CALOUNDRA - SUNSHINE COAST

OPC HOUSE

“A booming industry”

When Michael Kerr asked us to look at his small home-based office set up in 2012 we both anticipated the design service provided would tie him over for at least 3-5 years. However, the success of the innovative program he was running took us by surprise when just over a year later he was relocating into a 2-story commercial building office to house 33 staff members! The old building was usable but very unattractive and had absolutely nothing to offer in regards to interior office fit-out. Michael was brilliant in the briefing to us his exact requirements by way of hand-sketched mud maps and priority lists of desires from absolute essentials to “you must be dreaming” desires. To say the task was ambitious was an understatement! But we worked tirelessly to achieve what seemed impossible to others. With not a millimetre wasted we managed to reinvent the 2 floors to house both open plan and closed office spaces for the various team members. Natural light was the driving force for all decision making. We needed to get it in for the majority of the day yet block it out for sunrise and sunset! This was tackled via the use of external screening along with tinted glass and internal roller blinds. Fresh white joinery and artificial greenery created the ambient work environment required. Everything was custom made to the exact dimensions we had specified to ensure the maximum practicality. We had some fun with the Qld lifestyle attitude to business naming the board room the “beer garden” and the interview room the “tapas bar” which was well received by both staff and visiting clients! The beer garden boasts astroturf as carpet, bar stools and raised counter boardroom table and a giant mural of palm trees swaying in the breeze printed onto the roller blinds!

Photography: Jason Smith