If you build it, will they come? Not necessarily. It’s a lesson urban designers and city planners have learnt over many decades.

You can design and build the most amazing of office towers, multi-use precincts, towns or streets, but without purpose, curation, access to public transport, nature and greenery and an element organic growth, then you’ve inadvertently created a ghost town.

At Arcadis, we’ve applied what we know about people and place to our new Melbourne HQ. We moved into our new home in the historic Queen & Collins Building in March of this year, but we’ve been planning the move and the design for the new fit-out since late 2019.

Making design decisions during a pandemic – and in a city that has experienced more lockdowns than any other city in the world – presented us all with new questions and some crystal balling about how future office spaces will need to function.

As a firm, we’d embraced activity based working and flexible work arrangements well before the pandemic.

But what would this look like when we could return to the office? How would people want to work? For what reasons did they want to come to the office? How do we provide spaces that are conducive to learning while also accommodating a successful hybrid meeting or workshop experience? What will this mean for our graduates, our technical specialists and professionals, as well as our leaders?

These are questions companies are still grappling with. Floor space has been forfeited or redesigned. Some companies are mandating staff return a certain number of days, others are embracing full flex, others are remote-first.

All the different variations have their appeal but come with a certain amount of rigidity. The approach we have taken in our new Melbourne office – and across the globe is to ‘commute with intent’.

We took into consideration the different reasons for people to come together to collaborate and designed a space that will facilitate those interactions; the split between desk space and collaborative space is roughly 50/50.

Now more than ever our people are expecting experience lead, ‘ours to share rather than mine to own’ spaces. Spaces that connect us – not only socially, but also through chance encounters, and provide high energy, dynamic and collaborative environments that engage our people and our clients.

Competition for talent in our sector is fierce. We know that the office environment, approach to flexibility and tools available can be persuasive for people looking to either join a new company or to remain in the long term.

We now have a great office. It’s of historical significance. Light and airy. Well connected to the city, public transport, cafes, shops and services. Smart and digitally enabled. Has space for all different kinds of work, and work styles. All our desks are ‘sit and stand’. And the communal areas are well thought out.

However, it’s the experience and purpose for being in the office that will ensure people not only want to come in but will make the regular commitment to do so because being in the office provides value to their professional and personal lives.

As global experts in urban renewal and city design, we understand how important it is to activate and curate space. Physical infrastructure such as a train station or office building only enables place, it’s how you active the place that brings it to life.

One of the projects we’re most proud of is Federation Square in inner city Melbourne. Anyone who lives in or has visited Melbourne will agree it’s a fantastic space that invites you in. It does this by being an epicentre for cultural events and meeting place for all kinds of people.

There’s the pop-up kids library, film festivals, musical performances, street art, workshops, exhibitions, food festivals, the digital barometer on the big screen sharing essential information about Melbourne – from the weather to how many chips have been stolen by seagulls that day.

This kind of thinking has been applied to our office space, but also extends well beyond the confines of our fit-out and contributed to how we chose the location for our new home. Queen & Collins is a destination in and of itself. With a history dating back to the end of the 19^th Century, the revitalised buildings retain much of its gothic architecture.

There is a mix of commercial, retail and public spaces – opening the building for all to enjoy, not just the select few that have the privilege to work there. Flexible spaces mean we can expand into new spaces or host clients in different parts of the building. We can ‘breathe-in’ or ‘breathe-out’ depending on what we need at the time.

We’ve already had feedback from our people about how much they enjoy being together again. Some of the graduates that started with Arcadis during the pandemic have met each other in person for the first time in 2022. I’ve seen them at the kitchen table, eating lunch together, swapping stories and making plans. Our social clubs are active again.

Our leaders are inviting people to participate in workshops in our collaboration spaces. Teams are agreeing amongst themselves when they will be in the office so they can work alongside each other. The new café opened in the building around the same time we officially moved in. The barista already knows my name and my coffee order. Even the smallest interactions can add to the familiarity and connection to a place.

Learning through seeing, hearing and questioning is happening in person and in real time. One of our leaders has committed to spending two hours in our communal area each week with an open invitation for anyone to come by for a chat – about ideas, to ask questions or for advice.

It's a delight to see our people using the spaces in so many different ways and finding different ways to collaborate However, like Federation Square, we need to ensure there is a reason, value and opportunities for people to engage in person.

This is how our people will commute with intent. There is a purpose, a benefit, joy and energy generated in being together. It is up to us, and to all employers, to look beyond the four walls and the fixtures to create a workplace experience that is truly enriching for our people when they are in the office and empower and trust them to work flexibly where they will be at their best, whether at home or in the office.

Jacqui Banks, City Executive Melbourne, Arcadis

Image: istockphoto.com

Architecture & Design Team

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