The Engine Room

Agents of Spring, Melbourne by GroupGSA + artillery Words Photography As workplace design distances itself from corporate jungle gyms glamorised by the tech utopias of Silicon Valley – think in-house slides and ball pits, Google HQ – it is nevertheless worth pondering the true value of playfulness in the office. After all, as Agents of Spring will attest, all work and no play makes for a narrow-minded business strategy.

The Melbourne-based innovation agency founded by Evette Cordy and her husband, Troy McKinna, consults with companies in diverse sectors, including fast-moving consumer goods, telcos, real estate groups, universities, and start-ups. Its mission: applying strategic play and creative problem solving techniques to better target pressure points within their clients’ businesses.

“People often say the office feels like a children’s wonderland,” says Cordy. “We do want to maintain that playfulness in our work, and for people to feel that when they walk in. But it’s not frivolity – it’s play with purpose. There’s always a method and intent behind our thinking.”

Agents of Spring inhabits a 200-square-metre tenancy in a building of assorted studios on Flinders Lane. The space is impactful through being relatively small, with big ideas expressed through simple detail. “The limited size forced us to be more creative in design so that we didn’t have any dormant space,” says Sonja Duric, principal of interiors at GroupGSA Melbourne. “Everything is activated the whole time.”

Having opted against the pre-built offices on offer in the same building, the project “was really a blank slate when we started, which was awesome,” says Cordy. The space is a triumph of flexibility, easily converted from standard office mode to bustling group activity hub. This functionality is aided by two discreet storage areas: one small toolshed-like room at the entrance, slowly being covered in Devil’s Ivy, and a long upholstered bench seat spanning the entire windowed length of the space, housing drawers full of creative materials.

“The idea is that it would be a space that makes people feel comfortable, that is warm, raw, and creative,” says Duric. “A feeling of constant curiosity and idea generation needed to be all around you.” Desks are portable and can be disconnected from power, to be stowed in the ‘shed’ or covered with butchers’ paper for brainstorming during workshops. All available wall space is designed to be covered in paper, written on directly, or projected on. “The space really looks its best when it’s got writing on the walls. Whenever I’ve visited, it’s had mapping and ideas everywhere.”

Sustainability was paramount to the client, who advocated for designing within a 100-kilometre radius. The mobile Schiavello Climate desks, for instance, are made near Melbourne airport. Created for an agile workforce, Cordy felt these desks resonated particularly well with Agents of Spring’s dynamic, collective ethos.

“Sometimes we’ll have 30 people playing Rock Paper Scissors, or 30 adults playing with balloons for an activity about keeping ideas in the air! But if [you] walk past today, it’s just people sitting behind laptops,” says Cordy. “There’s not a day that’s the same, which makes life more interesting.”

“A number of us at GroupGSA have had the pleasure of participating in workshops, and it just feels so good,” Duric says. “When you’ve designed a space for someone and you want to be in it yourself... I think we can feel that we’ve done a good job.”