A Case Of 20/20 Vision

Australian Unity, Melbourne by Bates Smart Words Photography

A lot can happen in four years. For Bates Smart’s Australian Unity project that period focused towards instilling change and executing a new workplace that would respond to the evolving needs of a large corporation. As one of Australia’s oldest insurance companies, taking time to build its new office the right way, and not rushing the process, came all too naturally for Australian Unity. But given the project’s scale, the design required thoughtful consideration for how the business may continue to adapt.

The base build was designed by John Wardle Architects and features a single tower that swallows two existing heritage buildings – The Elms Family Hotel and The Church of England Mission Hall, which happened to be designed by Bates Smart (then Bates, Peebles and Smart) in 1894. Australian Unity’s new headquarters is now home to 1000 staff members comprising 12,500-square-metres of workspace – a job the project team tackled by bringing timeless aesthetics together with a rigorous approach.

Aesthetically, a classic interior palette of timbers, tan leathers and soft greys complement the Australia Unity identity. “Part of our process was getting an understanding of Australian Unity and what they do, which always came back to wellbeing. So we looked at ways to bring concepts of wellness into the interior, in particular, the use of natural light and a softer colour palette,” says Bates Smart associate director and design lead, Grant Filipoff.

Given the volume of workable floor space, the Bates Smart team had to strategically divide it up. The lower levels house semi-private client spaces, meeting and training rooms, a theatre, a café, and a conference space that can house 150 guests. Sandwiched in the middle are levels six to 14, making up the core layers of varying work zones. And level 15 offers private spaces for human resources, finance and the executive suite. The overarching vertical levels are complemented by a more intimate verticality, coined ‘villages’, alongside horizontal zoning, or ‘neighbourhoods’.