Connecting work, nature and Country

Social value and equity

We brought together interior design agency, Hames Sharley, Noongar Artist Peter Farmer, Miranda Farmer, a Cultural Advisor and their family from Peter Farmer Designs, and our designers to codesign our workplace. Together, we explored ideas to integrate art and biophilic design elements into the workplace design. We created a design philosophy to communicate a connection between the old and new worlds by telling stories that encompass our firm’s past, present and future journey.

Artwork integrated into our workplace design and the building materials tell these stories. Highlights include the large welcome sculpture at the entry representing ideas and growth, stories of the nearby river carved into the lockers and clay mouldings in the kitchen, each with a different meanings and significance. We worked with Ingrid Cumming, Custodian and Traditional Owner of Whadjuk Noongar Country, and Dr. Roma Winmar, Elder in Residence at Edith Cowan University to integrate Noongar language in the artwork and workplace wayfinding. 

Sustainable building design 

Aligned with our firm-wide net zero by 2030 goal, we took a regenerative and sustainable design approach for our workplace. We are pursuing the Living Building Challenge (LBC), a globally recognised certification from the International Living Futures Institute for sustainable and regenerative buildings.

To meet the criteria for a living building, we made conscious design and construction choices with our construction partner Built to positively impact the natural environment and optimise occupant wellbeing. Biophilic design connects people inside the building to nature with views of street trees, and various plants throughout the office. We prioritised material reuse by incorporating salvaged cable trays, furniture, laminate board and storm-felled timber throughout the workplace. 

Structural engineering 

In the centre of the workplace is a large void, created by removing the building’s cross-laminated timber (CLT) floor panels. This design feature visually connects each workplace level and encourages cross-level people movement. 

We saw the opportunity to reduce waste and reuse the CLT and removed floor beams for the void to create raised platforms throughout the workplace. The floors can then be reinstated using the retained materials. A ‘storytelling window’ displays the stacked CLT panels and steel beams – a reminder of our commitment to material reuse. 

A staircase twists inside the void connecting each level and is supported by a steel column which we split in two pieces to fit inside the lift. Inspired by tensegrity, which puts structures under compression using tension, each column piece is curved and connected by a thin rod creating a striking office centrepiece. This approach significantly reduced the steel required to support the staircase and enabled a simple CLT prefabricated stair system to span between the steel frames.