Infrastructure advisory group are a dynamic organisation whom spend much of their time collaborating with their clients in their clients environment. As such their workspace takes on a multi-functional purpose that does not typically revolve around “work” as such. More-so, it is a space for collaboration or to touch base with colleagues and bounce ideas around what has been happening with their clients. The space is also a great place to relax, unwind and take a breath. This need for a space that is really not about working yet more about collaborating and decompressing presented an exciting design challenge of traversing through one space the evolves and transforms as you get deeper into the environment.

Our focus in the design approach was to arrive into a multi-functional collaborative, relaxed space instead of their previous more traditional reception area. The arrival to the space is intended to be a less formal experience which makes it easy to re-connect with fellow colleagues and decompress after their deep work in the client environment. The space is also multi-purpose and used as a presentation space for staff and visitors alike, a kitchen/breakout for lunch and the all-important coffee or knock-off drink. The space also serves as a waiting area meaning there is no need for the segregation of such a space from the central activity space. This new less, formal incidental interaction experience means staff can share and learn more freely from one another. As IAG are a completely agile organisation with no fixed desking the next zone you encounter is a touch-down hot-desk space intended for those who are just quickly checking in before proceeding to a client space or jumping into a meeting in one of the sound-proof, AV enabled small meeting spaces.

Blurring the lines between standard workspace zones the spaces further unfold and transform effortlessly into larger, height adjustable work areas. To support the busy and buzzy, interactive environment are phone booths that can be quickly jumped into to take a phone call or do some quiet work without needing to take up a larger meeting space. To support those larger meetings that needed privacy there are 2 larger meeting spaces away from all collaborative zones.

The vibe and look and feel of the space is very much a sense of Melbourne and the cool, edge city vibe it is best known for. It needed to represent and reflect the Melbourne Café Culture to give the staff a feeling that they can in fact do the coffee catchups and knock-off drinks in their own home. As such the vibe of the space incorporates the Melbourne laneway graphics in the splashback, black detailing and that urban edge. To give some life to the space a central green wall also brings to life the entry and arrival and further creates a subtle space divider between a waiting are and the collaborative café space.

IAG have embraced the space for all of its intended purposes and are thoroughly enjoying the collaborative opportunities it now represents between both colleagues and clients.