Continuing from the positive transformation of their Product Design Centre in Auckland, Fisher & Paykel were keen to incorporate the key elements into their new Australian HQ. A fresh approach sought to apply similar logic to a new context, responding to a different location, scale, building type and a more corporate, sales focused team.

At reception, guests are greeted and guided towards the showroom, Social Kitchen or meeting rooms. The Social Kitchen is symbolically placed at the office core as a site of sociability, collaboration, creativity and eating together. A sweeping, curved plywood ceiling floats above, providing an organic element that transforms an otherwise standard, rectilinear office floor. Breaking the flat ceiling plane allows the feature to create a central focus, highlighting the conceptual and physical ‘heart’ of the facility, while achieving a sense of volume and height. F&P is interested in the lives lived around their products, and the best way to bring this touch-point into the workplace is a usable kitchen where staff can use the products daily.

Flexible meeting pods border the Social Kitchen, guiding circulation, providing privacy to workstations and offering a natural destination for collaboration.  Interesting view shafts span across the office floor ensuring connection and cohesion. Workstations take advantage of views and natural light, while utility spaces contained as timber slatted pods, buffer the nearby workspace.  New growth of up to 90 staff is achieved by clipping a double bay to each workstation cluster and repositioning free standing storage elements.

B&W finishes are central to the palette, featuring photography that reinforces F&P’s brand strategy. Colour creates graphic ‘rugs’ within meeting pods, low seating elements and screens. Timber provides warmth and intimacy, an appropriate backdrop to residential appliances. Rolled white alucobond, black aluminium framing and precision glass sliding doors coupled with clean detailing reflects the design and attention to detail of F&P’s product. The 3D plywood ceiling was created using 2D elements in a simple, cost effective way. 3D software compatible with a CNC cutting machine achieved the required precision. 2400mm x 2400mm modules of light weight marine ply with slotted blades avoid the need for fixings.