the new HASSELL studio Sydney

 Ewen Wright, Associate and lead designer on the new HASSELL Sydney studio gives us the low down on his new workplace.  The new workplace and design studio for HASSELL, is situated across three floors of a unique state-listed heritage building and built over the water in Sydney Harbour. The brief was to provide a workspace solution for the specific way in which their studio enables and celebrates the creative process. The solution needed to be within the context of a strong building character, layered with a palimpsest of very unique history. One practical consideration was creating a space where the entire studio team can gather, which improves the way the studio present and shares their work. Located at picturesque Millers Point, on Pier 8/9 in Sydney’s Walsh Bay precinct. The precinct was previously a working port and a centre of trade and export between Australia and the rest of the world. It has now been transformed into a residential, entertainment and creative hub, incorporating a diverse mix of established and up-and-coming firms and industries.

Before being converted to commercial office space in approximately 2000, the pier was the first purpose-built wool store built at Millers Point at the turn of the 20^th century. It served to load wool and unload supplies from trading boats. The process relied on gravity, with export goods being delivered by horse and cart via a land bridge to the upper levels of the pier before dropping to loading gantries below. While this was taking place, imported goods from the boats could be unloaded to the wharf apron below. Such an efficient process meant that five ships could be serviced at the same time. The materials palate was deliberately restrained, with a focus on materials that have soft, natural self finishes. They complement rather than compete with the robust materials of the original building. The modern structural steel work, which supports the inserted mezzanine space, was painted white to allow the fabric of the original building to be understood in its entirety.

The design of the project took approximately five-and-a-half months, while construction took approximately four months. Due to the close proximity of residential neighbours and other commercial tenants, along with the scale of work being undertaken, there were limited times available to complete noisy or invasive works.The colour scheme is consciously neutral – it was important to create a ‘blank-canvas’, so that the space could showcase our design processes and products as part of the way in which we work. A palette of black and white introduced elements sits alongside the hardwood timbers and red steel of the original building.The project was mostly completed in May 2013, but we consider several parts of the studio to be works-in-progress. These are spaces that we will be using to test and review new ideas and strategies for workplace design over the coming months.

This project is being piloted for the revised Green Star Interiors rating tool, and is targeting 5 Stars. While many of the items related to the fabric, structure or layout of the original heritage building were not able to be altered, we have used materials, assemblies, furniture, finishes and fittings that allow us to achieve the highest possible rating without compromising the design intent or the planet! We have also installed many smart building sensors to help us monitor our energy and water usage and to harvest daylight and control lighting in a very localised way. Regardless of the rating that we achieve, the hero in the piece is the heritage pier. We are very proud to be a part of recycling it and extending its useful life.

Story by Richard Misso and Ewen Wright To see more by Hassell studio  photos credited to Hassell