idea wasn’t to create a mirrorball effect when you arrive. It’s about how the light reflects on the angled glass, capturing the light at various times of the day. When you initially enter one of the offices in the tower, your eyes feel slightly misty. But once your eyes adjust, the light is pleasing, quite soft. The fritted glass filters the harsher afternoon sunlight. The low iron glass is also laminated. Looking from the outside, the glass takes on the conditions of the sky, whether it’s an overcast day or viewed at sunset. indesignlive.com
The interiors
BHP Billiton BHP Billiton is the anchor tenant of the building and this is its global headquarters. Previously in Lonsdale Street on the northern edge of the CBD, BHP Billiton wanted to move away from what was a heavily retail precinct and into the more high-end corporate context of Collins Street. It also needed less space, since a lot of its management had relocated to Perth (see Indesign #53). The BHP Billiton fit-out was designed by Geyer with Bates Smart designing the tower and public spaces, although Geyer picked up on some of the elements of the base building (for example, the recurring shard shapes) to maintain an aesthetic unity between the base building and the BHP Billiton interiors. This strategy is also applied in the Business Centre where Geyer has carried through some of the base building finishes, as well as replicating the form of the concierge’s desk in the atrium. Outside of the finance sector, the Business Centre is a first, providing a public lounge where clients can meet BHP Billiton staff without going through security. Apart from the lounge and its hospitality bar, there are also meeting rooms, displays of BHP Billiton historical memorabilia and the whole space can be converted into a function room. Perhaps the key element in the fit-out was the fact that BHP Billiton’s Facility Management was the client, led by Geoff Sloan. This meant that the project was Facilities Management-led, and as such aesthetics very much followed function. The primary aim was for a workplace that worked. Hence, the design followed on from a thorough understanding of BHP Billiton protocols and work practices, not to mention ensuring that work stations and kitchen areas were as efficient and easy to use as possible, while supporting BHP Billiton’s philosophy of maintaining a clean, tidy and efficient work environment. The other driver was collaboration, reflected strongly by the central connecting stairway. This also subtly brands the space because the landings – dubbed ‘cuboids’ by the design team because they are distorted cubes – are each made from a different metal mined by BHP Billiton.
previous The heritage
Mayfair Building fronts on to Collins Street with the tower rising up behind left above The BHP Billiton workplace is characterised by generous space for individual workstations, as well as an overall sense of being free and uncluttered left below The central connecting stairway helps reinforce the BHP Billiton identity through its ‘cuboid’ landings made from different metals mined by the company, while also providing an assertive sculptural core opposite Work areas and informal meeting spaces cluster comfortably around the central stairway
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he primary aim was for T a workplace that worked. paul mcgillick
portfolioindesign 115 opposite above The breakout areas reflect the BHP Billiton ethos of clear planning, order and efficiency opposite below The BHP Billiton work floors are uncluttered with enclosed spaces pushed towards the core top right The client reception area of Evans and Partners signals a subtly ‘arts and crafts’ mood to reflect the era of the Mayfair Building centre RIGHT The elegant tiled black and white aesthetic of the Evans Partners kitchen supports the arts and crafts mood bottom right The decorative and furnishings scheme at Evans and Partners suggests being in a club
evans and partners Evans and Partners is an Australian-owned investment house occupying seven of the eight storeys of the Mayfair Building, totalling 1,700sqm of office space. By moving here, the company consolidated several other locations, although its main office had been in Carlton, and the new premises have consciously maintained some aesthetic connections with the previous home. Each floorplate is just 250sqm and the fit-out is correspondingly intimate, with steel and glass screens hinting at discretion and privacy. Finishes and detailing suggest the era of the building, supporting the overall mood of a past time – an intriguing contrast to the very contemporary trading rooms. This fit-out responds very much to the heritage building, in contrast to the McGrathNicol fit-out, which responds to the new building. indesignlive.com
this page Evans and Partners
typically runs a connecting corridor down the Collins Street side of the fit-out opposite above A terrace wraps around the client areas at McGrathNicol opposite centre Part of the L-shaped open-plan back-ofhouse at McGrathNicol opposite below An elegantly dark-framed window separates the breakout area from the work area at McGrathNicol
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McGrathNicol This fit-out of McGrathNicol occupies all of Level six, the top of the podium, which brings the benefit of a terrace that wraps around two sides of the tenancy. The client areas are clustered here rather than on the atrium side, allowing for client events and corporate entertainment. The base building palette of travertine and grey stone flooring, along with the black steel door frames, has been continued to maintain aesthetic unity. Unlike in the lobby, the reception desk here is tan leather rather than black, while the sanded veneer furnishings give the tenancy a more personal feel. The brief from this prominent accounting firm was for a “premium client experience� and to consolidate all the staff on one floor. The relaxed elegance of the client areas (meeting rooms, client lounge, board room) is continued with the largely open-plan backof-house. Although there are partner offices on the perimeter, they are clustered and fully glazed, so that the whole space is suffused with a soft light. The palette picks up on the grey/blue of the travertine. This, together with the frit of the glass on the base building, ensures a soft, even light throughout.
Paul McGillick is Editorial Director of Indesign Media.
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portfolioindesign 119 The subtly inflected facade of the 171 Collins Street tower
BHP Billiton Architect Geyer Project Leader Sue Solly Lead Designer Kim-Thornton Smith Interior Design David Spaccatore Planning and Strategy Amanda Wood Project Manager Montlaur Services Engineers NDY Structural Engineers pitt&sherry Design Engineers ARUP Graphics Amanda Roach Design Photography Shannon McGrath Time to complete Two years Total floor area 14,140 m2 total high rise levels 11-18 13 500m2 + ground floor 640m2 Geyer (61 3) 9654 3644 | geyer.com.au Furniture Generally throughout, lounge chairs and sofas, Hub Furniture. ‘Walter Knoll FK Bucket’ chairs and ‘Howe’ side chair, Living Edge. ‘Media’ chair and various stools, CULT. ‘Minotti’ seating range, ‘Calder’ and ‘Saarinen’ coffee tables, dedece. ‘Zody’ task chairs, Haworth. ‘Flynn’, ‘Japhy’, ‘Iko’ and ‘Tilda’ tables, Jardan. Table chairs, ground floor, exchange and café lounges, ‘Grand Repo’ office reading chair, ‘AC4’ office task and meeting room chairs, ottomans and ‘Naos’ directors’ table, Vitra. ‘Cobi stool’,
‘Mediascape’ exchange pavilion and lounge table, Steelcase. ‘Chassis’ general exchange chairs, ‘Modus’ executive chair and ‘Graph’ meeting and boardroom chairs, Wilkhahn lighting Generally throughout, luminaires and wall washers, Philips, Erco/ Buckford Illumination Group and Zumtobel. Various floor, suspended, recessed lighting, XAL/Space Lighting. Linear LED strips, KKDC. Spotlights, iGuzzini and Klik/LED. ‘Base’ table and floor lamps, dedece. Battens, Pierlite. Suspended lamps, Viabizzuno and dedece Finishes Pantry Benchtops, Corian. Carpet tiles, Interface. Shoelace/Ribbon feature carpet, RC&D. Smoked glass panes, Viridian. Colourback glass, Design Inferno. Laminate/prelaminated boards, Laminex Industries. Paint finishes, Dulux. Ground floor feature wall tiles, Johnson Tiles Australia. Wall tiles, Signorino Tiles. Typical wallpaper, Mirabilis. Core wallpaper, Kvadrat Maharam. Acoustic wall paneling, Snap-tex. Echopanels, Woven Image Fixed and fitted Chilled, boiling filtered water taps, Zip. Generally throughout kitchens and bathrooms, Rogerseller, Reece, Caroma, Corian Dupont, Blum, Hafele and JD MacDonald. Monitor arms, Unifor. Curtains, Silent Gliss. Door components, Dorma and Hettich
Evans & Partners ARCHITECt Bates Smart INTERIOR DESIGN Jeff Copolov, Grant Filipoff, Kendra Pinkus, Kate Wardlaw, Ben Nicholas, Lucy Bothwell, Martine Bonich, Belinda Cross PROJECT MANAGER Coffey BUILDER Brookfield Multiplex SERVICES ENGINEERS Umow Lai STRUCTURE Windward Structures PHOTOGRAPHy Mark Roper Photography
171 Collins — Base Building ARCHITECT Bates Smart PROJECT TEAM Kristen Whittle, Jim Milledge, Roger Poole, Tim Leslie, Cameron Donald, Andrew Raftopoulos, Jarrad Morgan, Peter Knight, James Christophidis, Brian Mason, Verena Unser, Peter Goh, Chris White, Simon Rich, Michael Fischer, Guilherme Rodrigues, Fred Ng, Matt Hainsworth INTERIOR DESIGN Grant Filipoff, Ben Nicholas, Kate Wardlaw PROJECT MANAGER APP Corporation BUILDER Brookfield Multiplex FAÇADE ENGINEER BG&E Facades CONSERVATION ARCHITECT Lovell Chen STRUCTURAL ENGINEER Winward Structures SERVICES ENGINEERING Umow Lai SPECIALIST LIGHTING Electrolight QUANTITY SURVEYOR Rider Levett Bucknall BUILDING SURVEYOR PLP Building Surveyors SIGNAGE Fabio Ongarato Design FAÇADE DEVELOPMENT Luminova TOTAL FLOOR AREA Site Area 2,955 m2
TIME TO COMPLETE 18-month integrated fit-out during the construction of 171 Collins Street
Office Floor Area 31,400 m2
TOTAL FLOOR AREA 1,690m2 over seven floors
Bates Smart (61 2) 8354 5100 | batessmart.com.au
BATES SMART (61 2) 8354 5100 | batessmart.com.au
FURNITURE In lobby, Minotti ‘Jensen’ armchair, ‘Calder’ coffee table and ‘Alison’ sofa, dedece. Concierge task chair, Wilkhahn
McGrathNicol
LIGHTING In lobby, Flos table lamps, Foscarini ‘Twiggy Lettura’ floor lamps, Space Furniture FINISHES Generally throughout, carpet tiles, Interface. Lobby custom rug, Tsar. Reception desk leather ‘Cabro’, Marco Fabrics. Stone flooring, Caesarstone. Lobby walls, Travertine Azzuro. Acrylic paint, Dulux and Bristol. Powdercoat, Duratec. Vinyl flooring, Polyflor. Granite paving, Barron Forge. Suspended Ceiling Tiles, Knauf AMF/Mikor FIXED AND FITTED Lobby atrium glass, Viridian. Generally throughout, acoustic plasterboard ceiling, CSR. Glass, Design Inferno, Viridian and G.James
Architect Bates Smart Interior Design Jeff Copolov, Grant Filipoff, Rachael McCarthy, Ben Nicholas, Lucy Bothwell, Lai Yee Chan, Project Manager Montlaur Builder ICMG Services Engineers Umow Lai Structure Windward Structures Photography Peter Clarke Photography Time to complete Nine months Total floor area 1,662 m2’
FURNITURE ‘Le Corbusier’ armchairs, Thonet. ‘Wingback’ armchairs, dedece. ‘Oscar’ armchairs and sofas, Hub Furniture. Walter Knoll ‘Gio’ meeting chairs and ‘Eames’ table, Living Edge. ‘Mayfair’ waiting lounge, Stylecraft. ‘De La Espada’ benches, Anibou. ‘Flynn’ dining table and ‘Genevieve’ sofa, Jardan. ‘Forma’ leisure chairs, ‘Teri’ side tables and ‘Camerich King’ reception desk, Mezai. ‘Timetable’ training table, Wilkhahn. ‘Stella’ coffee tables, ‘Pearl’ console tables, Zuster LIGHTING Tom Dixon ‘Beta’ table lamps, dedece. ‘Gubi, Grossman Cobra’ table lamp, CULT. ‘Lean’ floor lamps, Great Dane. ‘Tolomeo’ table and floor lamps, Artemide FINISHES Carpet tiles, Interface. ‘Corfu’ curtains, Warwick. Kitchen bench, Terazzo. ‘Amano’ ceramic tile, Academy Tiles
Furniture Visitor, task and meeting chairs, Wilkhahn. Armchairs and dining chairs, Hay. Client lounge sofa, Walter Knoll. Storage units, Planex. Tables, Herman Miller, Walter Knoll, Living Edge and Jardan Lighting Floor lamps, Louis Poulson. Table lamps, Louis Poulson and Artemide Finishes Carpet, Shaw Carpets. Wall covering, Woven Image. Film breakout screen, Reflex. Corian solid surface, CASF. Stone flooring, Baron Forge. Kitchen, tiles, Classic Ceramics. Vinyl, Forbo
BATES SMART (61 2) 8354 5100 | batessmart.com.au For the full directory of supplier contacts, visit indesignlive.com/dissections59 indesignlive.com
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In Discussion
Key players in the BHP Billiton 171 Collins Street project Geoff Sloan, Senior Manager of Group Facilities at BHP Billiton, discusses the company’s approach to the project.
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iven the complexity of the task, it is not surprising to hear that all those involved in this fitout spent two years working in the BHP Billiton offices to fully understand how staff work, including those fully engaged by BHP Billiton and all those contractors who regularly service the office, from catering to cleaning. BHP Billiton’s ‘Charter Values’ are clearly expressed at every turn, whether in the Business Centre, concealed behind a large sliding door at ground level, or in the multitude of work and breakout spaces provided. The Business Centre is an ideal place to appreciate the level of design Geyer needed to address. We wanted an extremely flexible space that could be used on a daily basis for guests, as well as staff. But this space also had to cater for a cocktail party for 150 people or a seated function for 120. This meant the loose furniture had to be stored when the entire floor is required. As well as providing a kitchen and amenities, the brief included showcasing BHP Billiton’s 140-year history. Dividend books, with their crust covers, circa 1886, are beautifully displayed in a built-in glass cabinet alongside other historical treasures. While the past is showcased, technology in the Business Centre is concealed in the ornate, patterned steel ceiling. The interior had to be elegant, but also robust. We also wanted to express materials close to BHP Billiton, such as the cold rolled steel walls and the folded aluminium expressed on the ceiling. This clear expression of materials can be seen in BHP Billiton’s tenancy, levels 11 to 18, occupying the highest levels of the office tower. The centrepiece of Geyer’s
design is a sculptural staircase. It’s like a ‘collaboration highway’, where people meet and discuss things informally. The staircase provides a sense of connectivity as well as transparency to other levels. “The inspiration for the staircase came from Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. There’s a subtle twist in the form,” says Geyer designer David Spaccatore. “You can also see references to Donald Judd’s work.” While Geyer’s fit-out reflects materials produced by BHP Billiton, from stainless steel to aluminium, zinc and copper, the company’s approach to work is captured in the fine detail and level of amenities provided. There are change rooms, with stacked white towels, to allow international guests to freshen up before meetings. It might be 7:00am in the morning and you have just arrived from New York. You can see the level of detail in the every day workings of the office. The workstations, for example, have drawers specifically for laptops. At the end of each day, staff remove everything from desktops to give our cleaning staff unencumbered surfaces. The same approach was applied to kitchens where the dishwasher and shelves are aligned to avoid bending over. You can see why we wanted the design team to observe how every person connected to BHP Billiton operates.
Bates Smart’s Associate Director, Grant Filipoff, created the interiors for
ners. Our clients wanted the sense of a gentlemen’s club, where there’s an ambience of craft and detail, interiors that felt tailored to suit each space. Occupying levels two to eight of 171 Collins Street, there’s a sense of ‘comfortable grandeur’ in Bates Smart’s design, nestled behind the restored Mayfair façade. Each level occupies 250sqm of floor space. While this layout may not suit some practices, the arrangement perfectly fits with the client’s requirement, with the trading floor (levels two and three) clearly delineated from the client lounge on level seven. There is that sense of a gentlemen’s club, but it’s not ‘stuffy’. Instead of chunky walls, there are fine steel and glass screens to create private meeting rooms. And to evoke a sense of the past, timber strapping features on some walls, evocative of the early 20th Century. Bookcases, both real and faux (wallpaper) add charm to the interiors. You might find this type of broking house in Europe. Here, we’ve combined some of our client’s antique furniture with selected contemporary pieces. The McGrathNicol fit-out, on level six of the tower, encompasses one entire floor (1,600sqm). We’ve included travertine in the foyer of this office, unifying the palette of materials used throughout. Like the main reception on the ground level, we’ve also used leather for this reception desk.
the building’s public spaces and two tenancies.
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e kept the palette of materials to relatively few. The grey-blue hues of the travertine in the foyer echo the colour of the glass. I hand-selected the travertine blocks from a quarry at Tivoli, just outside of Rome. This travertine extends to individual tenancies, creating a unified language of materials throughout the entire building. The reception desk, finished in leather, is a reminder of the designer handbags available in the Collins Street boutiques. Occupying part of the original footprint of Nahum Barnet’s American Romanesque building is Evans & Part-
Sue Solly, Team Leader at Geyer, describes how they responded to BHP Billiton’s brief.
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e were mindful of designing the fit-out to suit changes in technology, as well as work styles, not just with the Melbourne headquarters, but also with personnel in cities around the world. One thing that stands out is the collaborative approach evident through the entire project. It was crucial we fully understood the office protocols
and work practices to gain a deep understanding of the user experience. This included workshops with operational personnel such as catering, cleaning and maintenance, facility management, concierge, reception and IT staff. The internal stair was an important feature of the design. It encourages collaboration and communication without distracting the focused work areas of each floor. Using the stairs (adjacent to the lift core) also reinforces health and sustainability. The materials used for the undercroft of each level also act as a continual reminder of BHP Billiton’s core business. This creates a focal point and experience without the need for overt branding. An overarching concept for this project was developed out of a ‘Forum for Exchange’. The concept of the Exchange Business Lounge, for example, illustrates the Forum as an informal meeting place, and was developed for BHP Billiton’s Singapore offices. It also served to enhance the seamless mobility of people between locations, by building on an established and operational concept. As the headquarters of a large multinational mining company, it was important to place the building in a Melbourne context. We undertook a rigorous analysis of the city’s history, from Melbourne’s origins as the gold mining capital of the British Empire to it becoming a major mercantile shipping city, connecting with the West Coast of America. Referencing the local culture and showcasing BHP Billiton’s extensive collection of Australian art was also important. It shows support for the local art community, which aligns with the company’s sustainability Charter Value.