KiwiRail

The key driver of this project was the desire of the client to bring together three separate Kiwirail Auckland sites into one central location. The fit out was to take full advantage of the opportunity to create a single unified environment as a new home for over 300 staff, while also providing a framework for a modern and collaborative working culture. 

The tenancy is spread over two large format (2000m²) floor plates with a more or less central core location. The project required a clearly legible circulation route and a wide variety of meeting and collaborative working environments. The design devises a strategy of aligning all meeting environments into a single ‘strand’ on each floor, ensuring that all work points have ready access to private and semi-private meeting areas while also providing meeting rooms directly off client reception spaces. 

The form of this backbone is a long ‘boxcar-strand’ and linear circulation arrangement running the length of the office landscape. The boxcars contain the various facilities and meeting rooms required to cater for public and private activities. This strong visual gesture provides a confident sense of identity and unifies the long floor plates with colour and transparency. This feature provides a natural buffer between public and private zones without visually separating the two areas. 

The horizontal spine connects with a large void and stairway which provides strong vertical connection and allows visual connection between activities on both floors. 

Communal breakout spaces are connected to the stair zone and have been given prime positions with views to the internal building atrium and Stanley St, providing relief from working areas and the opportunity for informal and collaborative working culture. 

The working areas are highly efficient and flexible to allow for ongoing change in internal team dynamics. Workstations have been designed to allow individuals to locally customise their settings, allowing for spatial variety which is further softened with green foliage designed into the storage units. The result is an environment which is true to the KiwiRail brand and ethic of connection, effective communication and efficiency.