Hub Australia has expanded its Victorian offering with a new workplace on Richmond’s Church Street, bringing an up-to-the-minute workplace to one of Melbourne’s hipster hotspots.
The interiors, handled by M Moser Associates, see two levels of the Industry Lanes precinct refreshed to become a future-ready workplace. The three buildings that make up Industry Lanes feature an industrially flavoured brick facade, a direct acknowledgement of Richmond’s heritage.
Occupants are welcomed by a brass concierge desk, similar to industrial machinery. Black steel, concrete flooring and exposed pipework feature throughout, as well as rust oranges and maroon brown that depict the suburb’s workplace history.
“We designed Hub Church Street to respect the heritage and provide an authentic sense of place,” says M Moser Senior Associate, Sally Chu.
“We also ensured our placemaking supported the functionality required to meet Hub’s industry-leading standards of hospitality. We’ve designed 3 premium city sites for Hub Australia and our Richmond design would be no exception in standard: we needed to bring a premium CBD quality to a city-fringe location.
“Designing a coworking space provides its own challenges because you don’t know who the final users will be. We needed to build a space around everyone and anyone – from blue-chip corporates to bootstrapping start-ups. This challenge was elevated because Richmond is such an eclectic and creative location, so our target audience was diverse. We tried to make this workspace very intuitive and natural so members and guests could slot in right away yet have a completely personalised experience.
“We have seen the flexible workspace market transform and there has been a significant shift towards a more sophisticated model that attracts established enterprises. This is reflected through the change in front of house and concierge offering over the years, becoming more premium as the industry grows. It was a big consideration in our Hub Church Street designs to make this prominent and stand-out.”
Spotted gum furniture, leather seating and strip lighting bring an upmarket contemporary touch to the space. A wrap around terrace frames views of Melbourne and outer suburbia.
Hub Australia CEO, Brad Karaskopf, says he is excited by the opportunity presented by the company for Richmond workers looking to situate themselves in a modern workplace featuring a number of amenities, including a cafe, media studio, business lounge, fitness studio and concierge.
"Hub Church Street at Industry Lanes is our sixth destination in Melbourne and our second city fringe location. The strategic expansion follows the recent openings of Hub St Kilda Road demonstrating our commitment to expanding the Hub offering beyond the CBD to meet evolving worker demands,” he says.
“This progressive and premium workspace has several areas to drive creativity and productivity, as well as social spaces to encourage co-creation and new working models. The space ultimately supports a diverse audience range including professionals, scale-ups, corporates, and government teams that are now choosing Richmond for their offices. With hospitality-led service, Hub Church Street fits right into the top-class culture of surrounding Richmond and reflects the cultural and working preferences of the area.”
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