Australian Unity by Bates Smart

Designed by Bates Smart, Australian Unity’s new workplace on Spring Street, Melbourne showcases the organization’s commitment to fostering wellbeing.

The 12,500-square-metre workplace accommodates more than one thousand staff in a series of three-storey “villages” that are connected by a vertical network of voids and staircases. This approach ensures a human-scaled work environment while also encouraging movement across the building, thereby avoiding departmental silos. Extensive research into staff working behaviours revealed four work-style profiles – “nomad,” “blended,” “confidential” and “desk-bound.” Suitable work settings reflect these varied styles. Work floors are accommodated in the new tower (designed by John Wardle Architects), while the podium below is a social hub.

Mission Hall, a red-brick building constructed in the 1880s and repurposed in 1913 by Bates Peebles and Smart, now houses client meeting and dining spaces. A series of indoor and outdoor spaces encourage interaction. Photography — Peter Clarke Bates Smart — batessmart.com