The latest in workplace activity and office design will be on show when the new Sydney skyscraper, located at 8 Chifley Square, opens for business. Prestigious law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth will be established as the anchor tenant, with QBE Insurance and Quantium also filling out space in the 34-story tower. John Denton, CEO of Corrs Chambers Westgarth, believes it will be a first in Australia for a large law firm to locate in a flexible, open style office environment, and the company has signed a lease covering 8000 square metres for a 12 year term. The move follows the recent relocation of Herbert Smith, a British law firm, which recently took up a lease covering 20,000 square metres in the nearby ANZ Tower.
The move will be an interesting one for Corrs lawyers, who will be sharing the spacious and open layout with juniors and executive assistants. Chief of investment with Mirvac, Andrew Butler, expects the ‘sky village’ concept to provide a collaborative community of workers, with levels and workspaces linked via atria, creating a light-filled and natural environment. Recent times have seen ongoing moves from major Sydney tenants to newer buildings and progressive office environments, with companies looking to cement their operations in the CBD.
The novel design of 8 Chifley Square is expected to herald in a new wave of creative office design in Sydney and around the country, with many more vertically connected buildings a distinct possibility. The outcome is a good one for Mirvac Group, which started construction without an investor or tenant, but with an understanding that office culture is rapidly changing. Nick Collishaw, Mirvac managing director said:
“There is a worldwide trend towards activity-based workplace…we want to see a high level of connectivity across several floors…we recognise the trend for large corporates to get greater interaction of their staff over many floors.”
There may well be merit to the many level approach. In the past, some large companies have attempted to find synergy amongst staff by situating them on one huge floor, with the end result often resembling a cattle-yard rather than a connected work force. According to many innovative designers, for a large office to function well the design should encourage unscheduled meetings amongst staff as they pass each other within the building. Forward thinking companies are opting more and more for open-plan integrated arrangements.
Unfortunately, the costs of retrofitting older offices to bring them in line with trends is prohibitive, forcing many organisations to consider relocating to a place with facilities that better suit the changing times. A major reason for design changes to office spaces is the potential to attract the best young talent, with staff satisfaction a major challenge. The design of the workplace has a huge effect on where people want to work, and the way they work together.
GPT Group’s CEO Michael Cameron is a typical example of change. The company recently underwent a new design layout, with individual offices and personal desks disappearing. Cameron no longer remains ensconced in a huge office with expansive views. These days when he settles down to work he could be sitting beside a new recruit or his investment officer. In the modern office environment important players are prepared to relinquish their status symbols, make a change, and work differently.