Books add life and shadow to office fitout
Lovell Chen Architects & Heritage Consultants had been operating from an office in Little Bourke Street for nearly 20 years. But apartments were closing in, reducing the views and light. This office space, occupying half a floor (400 square metres), was also cramped for their 30 staff. "The space was starting to affect how we work, even though the location was convenient," says architect Kai Chen, a director of the practice.
Chen and his co-director architect Peter Lovell spent considerable time looking for new premises nearby. They started in the CBD, slowly shifting their gaze to pockets on the edge of town. They eventually found an entire floor (600 square metres) in a 1980s office building in East Melbourne.
As well as greater floor space, there are views of the Melbourne Cricket Ground and over parkland. There are also views to the north, of East Melbourne and beyond. Lovell Chen was keen to retain as much of the previous fitout as possible. The carpets, for example, were retained, as were the humble ceiling panels from the '80s. Even some of the doors were recycled.
"We saw this as a soft refurbishment, rather than a total makeover," Chen says.
As books, old and new, form the backbone of Lovell Chen's practice, it seemed appropriate to design extensive bookshelves. These shelves start outside the lift and wind their way through reception and into a board/meeting room. Made from timber veneer, the back of these shelves is translucent acrylic. "All the timber had been rejected by people over the years, unloved, sitting in the back of a joiner's workshop," says Chen, who is proud to point out the imperfections, from small marks to what was considered the wrong grain by the client. "There's a lot of unnecessary wastage out there."
From the reception area, adjacent to the boardroom, there's a wall of books in profile. "These shadows are like Melbourne's skyline," Chen says.
Sue-Anne Williams, the full-time librarian, numbers the collection, including magazines, at 20,598 items. "There's also the computer files backing up this material," Williams says. "The books are extremely comforting. There's a sense of being in your own home library."
These shelves are complemented by a chequerboard ceiling of black and white acrylic panels. While the East Melbourne office fitout has been softly handled, a couple of enclosed offices were required. There's the directors' office, concealed behind a black acrylic wall. And adjacent to the open-plan office area is a meeting space. A new kitchen and informal dining and lounge area was included at the rear of the floor plate, benefiting from the full northern sunlight.
Wherever you look there are bookshelves. Those lining the wall in the open-plan area are of particle board, not dissimilar to the original ceiling. "Someone must have ordered this board and realised that it was a bad choice when it arrived," says Chen, who has transformed what was once a mistake into an extremely fine office fitout.
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Lovell Chen moved because their Little Bourke Street space (half a floor, about 400 sqm) had become cramped for their 30 staff and was losing light and views as nearby apartments closed in. They found a whole floor (about 600 sqm) in an East Melbourne 1980s office building with better views — including the Melbourne Cricket Ground and parkland — and more space to suit how they work.
The new fitout occupies an entire floor of roughly 600 square metres. It combines open-plan work areas with a few enclosed spaces — a directors' office concealed behind a black acrylic wall, an adjacent meeting room, and a new kitchen, informal dining and lounge area at the rear that benefits from full northern sunlight.
The practice took a ‘soft refurbishment’ approach and retained or recycled many existing elements: carpets and humble 1980s ceiling panels were kept, some doors were reused, and timber rejected over the years was reclaimed for timber-veneer bookshelves. The fitout intentionally highlights imperfections to reduce unnecessary wastage.
Books form the backbone of Lovell Chen’s practice and feature heavily in the design: extensive bookshelves start outside the lift, wind through reception and into the board/meeting room, and include a wall of books in profile that creates strong shadow effects. Shelves use timber veneer with translucent acrylic backs and particle board in the open-plan areas.
Lovell Chen’s library is managed by a full-time librarian, Sue-Anne Williams, and the collection — including magazines — is numbered at 20,598 items. The physical collection is supported by computer files that back up the material.
Key design features include the chequerboard ceiling of black and white acrylic panels, translucent acrylic backs on timber-veneer bookshelves, a directors’ office concealed behind a black acrylic wall, widespread bookshelves throughout the floor, and an informal kitchen and lounge area that takes advantage of northern sunlight.
Lovell Chen describes the project as a soft refurbishment rather than a total makeover. They retained original elements where possible (carpets, ceiling panels, some doors) and focused on reusing materials and adapting existing fitout elements.
The larger 600 sqm floorplate provides more space than their previous 400 sqm half-floor, reduces the cramped conditions that were affecting work, and offers improved daylight and views (including to the MCG and parkland). The layout also adds enclosed meeting and director spaces plus a sunny kitchen and lounge area to support staff comfort and collaboration.
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