A highly desirable location, a legacy structure, and a brief to deliver the gold standard of flexible workspaces saw international architects, Warren and Mahoney (W+M), draw magic and light into the depths of central Melbourne as it created Dexus Place.
Situated at 80 Collins Street, the latest iteration of Dexus Place is a premium event and meeting space destination, offering a range of flexible suites, dynamic desks, and virtual office services in one of Melbourne’s hottest spots in the CBD.
To support Dexus’ large portfolio across Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, and Brisbane, the Dexus Place offering provides customers access to flexible amenities to enhance their workplace experience.
Whether space is needed for just a day or spanning months, Dexus Place can morph to meet those needs while providing an inspiring environment where businesses can thrive.
Warren and Mahoney (W+M) worked closely with Dexus to define the brief, workplace strategy, and outcomes that would create the ultimate post-covid flexible working space.
“Dexus Place is situated in the older North Tower of the 80 Collins precinct, adjacent to Dexus’ Melbourne office in the South Tower, whose staff would also be supported by this new amenity. We noticed a stark contrast between the two towers, which were built decades apart,” says W+M Principal, Tamara White.
“For us, the newer South Tower was as slick as Superman’s Clark Kent, while the North Tower – where Dexus Place would materialize – had more of an edgier, mysterious ‘superhero’ vibe.
We arrived at the central design of The Alter Ego, which plays beautifully into the seamless transformations that take place within Dexus Place to offer a plethora of different working experiences.”
The Alter Ego became a planning approach.
It was about making the most of the building’s attributes – an 80s structure in one of the most sought-after addresses – and seizing those and flipping them around to make a memorable sequence of spaces that would leave an impact.
“The project centred on breathing new life into an existing, built structure and provided us the chance to showcase what was truly possible within a constrained space,” adds White.
Warren and Mahoney’s central belief in workplace design is to approach a project with equal parts emotional intelligence and logical data-driven intelligence.
“Key themes underpinning the design were: universal, intuitive, visionary, memorable, hospitable, and flexible. These themes cover a blend of performance and experience and drove a design approach that would create a memorable sequence of spaces.
“We embraced the fact that Dexus Place would be located at the lower levels of the tower – a very urban context – and we drew from that. The lower levels of the building were quite dark, and the ceiling height was low, which we sought to address by exposing it.
“The building has limited natural light, so we introduced a bold stair between the three stories, which amplifies light over the volume. Clad in rippled steel, with a large prismatic ceiling above and a dramatic three-storey drop of sheer curtains, the stair diffuses, reflects, and refracts light in the space.”
White says the consistency that is applied across all locations within Dexus Place is boldness and confidence.
“The extremes are visible, tangible, and unapologetic. It is a total commitment to a sensory experience.
“The mood is set with altering hues that adapt alongside users’ needs. When populated with events, the shared spaces will carry the buzz through the community. But as you move through defined thresholds, it becomes quieter, calmer – more independent work feels natural. The drama intensifies as you move to the social spaces which further encourages connectivity.
“Setting an entirely different tone is the Terrace, which has a strong health and wellbeing focus, looking out into the treetops on Collins Street. It provides customers the opportunity for time out, connecting to nature, focus work, as well as social gatherings, and is an extension of the function and hosting spaces.
“Importantly, Dexus Place also needed to deliver functionality through ease of connecting, optimal acoustics, and spatial flexibility. A key element to this was the ability to scale suite and meeting room sizing.
“We looked at multiple planning scenarios to design in the ability for ease of change. We planned in and designed modular ‘sacrificial’ walls that can easily be removed or reinstated quickly and cost-effectively. The suites can adapt to accommodate from four to 44 people and technology, furniture, and acoustic performance are all designed to seamlessly support any reconfiguration.”
Lauren Henry, National Operations and Major Accounts Manager at Dexus Place explained: “Our goal is to provide our customers with turn-key solutions that meet their evolving needs and enable their people to thrive.
“With changing market needs and an even greater focus on supporting culture, collaboration, and innovation, Dexus Place 80 Collins is a unique offer that can be tailored to meet our customer’s evolving business needs.”
Off the back of this project, Warren and Mahoney were also awarded the contract to re-create Dexus’s HQ in the South Tower.
Project Details
Project Size – 3,000 m2
Completion Date – 2021
Project Team
Interior Design
Warren and Mahoney
Warren and Mahoney is an award-winning and insight-led multidisciplinary architectural practice with more than 300 staff working from several locations within Australia and New Zealand.
Photography
Nicole England
Nicole has been exploring the built form, and the way spaces are used in her career, for almost 10 years.
She captures on film what is often ignored by other photographers, details that embellish each frame.
Nicole is also acutely aware of placing the viewer in a space, making them feel as though they’re exploring each room rather than being outsiders.
Photo Gallery
Click on a thumbnail image to enlarge.
Design © 2022 Warren and Mahoney. All Rights Reserved. Nicole England. All Rights Reserved.
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