Reactive Digital Media HQ

2012 – Commercial / Office Fitout – Total new area approx 480m sq (doubling the existing space to approx 1000 sqm)

Brand Architecture : Striking the Balance between Funky Fitzroy and Corporate Cool !

An office fitout for the headquarters of international digital design agency ‘Reactive Media’; an award-winning creative crowd as a client. Often throwing staff breakfasts, parties and even sporting events, the agency demonstrates a strong commitment to happy workers. Their work is highly professional, and while they are a big corporation, they haven’t lost their youthfulness. Values which we set out to translate into architecture for them…

With space in the flagship Melbourne office at bursting point, the media agency looked to expand into the ground floor of their current office space. The space was little more than a concrete shell with windows, with small and dark office cubicles at the back. The brief was to create an exciting work environment that reflects the clients values and innovate approach.

Company colours guided the internal colour scheme, making branding and architecture consistent with the corporate identity. The minimalist rawness of the open plan warehouse space sits well in funky Fitzroy. A major focus was put on the functional layout of the space, and elements like the open staircase with feature screen and area for ‘by-chance-meetings’ beside it, were put into place to maintain the single company culture even though staff are spread over two levels.

Opening up the space allowed us to massively increase the use of natural daylight and ventilation, thereby reducing energy usage and running costs. To encourage cycling as a means of transportation, we’ve created bicycle storage as a quality space within one of the breakout areas, rather than as a secondary space : Bikes are right there in everyone’s view, promoting sustainability to staff and visitors. Additional showers were also created with that in mind. Access for all is a given. The concrete floors were left exposed as thermal mass. Most of the timber used in the project comes from recycled sources, and the ‘accidental’ purpose-built meeting spaces improve the company culture, making this project both environmentally and socially sustainable.

“We hired MDS to design and project manage the fit-out of our new office space, a warehouse style building in Fitzroy. We loved the designs immediately, and MDS really understood our company culture and how we would use the space. The end result is fantastic, and new visitors comment on how great it is. MDS really went above and beyond for us, and we’re thrilled with the result.”