We were approached by a client we had built a house for to design the new office for his company. In his opinion the house we had designed for him is still "the best house in the world" and he expected nothing less for his new office fit out. Indeed the only design brief other than the number of workstations to be accommodated was that it had to be "funky".
The new office was to occupy Levels 2 and 3 of a heritage listed warehouse in the heart of Sydney. The two floors were to be connected by a new internal stair, cut through the original fabric. Securing approval for this intervention was no small task, but we ultimately convinced the heritage authorities that a contemporary insertion would not diminish the building’s character but rather amplify it. Approval followed.
The existing warehouse was a powerful envelope: robust white painted brick arches, monumental early 1900s steel beams still imported from England, and hardwood floors. Our preferred approach in heritage contexts is always to let the old speak clearly, and to ensure that new elements are equally legible as contemporary additions. Combined with the client’s desire for something “funky”, this led us to develop a bold, bright colour strategy for all new components - stairs, joinery, carpets, workstation screens, and meeting room finishes. The vivid palette created a lively counterpoint to the white and timber shell, while also helping to differentiate functional zones. Red, naturally, played a starring role: the company is called Red Rock Consulting, and the colour is central to its identity.
Midway through construction, when stair, carpet and joinery were in place but the furniture had yet to arrive, we received a worried call from the client. The colours, he feared, looked more suited to a preschool than a professional office. We asked him to reserve judgement until the predominantly white furniture, equipment and everyday office life filled the space. When everything was finally installed, he rang again, this time ecstatic.
Within the strong white and timber space several elements were conceived as deliberate highlights. The stair, with its bright yellow steel stringers, zig zag timber treads and vivid red carpet, cuts through the space like a lightning bolt, binding the two levels together.
Meeting rooms appear as freestanding glass pods—some curved, some rectilinear—each lined with colourful acoustic pinboard and polychromatic carpet to distinguish them from circulation and workstation areas. They are independently ventilated to ensure comfort during long meetings.
The Boardroom is intentionally calmer, set apart from the more exuberant work zones. A soft coral carpet, an aluminium aeroplane wing inspired table and light fitting, and bright red chairs together express the company’s motto: "having fun, seriously".
On the upper level, a particularly spirited brief emerged mid-design: the CEO declared that any first-time visitor to one meeting room should involuntarily exclaim “What the F…”. Our response was a continuous, sculptural ribbon of joinery, of course in red, that weaves through the heritage shell without touching it. It shifts fluidly from backdrop to seating, from canopy to screen surround, and finally to a table for six. The room is now officially known as the "WTF Room".
Photography by Sharrin Rees.