Comfort and space at the heart of today’s workplace
Workplaces today are ever-changing and their design represents the shifts in business, attitudes, health and wellbeing priorities and amenity that is required for a flexible workforce. This year’s INDE.Awards shortlist of The Work Space category is a snapshot of the continual evolvement of the workplace and, as a group, the projects are representative of people and place, culture and site.
While exemplary design is paramount in the shortlist, other factors such as sustainability, interior flexibility and comfort are integral to each project. Whether small or large the needs of the employee have been placed central to the design in order to assist workers to achieve fulfilment in their working life.
As supporter of The Work Space, Herman Miller is consummate in providing products that enhance the work place. For more than 100-years the company has designed and developed products that are innovative and future-focused to help workers achieve the very best.
“Seeing the projects shortlisted this year highlights the quality and breadth of design within the APAC region,” says Mike Radda, area vice president North Asia and Pacific for MillerKnoll. “It’s exciting to see that each year more firms within the region produce designs that have a focus and an overall positive impact on humanity. Every year we face new global challenges, and it’s encouraging to know that the design studios in our region are taking leadership and looking for ways to design a better world for us to live in.”
While the projects in The Work Space all offer myriad styles of working, each has been designed with re-configuration in mind. Comfort and space is at the heart of each design to enhance working but there are other facilities as well to encourage employees back to the office where they can connect and communicate.
On this, Radda notes, “The trend that stands out to me is the need for a physical office, regardless of what industry the organisation operates in, it demonstrates the need for employees to gather, connect and collaborate.”
And indeed, the 2022 shortlist demonstrates that when it comes to the workplace, sociability is front and centre and the office becomes rather more like a club than merely a place to work. It’s a sign of the times and heralds a new way of not just doing work but thinking about it as well.
When asked which entry stands out to Herman Miller, the experts of office furniture design have one immediately in mind. “Yirranma Place by SJB is a standout for me,” says Radda. “The interior palette and detailing complement the iconic heritage of the building perfectly. The use of Herman Miller’s Aeron chair and Atlas Office Landscape workstations for solitary working zones and collaborative spaces was smart. A great example of how workstations have multiple uses.”
9-15-Deloitte Center for the Edge, by Studio SKLIM. Image by Khoo Guo Jie
9-15-Deloitte Center for the Edge Studio SKLIM Singapore
Ballarat Gov Hub, by John Wardle Architects. Image by Peter Bennetts
Ballarat Gov Hub John Wardle Architects Australia
Dexus Place, 80 Collins Street, by Warren and Mahoney. Image by Nicole England
Dexus Place, 80 Collins Street Warren and Mahoney Australia
Exotic Food (XO), by IF (Integrated Field). Image courtesy of IF
Exotic Food (XO) IF (Integrated Field) Thailand
Google Aotearoa, by Warren and Mahoney. Image by Sam Hartnett
Google Aotearoa Warren and Mahoney New Zealand/Aotearoa
Hobsons Bay Civic Centre, by GroupGSA. Image by Nicole England
Hobsons Bay Civic Centre GroupGSA Australia
THE LINK, by IX Architects. Image by Finbarr Fallon Creative Office
THE LINK IX Architects Singapore
MC Workplace Fit-out, by Jasmax. Image by Jono Parker
MC Workplace Fit-out Jasmax New Zealand/Aotearoa
Microsoft HQ, by GroupGSA. Image by Steve Brown
Microsoft HQ GroupGSA Australia
Midtown Workplace, by COX Architecture. Image by Christopher Frederick Jones
Midtown Workplace Cox Architecture Australia
Our Place @ RMIT QV, by ARM Architecture with Geyer. Image by Shannon McGrath
Our Place @ RMIT QV ARM Architecture with Geyer Australia
Yirranma Place, by SJB. Image by Anson Smart
Yirranma Place SJB Australia
.
Join us when the winner of the Work Space will be announced in Melbourne on the 4th August at the 2022 INDE.Awards gala. The in-person event will also be broadcast live to bring together everyone around our Indo-Pacific region. Register for your free digital ticket here.
And also join the conversation about the new workplace at the virtual INDE.Summit on the 3rd August. James Calder, Global Director, Era-Co will moderate an exceptional panel session and delve deep into all things work related in Finding Connectivity: A New Dawn for the Workplace.