A new centralised home for Auckland Transport in the refurbished 6-level former Vodafone Building required the responsible use of public funds and a highly collaborative, inclusive and democratic process. The existing built environment was retained and enhanced. “Movement” was used as the over-arching theme for design decisions connecting to the theme of “getting Auckland moving”. Gradation of texture & colour was applied to wall finishes and fabric selection. 50% of the existing furniture was reused and supplemented with new sit-to-stand workstations with varied finishes to help with way-finding and giving individuals a sense of place.

Floors are generally planned as team neighbourhoods in a radial layout with side natural light and taller furniture elements to the interior. An Activity-based Working style was implemented with workstations unowned and a clear-desk policy. Centrally located lockers provided for personal storage. A range of collaborative settings are disbursed through the space to provide alternate working settings. As befitting a local government organisation, the entire 1,628 staff were involved in the selection/procurement process with working groups set up for carpet, furniture, colour & finishes. A furniture showroom was set up for staff to trial and test all short-listed furniture where they were invited to vote using an electronic voting system.

The entire organisation went to mobile technology, allowing full flexibility and the ease to adapt to market forces. The Meeting suites were set up with booking technology along with a simple, consistent and reliable AV/Media system in every meeting room. The technology was one of the key enablers for the organisation to move to Activity-based Working.

Here, the staff were fully engaged in the process and ended up being highly invested in the end result.