New Zealand Commercial Design Trends Series NZ Commercial Design Trends Vol. 34/01C | Page 10

Project
The B:HIVE, Smales Farm
Location:
Takapuna, Auckland
Architects:
BVN and Jasmax
THE FUTURE IS NOW
Highly innovative in concept – as well as design – The B:HIVE building at Smales Farm offers
unprecedented space and rent flexibility for tenants in a modern wellness environment
The world of business today is a fast-changing
one, with companies having to be agile in response
to market dictates and changing staff needs. A
firm that requires a large office space one week,
may well need a much smaller one seven days, or
seven months on – and vice versa. Now there’s an
Auckland office leasing option that has complete
rental flexibility at the core of its business.
The B:HIVE offers innovation and ingenuity not
only via its unique physical design and layout, but
also through its flexibility for tenants, says Paul
Gunn, Smales Farm CEO.
“Unlike traditional office leasing arrange-
ments, The B:HIVE model facilitates increases or
decreases in a business’ workspace so they only
pay rent based on the exact size of their operation.
“The concept of office rent being based on the
number of employees rather than a rate per m 2 is a
completely new concept to business owners.”
The new premium 11,000m 2 , five-level The B:HIVE
building is well set up to cater to changing client
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needs and can easily accommodate businesses with
anything from one up to 200 or more employees.
“At The B:HIVE, companies aren’t locked in to
traditional leasing arrangements, so they avoid
the substantial business interruption and capital
expenditure usually associated with having to
change premises,” says Gunn. “In addition, the
fit-out, furniture, utilities, concierge and security
services, and cleaning are all included in the rental
– together with, of course, access to a full raft of
up-to-the-minute business amenities.”
BVN and Jasmax were joint architects on the
project and BVN CEO James Grose says The
B:HIVE interior was foremost created with flexibility
in mind.
“The building has been designed effectively as
an empty box with an organic connecting volume.
This enables complete flexibility on each floor plate.
“However, for the initial launch of The B:HIVE,
the flexible zones are located around the central
atrium, with moveable studios set on the perimeter.
Previous pages:Stairway to
business heaven – the central
feature of The B:HIVE building
by architects BVN and Jasmax
encourages a broad sense of
connectivity and provides for
chance or ‘bump’ meetings.
Below:Secure ground floor-entry
is a feature of The B:HIVE. Pared
back materials were chosen
throughout to let the vibrancy of
individual tenancies stand out –
and also to match the functional
feel of the exposed services.
Facing page, top and
lower:The reception acts more
like a concierge facility than a
service desk, evoking the feel of
a hosted environment for visitors.
The ground floor is used for
events and social functions, often
into the evening.