Contract - May 2015 - 87

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Seventh Floor Plan
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F
On the upper floor,
collaboration areas (above)
with lounge chairs open
onto an outdoor terrace.
Elements from JWT's former
location, including timbers
(left), were repurposed in the
new office. The mezzanine
overlooks a central atrium
(previous), in which a
bicycle-wheel light
installation hangs.

Reception
Collaboration area
Atrium
Open office area
Meeting area
Printing area
Edit suite
Creative planning room

"Our response was to provide unexpected details,
ollowing a rebranding, JWT needed its new
unexpected elements, and unexpected experiences,"
Sydney office to be memorable for clients
Durakovic says. Geyer set about devising diverse work
and to enhance collaboration among its
settings with no fixed desks, plenty of breakout rooms,
95 employees. The global marketing and
and a variety of informal areas for teams, including
communications agency-which has created social
media campaigns for corporate and government clients groupings of two-seat couches, collaboration areas for
six to eight, and a large boardroom that can seat 25.
on issues ranging from alcohol-related violence to
Most employees work on the seventh floor in an
teenage relationships to breast cancer awareness-
open plan at long linear benches or at cloverleaf-shaped
wanted its space to reflect its corporate mantra:
timber workstations. Interspersed among these are
Be the antidote to indifference.
several round tables with Eames chairs. An original brick
The antidote, in a physical sense, was delivered in
wall is exposed throughout the building, adding texture
the form of an older building on the fringe of Sydney's
and interest, and the deep windowsills are used for ad
central business district. "We moved from a very
hoc meetings. "The building has allowed us to facilitate
corporate building in the city to a heritage building that
a far more integrated way of working, so we now work
is much more inspiring and conducive toward creating
great ideas," says JWT Australia/New Zealand CEO John in project teams-some refer to it as activity-based
working-and that's really helping us mix different
Gutteridge. JWT commissioned Sydney-based interior
design practice Geyer to optimize the interior's industrial disciplines and skill sets together to work in a far
more efficient and effective way," Gutteridge says.
past while reconfiguring the top two floors of the eightOn the upper floor, bifold doors open to a large
story former wool store.
outdoor terrace, allowing for natural ventilation as well
"I think JWT fell in love with the exterior of the wool
as additional work and social space. The more formal
store itself," says Iva Durakovic, an interior designer with
boardroom and meeting rooms have sliding-glass
Geyer. Inside, however, few of the original features
operable walls that can contract or expand the interiors.
remained: The building had previously been gutted and
transformed into a standard office. "We had to work quite "It's quite unique to be able to open up a whole wall and
have access to the outdoors while you're working. That's
hard to peel it back and expose the interior," Durakovic
not what the majority of high-rise office buildings offer,"
explains. During this process, they discovered a
Durakovic observes.
triple-height void hidden above the old ceiling grid. The
designers were able to use this gap for a mezzanine level
and a staircase, opening up the interior and allowing both Capturing the company culture
Designing for sustainability and employee well-being
employees and clients to journey through the space.
were key factors. Many elements from the former
location-including furniture, specialized equipment,
Workspace to suit headspace
The driving idea was to establish an engaging, interactive, and timbers-were repurposed in the new office.
The entrance is marked with a recycled reception
and reconfigurable design that would encourage JWT's
desk and a rope installation behind it, both displaying
staff members to create, communicate, and work
the JWT initials.
together effectively among themselves and with clients.
contract

Contract - May 2015

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