Insights from the forefront of future of work thought leadership

The modern office has transformed. Employee wellbeing, collaboration spaces, open-plan layouts…these qualities were rare in workplaces a decade ago. Organisations now spend a significant amount of their resources bettering their workspace design to optimise the performance and wellbeing of their employees.

Inspiring Collaborative Workspace Design Solutions

Unlock the potential of teamwork with our modern collaborative office space design services. Whether you're envisioning a shared workspace or looking for fresh collaborative workspace ideas, we craft environments that foster creativity, communication, and productivity. From sleek, modern layouts to flexible office design ideas tailored for collaborative workspaces, our approach transforms ordinary offices into dynamic, engaging places where teams thrive.

Workplaces are changing. Organisations are moving towards modern workspaces, where employees can collaborate and work together. Open designs are replacing traditional isolating cubicle-style offices. But many organisations are yet to perfect this design shift and should consider the benefits of investing in a space solely for collaboration and socialising.

Peace is hard to find in the office. Constant chatting, keyboards tapping, and music blasting can interrupt employees, impacting productivity and affecting their wellbeing at work. Noise is one of the top disrupters to employees and costs Australian businesses billions in absenteeism and staff turnover. Organisations need to ensure their people are well looked after, both mentally and physically, and this can be achieved by adding quiet zones.

A study by Steelcase found 95 percent of employees today need quiet and private areas, but only 40 percent say their workplaces provide them.

It might be an unfamiliar scientific word, but if you’ve recently moved into a new office or joined an organisation that boasts a contemporary fitout, biophilia should have made a meaningful contribution to the ideas, philosophies and aesthetics underpinning the final design.

Biophilia is best explained, literally, as meaning a love of nature or a love of life or living systems. In the early 1980s, American biologist Edward Osborne Wilson created a philosophy and resulting book called The Biophilia Hypothesis, an ingrained affinity between humans and our natural world. Many of the world’s leading universities have also conducted numerous studies into biophilia but, as studies have moved into the biological including psychology, we’ve learnt more about how it can impact workplace productivity and satisfaction.

In a report by Interface Design, Human Spaces Report: Biophilic Design in the Workplace, psychologist Sir Cary Cooper explains the relationship between workplace design and biophilia as “an innovative way to harness this affinity in order to create natural environments for us to live, work and learn [in]. By consciously including nature in interior or architectural design, we are unconsciously reconnecting; bringing the great outdoors in to our constructed world.”

In layperson’s terms, workplaces incorporating natural plant life are likely to be happier, more productive workplaces.

Offices that successfully incorporate the principles of biophilia into their workspace design are likely to create more productive and satisfying places for their employees compared to offices without natural plant-life. The beauty of this type of design is you don’t need to completely overhaul your present space to bring the natural world into yours.

How do you give your workplace a natural face-lift? We’ve provided you with some simple ways to introduce – or increase – the foliage in your office without smashing your budget to smithereens or taking you beyond a messy point-of-no-return.

Incorporate a living wall or vertical garden

As housing affordability issues increase, more people are turning to apartment living, especially in inner city areas. Along with this, the opportunities to cultivate traditional gardens diminish, yet the desire to create personal green spaces remains strong. One of the more innovative solutions for incorporating natural plant-life into our increasingly cramped private and workspaces is the vertical garden – or living walls, as some might call them.

The beauty of a vertical garden is it can be as big or as small as you desire. Possibly start with a relatively compact space and give yourself the scope to expand the size of this garden as it flourishes, and the productivity and employee satisfaction benefits start to materialise.

The maintenance of a living wall can also give your people the opportunity to take more ownership around the office, offering their input into the design of other creative vertical garden ideas around the workspace.

“We should pay homage to our tradies.” 
Jodette Cleary, Chief People Officer, hipages

As Australia’s number one site for hiring tradies, hipages wanted to redesign their Sydney-based headquarters to make it feel like a second home to their staff. A typical corporate space, the office needed a homely readjustment to bring the aspects of home and work together and optimise employees to their fullest.

Before Axiom…

The original hipages office space was a traditional corporate space that lacked natural light and distinctly felt like a place away from home. With the goal of creating a sense of home, the hipages headquarters provided the perfect canvas for the Axiom Workplaces team to employ creativity and think beyond the usual design for corporate spaces.

Axiom’s Managing Director, Shane Hales, describes the undertaking as “applying creative thinking to not only align with our client’s commercial objectives but to create that unique environment of an unconventional workplace design.”

First impressions are important and, in keeping with this philosophy, Axiom wanted to create a memorable experience for hipages staff, clients and visitors when entering the main floor.

Axiom’s Senior Workplace Strategist explains the team’s approach: “We had to ‘de-corporatise’ the space to get that homely feel. The most important thing was in the selection of the details – things that you would see at home. All the little details came together to make up the full picture.”

“You don’t often see this attention to detail in corporate projects, and it’s usually a removed decision-making process. But not with this project.”

The structure of the building had potential, already standing head and shoulders above most corporate spaces in Sydney. It housed a balcony, with ability for a second one. But the existing balcony was a sorry sight, in desperate need of a makeover. This was a challenge relished by Axiom’s design team.

After Axiom…

The team drew design inspiration from the exterior of a typical house – with brick cladding – but combined it with state-of-the-art technology. The lobby was stripped-back to project the hipages logo onto the floor, to signal innovation but also authenticity. The colours echo those in the hipages corporate palette. The entrance is a typical domestic front door, beginning the immersive experience and reinforcing the feeling of having arrived at home.

“Even the door framing was chosen for domesticity, rather than the typical aluminium framing, And the choice of carpet was soft and luxurious, the kind of carpet that makes you want to throw off your shoes and sink your toes into it.”

The real heart of the project and hipages home was the kitchen and adjacent ‘family’ rumpus room, together making it the team’s ‘town hall’. The area has multiple access points to avoid congestion, and an extended island bench ensures there is sufficient space for catering during hipages’ famous team functions.

Both of these casual time-out spaces are positioned away from general work areas to provide staff with the permission to truly relax, while not being concerned their actions and conversations may be distracting co-workers.

Axiom was inspired to create a piece of wall art with the hipages team as artists, something that is visually interesting but does not dominate the space. This artwork is also a sneaky method for concealing a base building services door, while having some abstract fun.

On hiding other unsightly and high-rise sights, “We hung curtains over the building services cupboard so instead of being greeted at reception with the firedoor and hydraulics, it’s all covered up with a floral curtain. That also helped to soften everything.”

To bring in natural light, Axiom took advantage of the balcony, terrace and deck area to provide a softer visual impact. It was decided to cover the side walls in murals that reflected the workstation screen colours, effectively melding the outside and inside to make it feel like one seamless space, and to extend the office outwards and provide an opportunity for staff to work in the fresh air – weather permitting.

Centralised recycling stations were installed alongside the hydration stations and printing facilities. Existing furniture and partitioning was all re-used where it was feasible to meet the requirements. Bringing fresh, green plants into the space is yet another homely touch that invigorates and provides health benefits for everyone.

When asked for the most satisfying element of the hipages project, the Axiom team says, “Reflecting the client’s personality. You walk in and it really feels like hipages home.”

At a glance…

• • Designed to visually reflect brand
  • Homely integration to a corporate space
  • Green elements to emphasise natural element
  • Sustainable practice