World-renowned architecture, interior and urban design practice GroupGSA has delivered a striking new Australian headquarters for MUFG Pension & Market Services (MPMS), located across two executive floors at Liberty Place in Sydney.

Spread across 2,700 square metres, the new workplace accommodates 225 employees and replaces MPMS’ previous offices at World Square. The new Liberty Place office is supported by the company’s larger Parramatta Square site, also designed by GroupGSA in 2022.

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Occupying Levels 41 and 42 at the Castlereagh Street building, MPMS’ new headquarters marks the latest chapter in a 20-year design partnership between GroupGSA and the Japanese financial services group. It’s also the first workplace fitout since MUFG acquired Link Group in 2024.

GroupGSA Associate Principal and project director Jessica Margiotta describes the project as an important milestone in the evolution of MPMS’ workplaces in terms of the company’s brand identity post-merger.

“Over this time, we’ve delivered workplaces that have grown in step with MPMS’ business and cultural shifts,” Margiotta says. “The Liberty Place office exemplifies how design can support brand transformation without losing sight of cultural identity and employee experience.”

At the heart of GroupGSA’s design is the concept of ‘Foundation + Evolution’, which seeks to reflect MPMS’ rebranding while retaining the operational and cultural qualities valued by the staff. “The challenge lay in balancing progress with continuity, creating a space that felt refreshed and culturally aligned, without disconnecting from the foundations of their previous workplaces,” Margiotta explains.

The traditional separation of client-facing and staff-only areas was abandoned in favour of open, flexible spaces that encourage interaction and adaptability as well as quiet zones and formal meeting spaces. The floorplate is anchored by a large breakout space, designed to encourage both work and relaxation, while serving as an ‘overflow’ on busy days.

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The integration of Japanese and Australian design sensibilities reflects the cultural merger at the heart of MPMS’ transformation.

Drawing on the legacy of earlier fitouts, GroupGSA retained key architectural expressions such as warm timber tones and feature ceilings, reinterpreted and refined to suit the more sophisticated brand direction. The customer arrival zone is defined by a slatted timber ceiling and a combination of hard and soft flooring, not only to distinguish spaces but also to guide the user on their journey.

A coffered felt ceiling in the breakout space delivers both acoustic and aesthetic benefits while gridded joinery details and refined timber elements channel Japanese minimalism. In the reception area, a custom quartzite desk with red veining echoes MPMS’ brand colours.

“Rather than create a themed environment, the design draws from both traditions in a restrained and respectful way, through materiality, spatial rhythm and crafted details,” Project Lead Huon Toombs says.

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To embed First Nations storytelling in the workspace, GroupGSA commissioned award-winning Wiradjuri artist Lani Balzan to create original artworks, including a feature piece titled ‘Paths of Connection’, while additional works by Susie Dureau and Andre de Vanny enrich the layered design.

“Logos change, colours shift, companies merge, but the feeling of a workplace should remain,” says Margiotta. “Our role was to capture that experience and help it evolve. This workplace still feels like home to long-time employees, even as it embraces a new identity.”

GroupGSA’s previous workplaces for MPMS include 6 & 8 Parramatta Square and Collins Street, Melbourne, alongside offices in Sydney, Perth, Auckland and Leeds (UK).

Photographer: Luc Remond

Architecture News & Editorial Desk

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