Ring the deal bell
Hanging plants connect with the company’s ‘green’ philosophy and increase its Green Star potential.
The bright accents of green and orange in the kitchen area suggest a convivial and relaxed zone.
‘Cubby holes’ suit the floating desk culture; the private-call phone booth is clad with timber from the previous office’s boardroom table.
The break-out area steps up from the main floor plain compresses and brings a tension to the floor plan.
The colour palette in the light-filled kitchen area is both relaxed and uplifting.
The relaxed café space with Cult stools; ergonomic standing workstations.
Unison Kivo pods are used for small workstations.
When the ‘deal bell’ is rung, everyone stops work to acknowledge and celebrate an employee’s achievement.
Flexible spaces encourage collaborative work practices.
Glass walls between spaces dissolve barriers.
A Simon James meeting table sits under acoustic panels.
The reception walls are clad in a tactile leather tile.
A wall of soft sphagnum moss adds texture and connects with the company’s ‘green’ philosophy.
Floor plan.
Commercial property owner and developer Goodman delivers a sustainable new workspace for its own deal-makers.
You might safely assume that a company that deals in large-scale commercial property development and management has ample capability to deliver a top-notch, Grade A office space for its own staff. But Goodman Property Trust has a strong commitment to sustainability and environmentally friendly practices, and it wanted to take it a step further by pursuing a Green Star rating in the fit-out of its new office space in the KPMG building in Auckland’s Viaduct precinct.
Directly overlooking the Waitematā Harbour, it’s a dazzling space, with plenty of natural light. Staff members are treated to a sublime sea view and the virtually paperless office provides a crisp and clean workspace. It’s hardly surprising, then, that the staff had to undergo training six months before the move, to eradicate the long-held habits of paper wastage and clutter-hoarding and, in their place, adopt an intentional approach to sustainable workplace practices.
GHDWoodhead creativespaces worked with Goodman to bring about this change in thinking and developed a series of ‘Green Stories’ that are dotted throughout the space, connecting visitors and staff alike with the narrative of the new space, while simultaneously educating on sustainability practices that speak to the company’s values.
GHDWoodhead creativespaces’ Colette McCartney says the space was conceived as “a flexible workspace to allow for change in the future, and growth”.
This meant a departure from assigned desks and a move to unallocated workstations. The new Activity-Based Working (ABW) space features 44 workstations made up of sit-to-stand desks, high leaners, collaborative desking options, quiet pods and phone booths. All are allocated on a first come, first served basis. The flexibility of ABW means there doesn’t need to be a designated workspace for each of the 55 full-time employees.
The effect is the disappearance of traditional company strata, says Goodman’s Mandy Waldin. “It’s integrated the individuals in the company so much more. The hierarchy dissolves; it’s really good for company culture.”
However, a collaborative environment gave rise to the need for a separate, client-facing side of the business: not an easy task in the relatively long and narrow space.
The solution was a corridor along one entire side of the office, which is directly accessed from the reception landing area. The exterior wall of the corridor is planted entirely in sphagnum moss, which softens the space while, simultaneously, providing a tactile experience for visitors and connecting them with the ‘green’ company philosophy.
To remove the potential for feeling constricted in the corridor, the client meeting-room walls that interface it are constructed of glass, thereby dissolving barriers. Each of the meeting rooms has an appropriate Māori name, telling the story of Goodman’s connection with the land.
Planting out the office further increased the company’s Green Star potential. The planting is a collaboration with GreenAir, the company that plants and maintains the greenery.
The pops of green from the planting are further enhanced by the scheme of Goodman’s traditional colour palette – blues and greens with accents in teal and bright orange. The scheme is interspersed thoughtfully throughout the space; the carpet blends from soft greens to blue as it heads towards the view of the sea and, in the cafeteria, the brighter accents of green and orange suggest a convivial and relaxed zone.
But, to achieve a Green Star rating, it’s not enough to simply approach the new space with ‘green’ thinking. Recycling materials and furniture from the former space on Queen Street was a key component to reducing waste. Office furniture was sold and gifted, and materials were reused and recycled where possible, achieving an impressive 90 per cent reuse of the former office fit-out.
There are a couple of nods to this achievement in the new space. The first is the recycling of the former timber boardroom table into the exterior cladding of the private-call phone booth. This upcycling of materials not only reduces waste but also adds warmth and history to the modern space.
The other noteworthy nod to the past is the large brass ‘deal bell’ hanging centrally in the office. This bell has come through three office moves and is an expression of the company’s commitment to and celebration of excellence. When an employee does a ‘deal’, the bell is rung so that everyone can stop work to acknowledge and celebrate their achievement.
It would be fair to say that, given the company’s commitment to sustainability and excellence, the ‘deal bell’ will be ringing for years to come.
