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Zip instant boiling water
in state-of-the-art spaces
Instant Boiling Water
Boiling Point Issue 17
zipindustries.com
Welcome to Issue #17 of Boiling Point, the magazine for Zip HydroTap, providing instant boiling and chilled filtered water to state-of-the-art design and architectural spaces.
UK
P.02 Exeter University Business School Money makes the world go ’round and it’s also inspired HLM Architects in their design for this renowned business school in Exeter, UK.
Education
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P.04 Sacred Heart Primary School A primary school in Geeveston in rural Tasmania receives a new, collaborative and flexible learning centre thanks to K2LD Architects.
Commercial (Cover Story) P.06 BVN Studio
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BVN Architects practised what they preached when they pared back the design of their own studio in Sydney to the most basic of elements.
Residential P.10 Scott St
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A contemporary development in Brisbane by Jackson Teece takes advantage of the views, complemented by sophisticated interior products.
Commercial
P.12 Standard Chartered Bank Singapore Woodhead delivers on the design for the second stage of a mammoth consolidation of 12 offices into a single building over 25 floors.
Cover image: BVN Studio, Sydney Photography: John Gollings
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News from Zip The year 2011 has been a year of remarkable achievements for Zip. Your support has enabled new Zip instant boiling water appliances to win unprecedented acceptance among architects, interior designers and hydraulic consultants around Australia and abroad. In particular, the new Zip HydroTap ‘Compact 2’ for home kitchens, giving boiling and chilled filtered water, and the new Zip HydroTap ‘All-In-One’ for home and office kitchens, giving boiling and chilled filtered water, plus hot and cold water – all from a single tap. More Zip innovations will appear soon. This was also a banner year for Zip involvement in community affairs. Our sponsorships were launched in great style in January with our involvement as Principal Sponsor of Sydney Festival 2011. Over a million people attended Sydney Festival events in the three weeks to 30 January. At least 250,000 Sydney locals and tourists attending Festival events helped themselves to filtered drinking water free of charge at outdoor water stations equipped by Zip. In May, we had the pleasure of becoming Principal Sponsor of the world premiere of a new musical written by world famous Australian author Colleen McCullough, and composed by the gifted Australian musician Gavin Lockley, who also composed a number of other musical works sponsored by Zip previously. ‘Morgan’s Run – The Musical’ traces the epic voyage of the First Fleet from England to Australia in 1788, and can be downloaded via gavinlockley.com. This year, Zip also continued its role as a Principal Sponsor of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in Australia, which you can discover afresh by visiting dukeofed.org.au. The ‘Duke of Ed’ organisation achieves amazing outcomes for young people year after year and merits the widest possible community support. For many years, in conjunction with Dr Geoffrey Cains, we have sponsored the National Biography Award administered by the State Library of New South Wales. This year it was gratifying to see the judges select a biography devoted to the architects responsible for planning Australia’s national capital, Canberra. ‘Grand Obsessions: The Life and Work of Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin’ by Alasdair McGregor is available from booksellers everywhere. As always, thanks for your ongoing support and interest.
Michael Crouch AO Executive Chairman Zip Industries (Aust) Pty Ltd michaelcrouch@zipindustries.com
Boiling Point Issue 17
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Calculated design The face of the Exeter University Business School is a building calculated to be not only visually exciting and encouraging of learning, but also takes some of the inspiration for its interiors from a most befitting source. At this well-established and well regarded British institution devoted to teaching top level skills in money management, the theme for each individual floor couldn’t have taken their inspiration from a more appropriate source: bank notes. The HLM Architects-designed $16 million, 3,000 square metre new structure for Exeter University Business School in Exeter houses a new centralised entrance, a large café with open-plan learning and teaching spaces, together with staff and student support areas on the ground floor. On the floors above are lecture theatres, classrooms, research spaces and a third-floor management suite. Exeter is a regional town (population around 120,000) situated just in from the south-western coast of Britain, on the river Exe in Devon. Paper money’s direct, thematic influence meanwhile can be seen in the green, orange, pink and purple accents that were chosen for the interiors to reflect a wealth of different currencies – notably Pounds Sterling, the Euro and the Yen. The currency-inspired colours are a witty, striking element in a brand new building for a school that has been commissioned with some very strong and very clear ideals. These included: a) that it be a place that was visually exciting and that reflected the international business school’s existing ambience and distinct character; and b) that it be a facility featuring “learning spaces which encourage and enable innovative teaching, promoting a variety of learning styles, group work and self study,” explains interior designer Joanna Armley from HLM Architects.
Exeter University Business School Words: Guy Allenby Photography: Trevor Burrows Architect: HLM Architects
“Business school spaces should be businesslike,” adds Richard Parsons, HLM Director in charge of the project. “It is more than offices and more than classrooms and has to match the aspirations of students and potential students while providing a practical learning environment. Nowadays, new academic
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buildings should also satisfy the aspiration of university stakeholders to make minimal impact on the environment.” To this end, HLM have designed a building that is state-of-the-art in energy efficiency terms and that has achieved a BREEAM (BRE Energy Assessment Method) ‘Excellent’ rating. Solar hot water panels have been included on the roof, there are high levels of insulation and air-tightness as well as the inclusion of natural ventilation methods. Fixed bespoke joinery elements enhance all areas including in the café/learning area and there are breakout island bars on the open balconies and in built-in storage to all open plan office spaces. In the island bars Zip HydroTap has provided an attractive, energy-efficient way to deliver instant boiling and chilled and filtered water – and befit the building’s superior environmental credentials. “They have the right aesthetic for this type of business environment as they are so neat in their design,” adds Armley. “The functionality perfectly meets the demands of this type of area, and being able to make a few cups at a time with no mess means that the area can be kept tidy and has a clean aesthetic,” she says. “The way these
taps work with the integrated font means that any drips and spillages are caught and avoid becoming a problem to clean up.” The Zip HydroTap is an integral part of very successful design that’s been remarkably well received. “This wonderful new space will support our ambitious growth plans, and help us to realise our vision of being an internationally renowned business school,” says Professor Robin Mason, Associate Dean of Education at the Business School. “It creates a cohesive business school campus suitable for undergraduate, postgraduate and international students. And it provides the learning environment, ambience and image to make us stand out in an increasingly competitive market place.”
Boiling Point Issue 17
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The Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School Words: David Mellonie/ Guy Allenby Photography: Jonathan Wherrett Architect: K2LD Architects
Primary Care One remote and under resourced primary school in rural Tasmania had a change in fortune, now boasting a light-filled and contemporary learning centre that is enjoyed by students, teachers and the community at large. Up until the middle of 2010, the staff and students at The Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School in rural Geeveston struggled through long winters in cold, cramped and leaky weatherboard classrooms. Geeveston is a small rural town (population around 1500) on the Huon River in south-eastern Tasmania around 62 kilometres from Hobart. And when the dark clouds opened, as many as 15 buckets a day were filled with the rain that found its way through roofs and light fittings. How things have changed. Thanks to the Federal Government’s ‘Building the Education Revolution’ programme, the Geeveston school now has a new open-plan learning centre that is at the very cutting edge of primary education in this country – and the rain-filled buckets are a distant memory. Designed by the Melbourne office of boutique architecture practice K2LD, the Josephite Learning Centre at Sacred Heart Primary is an energy-efficient and flexible new building that places an emphasis on light, warmth and a connection with the outdoors. “Every face of the new building,” explains Tisha Lee, Principal Architect at K2LD for the project, “looks outward and engages with the surrounding environment. A vibrant entry
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courtyard stitches the disparate buildings on the site together and provides an exciting outdoor learning environment that complements the interior.” Double-glazed windows let in abundant natural light and insulate the interior from the Tasmanian winters and high power bills. Planning-wise a balance has been struck between providing spaces that offer flexibility and can be multi-zoned with areas for large groups, as well as focused small groups and wet areas to service both art and science activities. Furniture is mobile, wireless technology has been installed and laptops are used. It’s a contemporary space that facilitates student and staff interaction and provides an environment that can be quickly re-configured depending on the needs of the day. “The new learning centre exceeded all our expectations,” says Sacred Heart Catholic School principal, Stuart Kelly. “The teachers, students and local community are delighted with the outcome. The large, open collaborative spaces contain discrete areas, and flexible interior configurations enable the staff and students to use all areas in the centre,” he says. “Our students can’t wait to get inside. Apart from two days when it was snowing, I don’t think we’ve even had to switch the heaters on at all.” Adults using the space also appreciate
“ It’s easy, it’s safe… and it enables boiling and chilled water from the one unit”
its design – staff have kitchen facilities in the resource area and in the evenings the learning centre is often used for community functions. A Zip HydroTap is mounted at the sink for constant boiling and chilled filtered water for the use of staff and evening groups. “We’ve all used them in the office environment,” says Lee of the decision to include one in the space. “It’s easy, it’s safe, it saves the hassle of having a kettle and it enables you to have boiling and chilled water from the one unit.” Kelly adds, “A once cold, damp, uninspiring place has now been replaced with a warm and welcoming centre that will help transform the learning potential of children in this beautiful but remote community.” K2LD Architects (61 3) 9667 5400 k2ld.com.au
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Raw ideal BVN Architecture’s thriving new Sydney studio is an open plan place pared back to a bare concrete canvas that has a large ‘domestic’ kitchen at its humming heart.
BVN Architecture Words: Jane Burton Taylor/ Guy Allenby Photography: John Gollings Architect: BVN Architecture
Walking out of the lifts into BVN’s new studio – on the 11th floor in the Hilton building in Sydney’s CBD – it would be easy to assume that the space is a work-in-progress. And that’s precisely what it is – with its bare concrete slab and exposed trays carrying computer and electrical cables, this is an office that’s been pared back radically to its bare bones.
Challenger, re-located from previous premises into four levels of the building. The floor below had immediate appeal because it was big enough to accommodate BVN on a single floor. “One of the key drivers for our culture is to keep everything on one level and in one space,” says Dowzer. “We know as soon as we break people up we lose the interaction and communication.”
“We see this as a space that will evolve and change and we’ll try out things,” explains Bill Dowzer, BVN’s State Director. “It’s definitely not a finished work of art, it’s a play space, a laboratory. We are putting into practice what we have been doing for a long time,” he says. “The last twelve years, this is our manifestation of that. We are almost playing in the space. It is a lab of the ideas, but we are doing it economically.”
The BVN Sydney office is an open-plan space, with low, task-oriented lighting and the key principal of the fit-out was to strip back the existing space to its skeleton. “There are so many layers in the building that companies [tenants] put in,” says Dowzer by way of explanation. “We tried to pull it all back and reveal the base building.
The vacant space was spotted by Dowzer and co-directors when one of their clients,
“The design has been generated by how we wanted to use a space. We said, ‘We want to
Boiling Point Issue 17
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“ The high volume of water was a key issue given the peak loads demanded...”
do this and this, what are the least amount of materials we need?’” says Dowzer. “So there is an economy and the space is enlivened by people doing different activities. It doesn’t need finishes and materials and other layers.” Desks are arranged in teams in a herringbone shape and the hub of the space is an internal ‘veranda’, a raised timber-floored area next to the windows, flanked by a galley kitchen. The veranda is both a lunch and work space – a place for working or for informal meetings. Noise isn’t a concern. “The energy that you feel within the studio is important,” says Dowzer. “The feeling of vitality and not feeling too quiet – that goes to the relaxed nature of the studio. There’s a bit of
noise and a bit of buzz and the kitchen in there actually helps. We wanted to reinforce it as a domestic-feeling kitchen,” he says. “It’s become a destination that people go to in the studio.” (See box, right.) The concentration of BVN’s 140 staff in the open plan studio plainly works enormously well. “I think in modern design there is a lot of redundancy, in risk aversion, you put layers in, just in case. Here, we stripped it back and it has been liberating,” says Dowzer. “It is almost being comfortable with the rawness because we know how to use it.” BVN Architecture (61 2) 8297 7200 bvn.com.au
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BVN Architecture’s State Director, Bill Dowzer, describes the social role of the humble kitchen in the workplace – a hub of informal, yet important, ideas and conversation. When Bill Dowzer, studio director of BVN Architecture’s new Sydney office, says that the kitchen in the studio space “is much like a kitchen in a home”, what he means is that “it’s the centre of all the activity in the studio,” he says – much like a domestic kitchen is the hub of the home. But more than that, it’s set up like one with an oversized benchtop, twin sinks, a mixer tap and a Zip HydroTap ready to dispense boiling and chilled filtered water instantly through the day. And it’s here, around the HydroTap – the contemporary equivalent of the water cooler – that “the informal conversations happen”, says Dowzer. And at BVN it’s these conversations that form the core of the firm’s internal communications. As Dowzer explains: “The conversations that happen at the tea point or the kitchen bench are almost just as relevant as ‘business conversations’ or what happens
in meeting rooms,” he says. “For us a lot of the serendipitous conversations that happen around the Zip HydroTap are really important in terms of the work that we do. Which is really all about the exchange of ideas and the exchange of knowledge. A lot of it happens in an informal way and making it happen and making the kitchen the hub of our studio reinforces that.” It’s an approach you can trace back 12 years to when Dowzer and James Grose, BVN architecture’s national director, went on a study tour in Holland seeking ideas for the reinvention of Campus MLC in North Sydney, the forerunner of the more relaxed modern Australian office. “We saw a whole load of relaxed workplaces with the kitchen being the centre of the work environment,” he says. “It fundamentally changed the way we viewed work environments and how you can create a more relaxed place.” Relaxed, dynamic, effective and creative.
Face time
Scott Street Words: Guy Allenby Photography: Scott Burrows Architect: Jackson Teece
Scott Street Apartments on the Brisbane River is a new 10-apartment tower – with one apartment per floor – offering a luxurious interior and a striking, sculptural public face to the outside world.
11 Inspired by melaleuca bark, perhaps the most arresting thing about 1 Scott Street Apartments at Kangaroo Point, Brisbane, is its incredible, sculptural concrete façade. And it’s not just a thing of elegance and beauty, the concrete form that clads the eastern elevation of the new 15-storey building on the banks of the Brisbane River provides both thermal protection and visual privacy for the luxury apartments (as seen from the Bradfield Highway as the main arterial approaches the Story Bridge). The melaleuca-inspired screen was developed as 16 pre-cast concrete panels, explains Paul Brace, Director of Interiors at Jackson Teece architects and the person responsible for designing the equally impressive insides of the building. As Brace explains, the building has been conceived as a luxury residential block and the brief by its developers, Waterford Properties, was a structure – replacing a 1950s hotel formerly on the site – with “a lot of personality”. The building is made up of 10 apartments, including a “three-storey apartment on the ground floor,” says Brace, who is based in the Sydney office, “then one apartment per floor and then a two-storey penthouse [on top]”. The main apartments, taking up a floor each, are identical in layout and finishes. Each home offers four bedrooms and five bathrooms over an area of around 450 square metres. On a floor plan of a typical apartment you notice the outer walls of the building to the north and the south display a gentle curve on each side towards the middle – concave – as if the whole building has been delicately squeezed together. This allows the bedrooms, which are at the eastern end of the plan “to have city views,” says Brace, “because they are angled towards the view rather than just looking north or south.” On the western side of the building is a huge living space, which opens to a deep terrace overlooking the Brisbane River and the CBD. The terrace is necessarily deep to keep out the western sun at its most harsh. “Sun penetrates very late in the day and there’s a drop down shade blind [on the outside of the terrace] that can be used for the half hour that the sun is troublesome,” says Brace. The living room itself is flexible with sliding glass walls that enable areas to be opened up or closed down to provide intimate space.
There’s also a sliding glass panel that allows the kitchen, which is at the rear of the living space, to be hidden from view. The kitchen is large and sleek and boasts a walk-in pantry plus all the appliances you would expect a contemporary prestige residence to have – including boiling and chilled filtered water available on command. “We found the Zip HydroTap an elegant solution,” says Jonathan Kavali Development Manager, Waterford Properties in explaining the specification of the innovative product. “The compact spatial requirements of the under-bench unit, the health benefits of filtered chilled and boiling water, the very reasonable pricing and convenience were all key factors in specifying Zip.” Floors throughout the building are a balance of limestone, timber (in the living room) and plush pile carpeted bedrooms. The palette is “very calm, very neutral with not too many materials going on”, says Brace. Contemporary or more traditional furniture and furnishings are equally at home in the apartments, he says. “It’s all going to work, that’s the idea of it.” Jackson Teece (61 7) 3236 2771 jacksonteece.com.au
Boiling Point Issue 17
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Floor show Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore has consolidated 12 offices into two locations – Changi Business Park and Marina Bay – the latter is a 25-floor corporate haven boasting ‘Collaborative’, ‘Work’, ‘Quiet’ and ‘Reflective’ zones. Standard Chartered Bank Words: Lynn Tan / Guy Allenby Interior photography: Standard Chartered Bank Exterior photography: Owen Raggett Architect: Woodhead
Standard Chartered Bank’s new premises at Singapore’s Marina Bay Financial Centre in Singapore is big – in fact it counts as one of the biggest office leasings ever in South-East Asia’s thriving financial centre. And it had to be sizeable because the project represents the second stage in the consolidation of the bank’s nonbranch staff from 12 locations into two: Changi Business Park, completed two years ago, and Marina Bay offering 48,000 square metres of space over 25 floors. “The Relocation Project represents a fantastic collaborative effort – primarily our Singapore, Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane offices,” explains Sydney-based Geoffrey Lee, Managing Principal of Woodhead, the Australian architects in charge of the project, which began in September 2008. Bijaya Sharma, Singapore-based Interior Designer at Woodhead, who was involved with the relocation project from the start, adds that “managing a big team for a large-scale project such as this is never easy, but the clear brief provided by the client got everyone off to a good start. Vertical planning was crucial and
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“ We chose them for their function… and because it’s the best of its type”
entailed a thorough understanding of the client’s operations, space requirements and functional relationships,” she says. “For example, which business unit goes on what level, how many floors it will occupy and who goes on the floors directly above and below it.” The 25 floors are divided up into two ‘stacks’, accessible from separate ground floor lift lobbies. The open plan offices are typically set out on a modular grid, to allow for future expansion. Each floor is fitted out in one of three themes – Asia, Africa or Middle East, to represent bank’s key markets – using colours, materials, furniture and artwork. Lift lobbies lead to an ‘Interchange Hub’, where staff can meet and mingle. Group spaces adjacent to these hubs cater to lunch breaks or informal meetings.
“Zip HydroTap was specified at all breakout areas including the executive area,” says Sharma. “Each floor has two units to serve approximately 350 people. We chose them for their function, energy efficiency, flexibility, convenience, space-saving under-counter housing and because it’s the best of its type.” The breakout areas and other hubs are a central part of an interior that also features Collaboration and Work Zones supporting teamwork, as well as Reflective and Quiet Zones conducive to focused and relaxed concentration. Each of the spaces feature distinct floor finishes, lighting and furniture to demarcate the zones. Woodhead (61 2) 9964 9500 woodhead.com.au
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Australia Zip Heaters (Aust) Pty Ltd (61 2) 9796 3100 zipindustries.com
New Zealand Zenith Heaters (64 9) 838 8612 zenithheaters.co.nz
United Kingdom Zip Heaters (UK) Ltd (44) 870 608 8888 zipindustries.co.uk
Singapore Multico Building Products (65) 6283 8888 multico.com.sg
Also in: Europe (Germany), Africa, Asia Pacific – Philippines, Thailand, Taipei, Taiwan Published by Indesign Group (61 2) 9368 0150, info@indesign.com.au © Zip Industries Publisher: Raj Nandan Operations: Adele Troeger Editorial: Guy Allenby and Nicky Lobo Production: Sarah Djemal Design: Emma Warfield Zip Industries: Murray Pope and Jason Haskins Zip Industries and the publisher hereby disclaim, to the full extent permitted by law, all liability, damages, costs and expenses whatsoever arising from or in connection with copy information or other material appearing in this publication, any negligence of the publisher, or any person’s actions in reliance thereon. Inclusion of any copy information or other material must not be taken as an endorsement by Zip Industries. Views expressed by contributors are personal views and are not necessarily endorsed by Zip Industries. The terms ‘Zip’, ‘Hydroboil’, ‘HydroTap’, ‘Power-Pulse’, ‘Chilltap’ and ‘Chill Fountain’ are trade marks.
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