New Zealand Commercial Design Trends Series NZ Commercial Design Trends Vol. 35/01C | Page 29

Previous pages:The base-build
staircase at Architectus-designed
No.1 Sylvia Park is put to good use in
the Unispace fit-out of the IAG Hub.
Below:Well-rounded – the IAG Hub
references the firm’s circular logo in
many ways, including the lighting,
custom carpet and furniture.
A company’s biggest asset is its people – a
truism reflected in the human-centred design of
IAG’s three-levels of offices at No.1 Sylvia Park.
A strong sense of community, resizable desking
options and quiet, intimate spaces all add up to an
interior design path that puts staff wellbeing first.
When IAG sought to consolidate its staff from
seven offices to two fringe city call-centre Hubs, they
asked Unispace to create the same theme and look
for both spaces, albeit in quite different envelopes,
or buildings, says design principal Sarah Langford.
This fit-out is in No.1 Sylvia Park, a new building
designed by Architectus, and covers levels two,
three and part of four of the building.
Given its prime function as a call centre, the
Hub doesn’t have a formal reception area, but level
three is where visitors might arrive. The central area
on this floor is called The Campfire, and provides a
clue to one aspect of the design scheme.
“The IAG Hubs are purposefully away from the
city centre, and are more destinations in their own
right, albeit close to shops and transport hubs. Staff
were able to choose which Hub they went to,” says
Langford. “The sense of people coming together in
an open, healthy, flexible environment lead to the
loose analogy of a colourful, playful fit-out themed
on camping and campfire camaraderie.
“Initially, the analogy was used to explain to
staff how the hub’s new flexible, unassigned way
of working would be employed and these ideas
became part of the project’s common language.”
However, in real terms the aesthetic speaks most
strongly to IAG’s business colours and iconography,
underpinned with only subtle nods to the camping
analogy, such as the naming for certain areas and
the evocation of some iconic outdoor elements.
As a result, the Hub’s floorplans are broken into
neighbourhoods, or campsites, each with various
meeting spaces. Elements such as rounded walls
of suspended ropes – evoking rope swings – and
even a circle of green, suggesting grass, set the
scene. Some slatted wood tables have the look of
picnic tables while most workstations have rounded
corners, another subtle evocation of the soft lines of
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