The talent crisis and employee preferences for WFH means workplaces need to utilise office spaces as a tool to connect with staff. In Better Workplaces, AdNews looks at how agencies use office design to entice staff to come in and create a company culture worth staying for.
Independent communications agency Poem launched in 2015 and sub-letted office space from Special Group with just two desks, enough seating for its co-founders.
Poem, now an agency of 25, ran out of space and the co-founders "naively" signed a commercial contract in October 2020 for a large space in Millers Point that needed a lot of work.
"At least we got a reasonable deal!" Matt Holmes co-founder and executive creative director at Poem Group told AdNews.
With two years to renovate and prepare for an "inspiring" return to office launch, Poem engaged boutique commercial design company, GU Interiors, to design an office that "pushes boundaries".
Although today the space is an immaculate combination of heritage architecture and chic fittings, when Poem purchased the Grazcos building it had been derelict for over a year.
The previous tenants, a media agency, had over 100 desks in the space, whereas Poem wanted to make it more comfortable for 25 desks and ensure there was room to grow to 50 staff.
The Grazcos building is an old wool store, iconic to Australia's heritage, even though its quiet in its positioning now, vistors can feel the energy and bustle of what it once was.
In fact, the industrial nature of the building formed the foundation of the agency's office design.
Poem's office front facade.
Matt Holmes said: "It was all hands on deck with GU and Performa Projects to realise this design in such a short timeframe.
"We expressed the importance of wanting the team to look forward to coming into the office to collaborate and work, a space that didn't feel like your typical 'office'.
"There was a need for an element of luxury, sophistication, motivation and fun.
"The ground level incorporates a bar, banquet seating, open zoom booths, a lounging and gaming area, large boardrooms and many pods of furniture for meetings and collaborations."
Zoom booths.
Holmes: "It was also designed with the intention that clients could come into the space to meet, work or for live activations.
"We kept the desks on the mezzanine level, that's where the serious stuff takes place, however, it interacts with downstairs so effectively as you can be far enough away to work at the solace of your own desk, but also have a view to what's going on downstairs."
Birds eye view of the ground level from the mezzanine level - which hosts the staff desks.
Lead designer for the Poem project, Greta Unkuri from GU Interiors, told AdNews: “The aesthetic of the office was inspired by many elements, the ethos of Poem and their ‘more human’ approach, the heritage of the building itself, inspiration from the diversity of the team and my travels to London and New York.
"Design to me is intuitive, I believe an interior shows you how it wants to look and you have to work with its innate features, this building being an old wool store has so many of its original architectural features, I wanted to seamlessly incorporate those whilst giving it new life.
"The playfulness of the interior was inspired by elements of Rose Bar in New Yorks Gramercy Hotel, Soho House London and the original architecture of the stunning building itself.”
Luxury furnishings.
Greta Unkuri: “There are so many elements of this office that I love, I think what instantly caught my eye when I first walked into the building was the height of the ceiling, the original columns, both industrial and grand, this was a feature I enjoyed working with, it allowed us to really accentuate the grandeur of the space with the implementation of the beautiful navy velvet curtains."
Overview of office from ground level, looking up to mezzanine level.
Greta Unkuri: "I was also honoured to be able to incorporate the artwork 'Lirim' from Alina Gozin’a and her 'The Doorman of New York' series, his Elizabethan collar is a nod to the Poets and his thoughtful pose to all those ideas being formed and waiting to come to life in this exact office space.”
'Lirim' from Alina Gozin’a and her 'The Doorman of New York' series
Matt Holmes: “I’m so proud of the whole space - I love that clients and prospective clients are properly shocked (in a good way) when they walk in and that on the days that we’re in, the team spends 50% of their time in the shared spaces rather than their desks.
"It’s exactly how the space was designed to be, encouraging collaboration, creativity and fueling culture.
"Every Poet past and present is proud to see what we’ve created together.”
Poem staff at the front of its
Rob Lowe, director and co-founder Poem, said: “We get a lot of passers stopping at the windows to stare and presumably wonder what we are; a hotel, a club, an office? It’s definitely unique.
"I personally enjoy having our own space and making our mark on it. It’s a part of our Poem brand now and influences people’s perceptions of us as an agency.
"I also love the area. It’s got less sandwich shops than Surry Hills, but we’re right on the water.
"They’ve just opened a harbour swimming pool around the corner and it’s a great excuse to run through Barangaroo Reserve, The Rocks or over to the Botanical Gardens.’”
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