Authentic Design for Russell Kennedy in Melbourne, Australia


Design firm Carr helped infuse Russell Kennedy‘s authenticity and inclusivity in their Melbourne office space.

Project Overview:

  • Design Firm: Carr
  • Client: Russell Kennedy
  • Completion Date: August 2024
  • Location: Melbourne, Australia 
  • Size: 5262-square metres
  • Seminar suite, training room, client meeting suite, webinar room, open collaboration meeting spaces, quiet rooms, Café, library, breakouts, catering reheat kitchen, print room, mail room, prayer/multi-use room,  parents/wellness room, utilities 
  • GBCA Greenstar 5 Star

Set within the newly refurbished 500 Bourke Street tower in Melbourne’s CBD, the new workplace for Russell Kennedy is spread across four floors, with a design that reinforces and supports the law firm’s authentic and inclusive positioning in the market. 

Deciding its current office no longer supported its future workplace strategy, Russell Kennedy included Carr in the building selection and analysis of suitable sites in Melbourne’s CBD. Through an assessment of factors, such as floor plate efficiency, daylight amenities and  sustainability, a detailed report was prepared with recommendations to ensure the chosen building upheld and advanced Russell Kennedy’s vision for its future workplace. 

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Set across levels 16 to 19, the client floor spans almost all of level 18. The reception and waiting  area were carefully positioned to maximise views and light, ensuring clients were instantly met by a welcoming and calm environment evoking a sense of ease. In addition to meeting spaces and a large suite of seminar rooms, there is a focus on connectivity and uniting both the Russell Kennedy team and clients. This is driven by the extensive hospitality spaces on level 18, such as  a café, library, flexible training room and spaces to gather groups of all sizes and types. 

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An interconnecting stair spanning between the breakout spaces of all four levels further  promotes the connectivity of staff throughout the workplace, encouraging movement and  chance encounters. Planting has been carefully curated to drape down the stair void and add an element of softness to the surrounding spaces, positively impacting the health and well-being of users. 

A five Green Star rating has been achieved across the project, aligning with both the client’s and designer’s sustainability aspirations. A furniture audit by Carr also helped find pathways to reuse or refurbish existing furniture to ensure as many pieces as possible were responsibly reutilised.

 

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Project Planning

The project had a representative from the C-Suite within the Steering Committee, who were involved in the planning workshops and decision making. The Executive Team were involved with the strategic brief development, along with key stakeholders. Decisions were also run past the Board for feedback and approval. A survey was conducted which all Melbourne employees had an opportunity to engage with.  

The base building is a refurbished commercial tower, which targeted a 6-Star Greenstar rating. This meant the Russell Kennedy office fitout was to be designed to align with this sustainability credential. 

The design and planning were to promote a sense equality and reduce the typical hierarchical design of lawyer offices. This resulted in the offices and built form being equal in size and pulled off from the glazed façade so that there is not one office that could be deemed better than the other. 

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Included within the design is an intertenancy stair which connects the four levels, including the  client floor. This is a key part of the design creating connection to the breakout spaces across  the four levels, and increasing the ‘bump factor’ or incidental interactions between  employees.  

Previously, the client’s office space was made up of majority individual office cubicles. The  design of the new space saw a variety of open plan workstations and different ways of working flexibly added in.  

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There were a range of workshops and interviews completed which included a broad range of employees and leadership from across the practice groups and operational sectors of the  business. The briefing process included workplace learning tours, interviews, aesthetic workshops, exploring ways or working and palettes of space.  

The functional briefing process also included workshops with relevant team members across  the areas of Access & Inclusion, Client Engagement, Offices & Workfloor, Social & Events, Technology and Utilities. 

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Project Details

The spaces cater to health and wellness with the inclusion of Yoga, meditation and prayer  rooms along with mixed-use spaces that are low sensory (suitable for a neurodiverse  workforce). Strong social and hospitality amenities, particularly in the central café which is connected by the interconnecting staircase. 

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Products 

Décor Systems Cewood Panels 

Kvadrat Soft Cells 

Instyle Ecoustic Panels 

George Fethers & Co Laminate 

Tacchini Le Mura 

Ross Gardam Place 

District Elements Duo2 

Arper Catifa 46 

Schiavello Neo Electrical Sit Stand Workstation

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Tech Solutions

Crestron Video Conferencing and room booking  

Overall Project Results

Some difficulty in getting partnership on board with some of the changes as they were a little  unsure about the introduction of the café how it would be used and its operations. But they can  see it now and how much it is loved.  

There were also some discussions in the move from bigger façade offices into smaller, more  modular offices. So we had to support this move by advocating the offsets that downsizing  would office people and offices, with more social and breakout spaces.  

We also involved the steering committee in visits to the furniture showroom so they could test  and see the products coming into the new office. 

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Contributors:

The project was a collaboration between the Russell Kennedy client team, Carr, project  managers Turner & Townsend, MEP consultant Evolved Engineering, builder Shape, AV  consultant Advisen Consulting, stair consultant Active Metal and planting consultant Plant  Society. 

Design

Photography

Tom Blachford

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Contact | Instagram | LinkedIn | Meet the Team 





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