GYB Insurance Offices.

Built 8 years ago this commercial building has sat empty; being part of an industrial estate in Avalon, Lower Hutt. The construction is a concrete floor, concrete tilt slab panels and speed wall, with a footprint of 9.8m x 10m and 6.2m high underside of the raking roof. Existing full height corner glazing facing north and west and a 5m high roller door. Creating a blank palette to begin. Our brief was to create two separate floors, with a future reception desk, toilets, a small kitchen and a meeting room downstairs. Upstairs was to provide office space for 8 and a boardroom. Part of the brief would be to replace the large roller door with glass aluminium joinery.

Striking graphics were utilised, as the unit is set well back from the road. The new premises really stand out from the surrounding units, which are very closed off to the public with frosted film and large roller doors. This building’s interior has a real point of difference; the drama was created by the installation of a lightwell, providing atmosphere and copious amounts of colour, which really enlivens the space, particularly at night. In terms of the streetscape, the units are dominated on the southeastern side by the iconic, former Avalon TV Studios. We reflected upon the verticality and the horizontal bands of the TV studio façade, through the design of the new windows and doors to the interior and exterior façade.

Design & Creative SolutionsThe GYB Insurance offices are planned in an L shape around a central lightwell; which provides a contemporary interior with a strong visual connection between the offices and flexible meeting spaces below. The raw concrete walls are retained, utilising Autex panels to help reduce reverberation. Use of sliding frosted glass walls means that there is total flexibility and allows for three different meeting spaces, including a modern kitchen, lounging area and boardroom. The whole downstairs space can then be used for client functions and networking. The boardroom features a panel above the table, reducing sound reverberation and provides feature LED lighting. The upper open plan office looks across and also down into the lightwell and utilises flexible sit/stand workstations. The play of natural light within the space allows for stimulation and vibrancy. Utilising passive solar design to warm the environment and use of artificial LED lighting is minimal due to the light filtering through from the central lightwell. Sustainability was important, recycling the roller door, utilising low VOC carpets, vinyls and paint. The ceilings are 80% recycled material and fully recycled at end of life cycle. Use of colour was important to enhance their brand design colours of mustard and brown, which I then teamed with grey screens and offset with Resene feature wall colours and carpet. The design embraces flexible, modern open-plan offices. The dramatic full height corner glazing and lightwell, washes the entire interior with light, creating an energised space.