| | KPMG gave architects Metier3 a pragmatic and symbolic brief for the refurbishment of their historic Collins Street offices, part of the old T&G Insurance Building in central Melbourne. The building’s ground-level Banking Chamber was to become the new public face and reflected image of the corporation. Old reception areas would be relocated here, alongside a new staff gathering space and client interfacing point. The Chamber needed more compartments - meeting rooms, presentation areas, servery, theatrette, amenities - but it also needed to keep its sense of openness and transparency, and its grand volume.
Metier3 sought maximum clarity and utility for the Banking Chamber. The entrance was defined against the ground level retail that also occupies the T&G Building, and enclosed with a new airlock to maintain the conditioned environment and limit wind blown debris. Informal and formal waiting areas and the meeting rooms were inserted according to a logical sequence of arrival and dispersal. Flexibility was built into the functional areas, the 100 seat theatrette loosely arranged to enable various seating configurations for interactive activities. But it is not just visitor experience and movement that is being architecturally massaged to the benefit of the brand. Using its proximity to the busy intersection of Collins and Russell, the impressive new Chamber turns its gaze outward to the street with presentation and display areas showcasing KPMG.
The architect’s primary generative concept in spatial arrangement was a careful juxtaposition between old and new. To fit a space like the amenities block within the historic tissue, for instance, it needed to be designed as a sculptural, stand-alone element. The refurbishment called for materials that were modern, plain coloured, flat and light, like the ice white Corian used as a wall lining. But the materials were also used to soften an interior whose solidity and starkness could have potentially been empty to the senses. Art panels were introduced on the walls between existing engaged columns, fitted as temporary elements so as to preserve the space’s heritage integrity. The fabric panels soften as well as acoustically dampen the Chamber’s reverberations and echoes. These interventions were reviewed in conjunction with a heritage architect and Melbourne City Council.
At the same time, with the composition and recessiveness of their interventions, Metier3 were trying not to impede appreciation of the significant existing features of the Chamber, like its complex patterned stonework, a central glass dome, and a Napier Waller mural. New floor to ceiling glazed walls, demarcating the three twelve-seat meeting rooms, were custom made to match the existing glazed walls. Visual separation for meeting rooms and the theatrette was achieved with motorised roller blinds suspended off the framing of the new glazed walls.
Old features are picked out with new lighting. Down and uplighting enhances the existing plastered columns, while optic-fibre re-illuminates the glass dome. Additional ceiling lighting highlights the new additions and warms the ambience. Electronic illumination and cooling, however, are sensitively managed. Artificial lighting is fitted with dimmer controls with day and night setting, since the large eastfacing windows and frameless glass doors allow an abundance of natural light during much of the working day. Dividing the structure into five individually controlled lighting and air conditioning zones improves environmental performance. The eastern windows were also equipped with an acrylic layer (Magnetite) and roll down blinds to reduce traffic noise as well as excess heat gain, meaning a high capacity air conditioning system wasn’t required.
The refurbishment, which was achieved with extensive collaboration on construction methods and details, successfully colours dynamic business values with a bit of old fashioned cultural capital. The result is clean, attractive, and finely finished.+ Top. The volume of the Chamber is retained despite being compartmentalised by the corporation's multiple functional requirements. Ceiling and up and down lighting highlight the columns and the new details. Second. Informal seating areas at the centre of the plan. Third. Rugs and fabric art panels soften the Chamber's hard surfaces, and improve its acoustics. Bottom. A glass dome, part of the heritage fabric of the old T&G Insurance Building, is highlighted in Metier3's refurbishment by white optic fibre lighting. Photographer: John Gollings |
