Designworks, Auckland

The transformation of the old 'New Art Gallery' building into the new Designworks office has won many accolades including taking out the award for Best Workplace Design at the 2014 Interior Design Awards. Designed to the idea of ‘working naturally’, the open plan office makes it easy to work effortlessly and seamlessly, encouraging fresh collaborations and conversations between staff and clients. Each space was carefully planned with custom designed joinery, furniture, lighting and materials to encourage different types of ‘working’ while staying true to the architecture, history and heritage of the Gallery building. ECC supplied the lighting for the new space. Since large iMac computers are used for a substantial amount of graphic work, it was essential to minimise glare in the large open plan space. The Action System specified provides a large amount of uplighting and has a low glare diffuser (Darklight) specifically designed for situations like this. There were other restrictions with regard to the positioning of the light fittings in the historic building. Reflecting light off the ceilings and walls gave a great spread of general lighting. The use of directional lighting was used to enhance the break out areas and highlight key areas like the pinboard wall that runs down the length of the office. A selection of decorative lighting from iconic brands was used to add the final design flair to the different break out areas.