Plus Architecture office
VICKI MORSKATE
When redesigning their office, the three directors at Plus Architecture ran an inhouse competition. The rules were simple – the 40 or so staff participants could enter as a group or individually. The design had to be innovative and cost effective. And it had to reflect the youthful, boutique nature of the practice.
When the competition closed and the designs were in, the directors, who were also the judges, really had “no idea what to expect”. They were genuinely surprised.
“We gave the staff no indication of what we wanted the design to be,” says director Craig Yelland.
“The consistent theme that kept coming back was that Plus is a fun place to work. There was nothing corporate or serious about the designs. It was all really playful architecture with huge staff facilities.”
The winning design – created by four students at the firm: Millie Anderson, Virginia Barlow, Jack Carolane and Ben Tucker – is inspired by the views of the tree canopies. The minimal palette of materials include plywood, polished concrete and exposed ceilings. The large wooden nuggets, attached at various angles to the walls, serve as secret doors, opening to a meeting room and a storage closet.
The striking design also has a few whimsical elements – the print room has a faux-grass feature wall around the core and the reception is lined with 135 potted plants. The waiting room is an effective “cone of silence” made from a sound-absorbent material placed at faceted angles. Sounds are not bounced off the walls, which, as Yelland notes, “give the effect of having cotton wool in your ears”.
“We gutted the existing fitout and built everything ourselves,” says Yelland. “We even did the concreting, which we’d never done before but thought we would give it a crack … There was a team of four involved full time, and then all the other staff worked for different amounts of time, whether it was screwing together workstations or doing the kitchen.”
This competition is a reflection of what Plus Architecture is about – a complete abandonment of the conventional model that exists in most architecture firms in Melbourne. The firm has challenged the norm, embraced new ideas and ended up with an office that serves as a launching pad for innovative designs.
“In most architecture firms, each of the directors has their own project and they have their own little empire within that firm,” says Yelland. “As these companies grow, they have a bunch of different departments with their own directors. So what you end up with is a bunch of different firms under the one banner, sharing all the admin stuff but not much else. We’re the polar opposites to that. We’re the true studio style and all three of us are equal. It’s never about ownership over the client. It’s about who can offer the best solution for the client.”
Plus Architecture was formed in 1997, as a joint venture between Fender Katsalidis and SJB Architects, to develop the master plan and design for NewQuay – a residential, commercial and retail precinct on Victoria Harbour at Docklands. Successfully fusing business strategy with design, all three directors collaborate on each project – Craig Yelland focuses on the bottom line, Ian Briggs does design and Rainer Strunz, delivery. Or, as Briggs puts it: “Craig makes the money for the developer, I spend the money for the developer and Ian builds with whatever’s left over.”
Each design is influenced by their diverse training backgrounds of Queensland, Tasmania and Germany. And they are not locked into a particular methodology but rather create architecture that responds to the site, a client’s needs and the design morals of the practice.
It’s a recipe that works. And in their 13 years they have grown from four staff to 40, with a portfolio that includes Tooronga Village, Industry Business Hub in South Melbourne, Peninsula Golf and Country Club, Deal Corp apartments in Prahran, 101 Nott Street and ERA in Cremorne.
9-11 Claremont Street, South Yarra
JOHN GOLLINGS
One of their most impressive designs is 9-11 Claremont Street, South Yarra. Consisting of a car showroom, boutique offices, penthouse and café, the development reveals one of the firm’s underlining principles – that great architecture is based on an underlying idea.
“It was the first building in that Forest Hill precinct so it kind of set a benchmark for everything down there … It’s still the most beautiful building in the street, and that was the brief,” says Yelland.
On the façade, puzzle-like bands of raw concrete wrap around the lightweight glass. Form liners, set against tinted-glass walls, are used to create different textures – one resembling crushed paper, the other ribbed concrete – providing a wonderful juxtaposition between rough and smooth surfaces.
“The major inspiration came from Pininfarina designs for Ferrari in the ’70s,” says Briggs. “I wanted the façade to express that love of speed and fast cars from those more innocent times.”
This idea of movement continues inside the building, starting with a yellow fibreglass garage door, created by artist Darryl Cowie. Featuring a series of ripples that cover the large golden panels, the fibreglass serves as a welcoming mat to the street.
“I have a personal thing for secret doors. I love them. So I worked with Darryl to create a ‘Batcave’ garage door, which is very much inspired from the Batman movies,” says Yelland.
Cowie also designed graphics on the glass walls separating the lobby from the showroom. The black arrows arranged in several directions on the glass suggest movement, as do the angled concrete pillars in the showroom.
“9-11 Claremont continues that idea of masculine architecture. There are exposed concrete ceilings and nice, dark, rich stonework on the lobbies. And it’s got almost a playboy, disco-like communal bathroom with sparkly tiles,” says Briggs.
The contrasting of rough and smooth materials can be seen again in a few of the boutique offices. Raw concrete walls sit alongside highly polished wooden floors, and heavy pivoting doors open to a boardroom that features a light-wicker egg chair, suspended by a chain from the ceiling. On the boardroom wall, fabric panels slide back to reveal audiovisual equipment.
“It’s strong and has got personality, and that is the overriding link between all of our buildings,” says Briggs. “Even though the interior for the apartments needs to be quite muted, to allow people to overlay their own personalities, the actual buildings all have a strong personality. You know where you are when you’re in them. I think that’s really important, creating a sense of ownership and address, not just the look of the building but the feel of it.”
This idea of street presence is certainly expressed in one of the firm’s smaller multiresidential projects, Elan. Located in Darling Street, South Yarra, Elan is divided into two visually separate vertical forms and has an operable glass façade that maximises light and views over the park and the Yarra River.
On top is a penthouse – a two-level component visually highlighted through the use of copper cladding. This reflects the roof forms and colour of the historical precinct.
Briggs says the layout of the design was inspired by its famous neighbour, architect Howard Lawson’s Beverly Hills. The challenge for Briggs as a designer was to create a contemporary building that would sensitively address its historical and cultural surroundings.
“Elan is incredibly influenced by all the old buildings around it,” says Briggs. “The layout of the apartments is the same as the heritage building next to it. The way that the circulation works inside the apartments is the same and so is the stairwell. It’s even got the same roof colour and setback. If you took away all the glassy, shiny bits on our building and all the stoney bits on the older building, it’s the same building.”
Society, South Yarra
DIANNA SNAPE
Building residential sites that successfully respond to marketplace demands tend to be where Plus has made a name. Society, a high-density, multiresidential apartment building in South Yarra, is a response to Gen Y’s need to enter the property market without sacrificing location or lifestyle. With some apartments less than 50 square metres, Plus created multifunctional space-saving solutions, such as beds that fold into walls to create extra living spaces. There are also streamlined kitchens and lots of storage.
All the apartments share a lobby and a ground-floor food-and-beverage precinct. There is also a reception bar, Suds Launderette and a rooftop garden with an outdoor cinema. The façade is dramatic with a white rectilinear form harmoniously juxtaposing a strong, dark, curvaceous body that drapes over the lower form.
“Society was really a combination of Hamton (the developers) coming up with wacky ideas, and us coming up with equally wacky ideas, and seeing which ones filtered through. A lot of the ideas of that project were really great workshop decisions,” says Briggs.
“All the things in Society are low in operational costs and high interactivity. For instance, on the roof deck you can take your drinks up there and picnic blanket and enjoy the city views,” adds Yelland.
And does this work? “It’s a little too successful,” says Briggs. “There’s a whole generation of kids that are going to be Society babies.”
“It’s like a modern day Melrose Place,” adds Yelland.
Whether it’s a small or large project, Plus enjoys a challenge.
“And that’s the great thing about Melbourne; it has all these great suburbs, so every project is entirely unique.”
» www.plusarchitecture.com.au