The design of a new architecture studio in Surry Hills NSW invites community and collaboration.
Australia architecture practice Hayball co-created its new studio in Surry Hills NSW with interior design collaborator Bettina Steffens, with principles of community and collaboration at the heart of the design. The studio exudes warmth with its natural materials, such as timber, plywood and glass, and with its array of spaces, in which Hayball staff, clients, school groups or family members can feel at home.
Drawing heavily on their research into learning environments, Hayball’s new Surry Hills studio will accommodate future growth and the capacity to service a greater number of projects, including recent project wins such as a new joint use library and multiple education and residential sector projects.
To enable movement and choice across the office, the studio offers a variety of workplace settings, including automated standing desks; small group booths; library spaces; workshop and maker spaces. We were also keen to include spaces that are influenced by our work in the residential sector such as data enabled kitchen and dining areas that promote informal collaboration in a familiar, more domestic environment.
Each team member is provided with a toolkit that’s mobile: a laptop; a tray with all their analogue drawing equipment; a locker for end of trip facilities and a local storage locker in the office that becomes a home for their items, a substitute for a traditional desk.
What kind of meeting spaces are provided?
The health and wellbeing of our team is a priority. Spaces for play are given equal importance to other work activities to promote participation, activity and movement to create opportunities for staff to interact and truly engage with one another. We have incorporated standard end of trip facilities such as bike storage and showers to encourage more active lifestyles; whilst a team plant selection program fosters inclusivity, a sense of ownership and wellbeing.
There are also multipurpose meeting rooms which can serve as kid’s play spaces for the children of our employees.
A workshop was run with all staff at the beginning of the process to capture the essence of how the staff aspired to work in the future. They worked in groups to envisage future scenarios and were also asked to share images of what they thought might be interesting for the future office.
Were any pre-planning surveys conducted to get employee input?
Building awareness among employees was an important initiative.
Please describe any program requirements that were unique or required any special research or design requirements.
The studio needed to be an exemplar office environment and prototype to test new workplace settings – this was particularly important as Hayball undertakes a wide range of education and commercial space projects which we are always looking to feed further research into. Hayball’s Melbourne and Brisbane offices are also pegged to undergo a refurbishment soon, making the Sydney Studio a very important exemplar office for us.
Also, principles of community and collaboration had to be at the heart of the design.
Were there any special or unusual construction materials or techniques employed in the project?
The use of timber in the space which creates a sense of warmth.
Are there any furnishings or spaces specifically included to promote wellness/wellbeing?
Spaces for play given equal importance to promote participation, activity and movement
End of trip facilities like bike storage and showers provided to encourage more active lifestyles among staff
Space designed to be suitable for staff to bring their children into e.g. whiteboard room (where every surface is writeable) serves as both a brainstorm room and kid’s play space, the boardroom can be used for meetings and to play table tennis
What kind of technology products were used?
To enable movement and choice across the office, the studio offers a variety of workplace settings, including automated standing desks. Spaces such as a data enabled kitchen and dining area, that are influenced by Hayball’s work in the residential sector, were also included to promote more informal collaboration in a familiar, more domestic environment.
If the company relocated to new space, what was the most difficult aspect of the change for the employees?
As it was an inclusive approach from the beginning, there was a constant stream of communication throughout. The team also has a morning tea every Monday to discuss these sorts of changes
Were there post occupancy surveys?
Thus far, employees have relayed that they feel the new space really supports positive staff interaction and collaboration. They have also said that they really like bringing external visitors such as clients into the space due to the warmth of the environment and sense of community created.
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Architect: Hayball
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