An industrial precinct is not an obvious place to build a workplace people look forward to. No cafés nearby, no easy lunchtime escape, no surrounding neighbourhood to borrow energy from. For Dexion's new Melbourne headquarters, that reality wasn't a problem to be managed - it was the design brief.

The move also brought three entities together under one roof: Dexion, their Automated Storage Solutions branch and National Make Good Solutions. Beyond the logistics of consolidation, the project carried a cultural task - knitting together teams with different working rhythms, bridging the divide between office and warehouse, and creating an environment that felt like it belonged to all of them equally.

The response is a workplace organised around people before desks. A generous kitchen and breakout area sits at the centre of the plan, drawing staff together across the course of the day before the layout flows toward quieter workstation and back-of-house zones. The gradient is deliberate - from open and social at the core, to settled and focused toward the edges. Glazed office fronts keep teams visually connected throughout, while shared amenities are positioned to create natural crossover between office and warehouse staff.

The breakout area takes its cues from hospitality rather than the typical office playbook. Timber detailing, textured surfaces, integrated planting and a warm, muted palette give the space a residential ease that makes it feel genuinely inviting rather than performatively relaxed.

Flowing acoustic ceiling panels extend that sensibility across the whole floor. Their curved forms echo the language established elsewhere in the interior, softening the acoustic environment while gently delineating areas for collaboration, movement and concentration. They also carry a quieter intention - a continuous thread running through the space that speaks to the joining of three teams into one.

The in-house amenities - gym, end-of-trip facilities, recreational areas, multiple kitchen points - address the industrial location directly. What could have been a liability becomes an asset: a workplace that offers more within its walls than most city offices can offer within a city block.

The finished space is warm, flexible and quietly purposeful - a workplace that takes Dexion's culture seriously and gives its people a reason to show up.