AGL were creating a new head office at 699 Bourke Street, right next to Southern Cross Station, and commissioned HASSELL to design an innovative interior and Activity Based Working arrangement. For this office, people no longer have a set desk; instead, you work where you need to for the day, and change when and if you want to.
The variable layout of each floor required a system which would clearly locate people within a zone, helping them to understand where they were in the building at all times, particularly with people regularly changing workstations. HASSELL were clear that they didn’t want signs to overwhelm the interiors, but this had to be balanced against the need to create legibility and understanding.
ID/Lab developed a numbering system for all rooms and desks, which then linked to an area on each floor. Using just a stacking system of numbers, we enabled people to understand exactly where they were, and where they needed to get to, regardless of which floor they were on. This system was backed by clear and elegant signs within each lift lobby.
The design draws from the European Modernist approach of HASSELL’s interiors, and extends this through signs designed to integrate seamlessly within the interior environment. The result is a subtle use of contrasting gloss and texture, with a dark charcoal base across the system.
