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BVN’s Minter Ellison fitout provides a
new benchmark for the design of legal
workplaces. Through a rigorous challenging
of the traditional hierarchical legal office
structure, the architects have developed a
new model blending office based work with
the principles of Activity Based Workplace
(ABW). The result is a physical representation
of a collaborative and connected working
environment.
A series of voids have been cut through the
floor plates, ingeniously offset to provide
interconnectivity and a visual link across the
multiple levels. These are connected by a
continuous, ribbon-like stair, which provides
convenient access to a range of breakout,
meeting and dining spaces.
Workspaces are arranged to encourage
teamwork, and minimally sized multi-function
offices encourage partners to collaborate
more closely with their teams in the open plan
workspaces on the periphery.
This strategy has led to the attraction and
retention of staff including the doubling of the
number of graduates seeking to join the firm.
The project was successfully completed
within strict budgetary and time constraints.
Material usage was minimised in the project
by exposing existing concrete floor slabs
and the ceiling structure. Whilst common in
contemporary interiors this approach was
bold for a legal workspace and reflects
the progressive nature of the project
and the client.
Photo: John Gollings
INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE
JOHN VERGE AWARD
Minter Ellison
BVN
42