Techne Architecture + Interior Design has relocated its studio from the Melbourne CBD to Carlton, near the city’s edge. Techne’s new studio was self-designed, giving the studio the change to test its workplace design principles.
Senior associates Gabriella Gulacsi and Dana Hutchins worked with the directors to deliver a concept called ‘strategic ambience’.
“The success of a built environment relies on creating an experience and establishing a sense of place for the user with an ambience that is both captivating and a strategic fit with the brand,” explains Hutchins.
During the design process, the company started with a two-part workplace survey asking staff where they would like to be location and in what kind of building. A collective preference was voiced for a standalone building in an inner suburb.
Following this, a survey on office design found a strong preference for collaborative, flexible spaces.
Techne’s approach to assigning desks was conducted with a team to facilitate collaboration and allow for rotations. Sit-to-stand desks were selected to promote health and wellbeing in the workplace.
Unique features are aligned to the core brand values of the company. Pinboards running the length of the office are essential to the team’s design process, encouraging dialogue and acting as a communication mechanism to the broader team.
Along with a strategic ambience, sociality and a ‘hospitality’ atmosphere were also important to the staff. Textural furniture choices such as a marble meeting desk paired with cane-backed chairs showcase unique design yet are in keeping with Techne’s strategic and architectural approach over a stylised aesthetic.
Not the usual office, the Techne studio contains a workshop designed to let the team get creative away from their desks. Celebrating bespoke, handcrafted design, it’s this space which the company is now opening to selected artists free of charge for the Techne Artist-in-residence Program, which sees an artist utilise the space for a collaboration series. The first artist is Sarah Tracton.
“We wanted to activate our workshop and nurture our commitment to craft so have devised an artist-in-residence concept that fulfils both of these functions,” says Techne director Nick Travers.
“Simultaneously, we are able to offer local artists a space that enhances their ability to work while giving them the opportunity to collaborate and produce something unique with our team.”
