The Challenge
Refurbish building and redesign the MBAV interior for improved workplace collaboration and occupant satisfaction.
Our Solution
Resource facilitated workshops with the client early in the project to define the measures of success on which the results would be benchmarked. Increasing workplace collaboration, idea sharing and problem solving were imperative, so the team pushed hard to design solutions that would enable this. A key feature was the variety of informal workspaces and relaxed meeting areas for employee engagement.
Their Return
The Master Builders Association of Victoria was so impressed with Resource's 'unconventional' design process and solutions for improving morale, productivity and customer relationships at their office building in Albert Street, East Melbourne, that board members said it restored their faith in the practice of architecture.
A post-occupancy evaluation undertaken with building occupants in 2009 assessed worker productivity and effectiveness of the new design. The results were beyond expectations – respondents rated:
- 33% improvement in their ability to communicate and innovate
- 20% overall improvement in understanding organisational strategy and culture
- 55% improvement in capacity to support productivity and employee engagement
The refurbishment also won two awards:
- 2009 Finalist, Property Council of Australia Award of Excellence
- 2007 MBAV Award of Excellence in Construction of Commercial Buildings $5 million - $7 million
