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PROJECTS PROJECTS

project name roche (nZ) Head office client roche new Zealand

Design stack project type Workplace

location 98 carlton gore road, newmarket floor area 1,150m2

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project no. 004

Stack provides a 100-plus year old Swiss pharmaceutical company with an identity that

is a little bit local and a little bit global.

rocheWorDs lee suckling pHotos rebecca sWan

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when Swiss global healthcare company Roche went to design its new New

Zealand headquarters, its objective was to combine the brand’s European roots with a distinctly Pacific flavour. “One thing that wasn’t to change was Roche’s family-like culture,” says David Morgan, creative director at Stack, a business interiors firm which has completed fit-outs for the likes of Air New Zealand, Generator and AIG.

“The company has an international policy of fostering internal relationships and encouraging collaboration, so that needed to be respected.”

However, while still adhering to a global workstation size guideline, Roche NZ was keen to experiment with various open-plan workspace configurations and meeting settings, “to allow for that collaborative work ethic while still maintaining a relatively quiet workspace for the concentrated activities”, Morgan explains.

Responding to such a brief, Stack set aside an entire upper floor of a regenerated Newmarket office building as the primary workspace. A lower floor, joined by a new internal stair, is where one enters Roche NZ’s head office. Front of house is slick and simple, and introduces the hexagon, Roche’s signature shape – inspired by the molecular structure.

“The architectural geometry of molecular structures synonymous with medical science have inspired the reception counter, stair, lighting and other furnishings,” says project designer Jesse James Smith. A white-lacquered reception desk uses such a shape in its construction, ensuring every visitor knows exactly which company resides

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1. The reception area feature wall at Roche, which references a cell-like structure in keeping with company’s line of work. 2. View towards kitchen area. 3. Reception waiting area with meeting rooms beyond.

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in these offices. The wall opposite the entry ensures the welcome area has a definite Pacific identity, Smith explains.

“The ‘living coral’ inspired feature installation in the waiting area uses the common molecular geometry but with a decidedly more organic appearance. The smooth and glossy 3D pentagons are softened with a natural timber inlay.” Growth-like in appearance, these pentagons conform to the wall’s rigid hexagonal grid, however they disperse and fill the grid at random.

Flowing through from the feature wall is the central waiting area, flanked by 5.5m-long umber-coloured bench seat, made of high-performance vinyl. Above it, ‘Fractile’ hexagonal acoustic tiles are used as a 3D feature on a charcoal wall.

The open staff café, extending to the western side, is visible to all with its bright yellow pop of colour. Beech-coloured oak kitchen joinery serves to reflect Roche’s Swiss roots, and capsule-shaped pendant lights sit atop the island. Combined with the 3D wall panels spread throughout this floor, these shapes contribute to an aesthetic referential of the science behind Roche’s work.

Separated by floor-to-ceiling glass sliders, three small meeting rooms inspire ideas “that break out of traditional boxes”, Smith says. Each room features enlarged graphics of Roche molecular photography, setting colour themes for each

4-5. The staff café is distinguished by a yellow ‘pop’ of colour. Features include wide oak benches and a 5.5m-long umber-coloured banquette.

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6-7. Lower level meeting rooms and boardroom, finsihed in oak, can be visually segregated by a ceiling-to-floor, rich-black

space (blue, orange, and yellow: the Roche brand colours). The meeting rooms contain wire-hung geometric lighting, and every powder-coated aluminium pendant features one panel of the respective theme colour from the room in which it sits. The formal meeting rooms veer away from bright colour in favour of oak panels, warm whites and a contrasting teal wall, which represents the clean, calm Swiss aesthetic without being overly sterile or medical.

In the centre of the lower floor is a suspended stair. Up this stair, an entire floor is designated as the workspace for 50-plus staff. “The workstations are arranged as ‘streets’, generally with a separate department on each street’,” says Morgan. Hexagonal dividers provide privacy between streets, as do box planters (containing Sansevieria and Dracaena compacta). Coloured glass room dividers break up administration areas, and full-height clear glass sliders divide individual management offices and ‘quiet spaces’ from the main workspace.

“The workspace surrounding the stair is a collaborative space, designed to foster interdepartmental meetings and communication through various open and private meeting settings,” says Morgan.

“This is in contrast to the peripheral space set aside for contemplative, quiet tasks.” u

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8. Blue, orange, and yellow, the Roche brand colours, predominate through the workplace meeting rooms and informal break-out spaces. 9-10. Meeting rooms feature supergraphics of Roche’s own molecular photography and wire-hung geometric lighting.

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“Separated by floor-to-ceiling glass sliders, three small meeting rooms inspire ideas “that break out of traditional boxes”, Smith says.”

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PROJECT DETAILS

Project name: Roche (NZ) Head Offi ceClient: Roche Products (NZ)Property owner: Core City DevelopmentsDesign practice: Stack Interiors Design team: Jesse James Smith (designer), David Morgan (design director)Builder: Cape Interior Construction Project manager: Stack InteriorsServices consultant: eCubedStructural consultant: Thorburn ConsultantsJoinery: Meridian; Cabinet Place; Mark Manolas InteriorsFlooring: Heritage Tiles; Jacobsens; Premium FlooringLighting: Inlite; Delta Light; Calder Interiors; Tim WigmoreFurniture: UFL; Vidak; Zenith Kitchen and bar: Mark Manolas InteriorsSignage: Benefi tzTextiles: Autex Fractile 3D TileFeaure wall: “Living coral” wall by Fodera

1 Reception

2 Meeting rooms

3 Training room

4 Kitchen/ café

5 Mail room

6 Open-plan space

7 Touchdown space

8 Quiet space

9 Offi ce

10 Mobile storage

FLOOR PLANS

LEVEL TWO

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11. Detail of molecular form replicated throughout the interior design. 12. Lighting detail. 13. Pil light, designed by Tim Wigmore.

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LEVEL ONE