At first glance, the Auckland workplace for Rocketwerkz – among the South Pacific’s most successful video game development companies – might seem out of place amongst the PWCs, law firms and property moguls that it sits above inside Commercial Bay. And, “The truth is, this is literally the reverse of how you would normally plan a workplace,” says Unispace regional principal Harry Rowntree.

“It was quite fun to flip that entirely on its head. All of the pieces still fit but it does fly in the face of what “good” planning would be in terms of natural light, placement of people and so on…”

Certainly in New Zealand, where restraint in design often reigns supreme, the dark surrounds punctuated only by coloured LED strips and the obscuration of the view (arguably the best office view in Auckland) are bold moves. But, when you take in the context of Rocketwerkz’s enigmatic, new-money, barely 40 CEO Dean Hall, it begins to make perfect sense. Hall is notable for many things: his yellow Lamborghini (reportedly bought through a text message), shirtless Instagram selfies, climbing Everest and dream to create a game company that is alluring to global talent, among others.

Rowntree says that Hall and the team at Rocketwerkz gave them, essentially, a blank canvas when it came to the design. They wanted a workplace that would position themselves as a serious player in the video game industry, which perhaps prompted the tenancy on the top two floors of Auckland’s tallest commercial tower.

“They said nothing is off-limits, which we had some fun with,” Rowntree notes. “We threw everything against the wall to see what stuck – and basically everything did.” Well, almost everything. At one point, Harry explains, there was an idea to gamify the whole work experience, with avatars that could level up and gain access to new spaces.

“Not everything came to fruition,” he says, “but, some aspects of that are still in the building – the whole idea of moving through the spaces and getting to decision points (just like in a game), and you go this way or that and you choose your own adventure.” The Unispace design also tried to enable customisation and flexibility wherever they could. Hence, the colour-changing lighting in the near-pitch black lobby as you step off the lift and digital screens in the stark-white exploratory entry space, which can be updated as game development progresses.

From the entry, there are several circulation paths that different types of visitors and staff can take, giving privacy and minimising the fish-bowl effect on staff. “In terms of planning, it’s almost inside-out,” says Rowntree. “Typically we’d have the open-plan space to the view and the built environment towards the core. This flipped all that on its head and deliberately teases out the experience of that view and protects the coders and developers in a slightly darker space.”

The final design does have zones with views to the harbour and a more expansive feel for meeting rooms, breakout spaces, kitchens and the like but much of the workspace allows for low light. Semi-perforated aluminium screens obscure a good portion of the glazing to allow minimal light while giving privacy and shade at the same time.

While these interiors might be jarring to some, the balance between creating an outlandish experience and a functioning workplace with all the trimmings needed is struck well. “It’s not for everyone, but it is very much for them,” Rowntree says when asked whether the client is enjoying the space.

It is, perhaps, a testament to what can happen when you turn the rule book upside down. As Rowntree mused during his 2021 Interior Awards finalist presentation, “It is a reminder that design doesn’t necessarily have to follow a lot of rules.”

Rocketwerkz was a finalist in the Workplace (over 1000m²) category at the 2021 Interior Awards.