Kent Street Workplace

01The site

Three levels in a mid-century concrete office building on the western edge of the city, with deep floor plates, low light in the core and a view to the harbour from one corner.

02The brief

A workplace people would choose to come into: room to focus, room to collaborate, and a client floor the firm would be proud of, without throwing away a fit-out that still had years of life in it.

03Our response

We cut a new stair through all three floors so the firm feels like one place. Each floor is arranged in neighbourhoods around the light, with quiet rooms and libraries closer to the core. The top floor became the client floor, opening to the harbour corner.

04Materials

Exposed concrete columns and ceiling slabs, blackened steel, oak work surfaces and soft acoustic finishes, with much of the existing joinery kept and refinished.

05Sustainability

Reusing most of the existing fit-out saved hundreds of tonnes of waste. New lighting and controls cut the floors’ energy use by more than a third.