Media Merchants
After opening offices in both Sydney and Melbourne, advertising agency, Media Merchants, recently collaborated with Bullock de Barbara Architects to create a new Brisbane office, closely reflecting their young, dynamic and creative culture.
Located in the nightlife hub of Fortitude Valley, the office design takes cues from not only the creative culture of media agencies but also the surrounding neighbourhood, which expresses a relaxed, eclectic scene in contrast to the adjacent, corporate CBD.
The planning strategy for the office space focused on maximising natural light and giving all staff views to the adjacent nature strip greenery and respite from the surrounding urban density.
A large component of the design focused on the open and shared communication style between leaders and staff of both creative and media teams. The open format planning suited the agency’s inclusive way of working with staff and provided a boost to morale where previously workers had been segregated into isolated groups, separated by full height partitioning.
The vibrancy and creative workings of the agency are enhanced through a number of design features, most notably the removal of the suspended grid ceiling and insertion of a colourful painted ceiling pattern to the concrete soffit and expressed beams. This painted feature is further enhanced by three custom designed suspended light fittings, which both uplight the ceiling pattern and provide task lighting to the workstation clusters.
Bright yellow battening, marble benchtops, Edison light bulb fittings and clustered planting combine in the reception area to create a dynamic first impression, giving clients and visitors a glimpse into the agency’s culture and energy.
The existing three storey entry foyer was redesigned to provide a stronger visual link with the new office fit-out. Dynamic Resene Spotlight (graphic yellow) was applied to the underside of the three storey staircase to create a ‘ribbon’ of yellow winding up to the first floor office and beyond to the rooftop space.
The colour palette was inspired by the young and dynamic culture with Resene Spotlight used throughout the new fit-out as a linking device, bringing together the entry foyer, reception and main open plan office space. Resene Black White (grey white) was used throughout, a neutral finish that allows the ceiling to take centre stage. Resene Freefall (light cerulean blue) was used to create a blue sky backdrop to the higher concrete soffit ceiling over the main office area. The painted ceiling pattern was deliberately designed to intersect with the exposed structural beams creating different visual effects as the viewer moves through the office space. Resene Freefall has been repeated on the doors to link the colour palette together.
This project won the Resene Total Colour Public + Retail Award and the judges thought “Colour has been placed ever so carefully on this project, creating backdrops, intersections with materials and different visual effects as the viewer moves throughout the office space.
Colour is uplifting anchoring what is going on at the ground floor. It’s such a clever manipulation of colour highlighted by clever lighting. The palette is used to reflect the energetic and creative workplace perfectly.
With limited wall space available, the design team has cleverly used the ceiling as the main feature for maximum impact when you are moving around the space, but minimal disruption when seated and concentration is required.”
Architectural specifier: Dianne de Barbera
Building contractor: Lyons Projects
Client: Media Merchants
Painting contractor: Eamonn Gallagher
Photographer: Scott Burrows
Winner: Resene Total Colour Public + Retail Award
Project: Resene Total Colour Awards 2015
From the Resene News – issue 4/2015
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