 Temple Capital Investment Specialists – Level 7, 2 Commerce Street, Auckland. Temple is a boutique size fitout for a locally based international business advisor. The office has a single occupant! The way this business works means that its director is mostly running his projects with international clients via the internet and video conferencing. He also conducts operations in meeting based scenarios with video link-ups. The ‘work’ area is a large meeting table sized desk where the director, visitors or consulting advisors can work in a collaborative way. There is little or no paper at all and all business is conducted via technology. Storage and equipment requirements are virtually nil. When briefing the designers, the director said he mostly worked out of his home office, or in cafes. He also used meeting and other facilities when called for. He wanted a space that he would feel comfortable working in - sometimes for long stretches. Key to his brief was – “I don’t have any ‘stuff’ and I don’t want any …”. The space also needed to provide him with spaces where he could bring in small teams of people on projects, or groups for fairly intense meetings ‘behind closed doors’. The central area is designed like a lounge or café space. While functioning as a place to make coffee or enjoy a glass of beer with colleagues or clients it is also an additional workspace option. The open area also acts as a client greeting area. Overall the three key spaces open up via large sliding doors to allow the whole office to function as an entertainment space from time to time. The client had an absolutely fixed budget which necessitated the detailed design and all decisions about furniture and fittings had to be carefully made. Careful ‘shopping around’ meant that high quality furniture was purchased from a previous owner and where new items were invested in they were of a quality that meant the firm would get a good long term investment that would not date. The client’s complete aversion to any form of fluorescent light pans meant the budget had to work hard around a simple but appropriate lighting solution for all three spaces. Because of the unusual form of the business, and the personality of the director, the concept was based around fun ideas that blended notions of ‘James Bond’ and ‘Boys own adventure’ – slick as heck on one hand, but playing with ‘boys toys’ and fun and more relaxed stuff on the other. The meeting room space is clearly the nod to things very serious – it’s a place with little ornamentation – and a cement rendered feature wall. The table is glass and steel and the main pieces of equipment are the large projector, video conferencing gear and a large interactive screen. The door that encloses the space is huge and dark. Once closed this room means business. The lounge serves as more convivial space with relaxed furniture and a kitchen / bar area. The jellyfish graphic is a favourite image of the directors. The illuminated glass bar cabinet suggests it’s never too far from cocktail hour – shaken of course. Used to working in cafes and working with other advisors from time to time in informal but professional environments, the director enjoys working in these various open and flexible spaces. |
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