Co-Creating a New Office Space That Responds to Colleague Feedback
WEHI is where the world’s brightest minds collaborate and innovate. The business brings together people with different skills and experience who are committed to long-term discovery. The organisation’s medical researchers are committed to solving the most complex health problems, making transformative discoveries for cancer, infectious and immune diseases, developmental disorders and healthy ageing.
The Challenge
Recent expansion meant that several teams needed to be relocated to new premises. Having identified a two-level space in a high-rise development, it was important to the business that this new office was seen as a positive development by the staff team.
The management team had high expectations for this new space. The office space had been refitted and provided spacious open-plan accommodation. To complete the space and ensure it worked for the business, staff had been involved in putting forward ideas for the workplace. This was especially important as many of these people had worked in a very isolated environment previously, exacerbated by two years of Covid. One of those ideas was the installation of soundproof meeting spaces.
Our Solution
We worked closely with the client to co-create a space that responded to staff feedback and enhanced the working environment. This work was aligned with a zoning strategy within the business that created three defined spaces: Meeting; Quiet; and Collaboration.
Responding to this brief we designed pods for two to four people, designed to fit with different spaces around the office.
Project Summary
- The staff team at WEHI really appreciate the pods we installed for the flexibility that they introduce into the different workplace zones.
- The acoustic qualities of the pods ensure they provide the quiet spaces colleagues need to focus on specific projects and activities
- The overall design of the pods fits well with the office space, and the glass sides allow natural light to flow through to the rest of the office space.
“The vision for the space was borrowed from another business, but it was true for us – to create concentration areas, collaboration areas, and connection areas. So, the question was “How do you create a space that can deliver those three different functional requirements.” People were going to need these in a modern open-plan workplace environment.“
“Working with iOctane allowed us to explore different models and layouts, looking at combinations of open pods, small pods, large pods, and placements. Their support through the design, quotation, tender and procurement process was excellent, and they have delivered a project that has received glowing feedback from the from the occupants of the space.”
Steve Droste (Project Manager)
