Award of Merit:

Cox Architecture for Midtown Workplace

COX Architecture is a progressive & diversified architectural group covering the fields of public buildings, commercial and retail developments, tourism, sport and recreation, education, housing, health, and conservation. In each field, the Group offers services in planning, urban design, architecture, & interior design. 

50 years + today – COX Architecture brings substantial credentials to projects, drawing on its history and achievements as a practice as well as the constant renewal of its professional outlooks and ambitions. Our offices are working across the globe on projects of international l significance & this experience is brought to each of our projects. COX Architecture has consistently employed over 600 people for the last three years across Australia and overseas. 

COX believe that we are made of many parts, all of equal significance, and we are ourselves only one within the greater whole. The more expert voices we gather, the greater the resulting conversation and the interconnectivity of all contexts will be. We seek understanding of this in the pursuit of creating spaces that are considered from all angles, as only then are we are able to achieve the great feats required of us.

About the Project

The design of Midtown Workplace highlights the importance of place and human connection in an increasingly virtual world. Underpinned by the conceptual narrative of exploration, the workplace is a magnet to foster innovation, collaboration, and connection. It is a nimble workplace that will continue to evolve with our client, their story, and their connection to community. 

The workplace concept built on the narrative derived from the connection of two aged buildings, old structures connected with new. The void and bridge links positioned as the connecting piece between the two buildings to form a united place. The inter tenancy stair moves through the main atrium and a series of offset voids connected by the high street spine to encourage exploration and a journey of discovery. The central atrium is fringed with planting and drenched in daylight, anchored by an auditorium, ‘The Pit’, at its base. 

‘The Pit’, a magnet for cultural exchange, is a space for teams to gather as a whole and galvanise their vibrant culture. The organic form responds to the curved nature of the sky terrace base building envelope and provides a moment of whimsy to the otherwise strictly geometric and almost brutalist workplace. 

Our design response explores the tension between the pragmatic and the poetic, doing more with less, showcasing the existing concrete structure with as little decoration as possible. The overwhelming majority of materials are left in their raw state, untreated metals that hero our client’s core products and serve to reduce the impact of superfluous decoration and embodied energy. 

The new workplace offers an alternative to the standard, creating a diverse and blended model that is supported by a high proportion of hackable, collaborative areas. 30% of the primary work points are moveable, affording teams complete autonomy and control over their workspace. Delivered during the pandemic, this framework gave our client confidence when considering site occupation models. 

Collaborative and highly original thinking within the consultant team generated a complex and unprecedented fire engineering strategy. The seven-storey internal atrium that disguises concrete smoke baffles and acts as a central smoke extraction point delivering a connected workplace. Draped in trailing planting the atrium attracts and delights participants with a focus on wellbeing. 

The workplace showcases progressive thinking and has generated confidence in the re-use of aged buildings, encouraging others to consider similar choices that drive strong sustainability outcomes without compromising on their spatial, technology or cultural aspirations.

Category: Place

Designers and Project Team:
Brooke Lloyd – Director
Michelle Mitchell – Senior Associate
Remy Chard – Associate
John Ferguson – Graduate Architect
Steve Hunter – Senior Interior Designer
Spyros Barberis – Associate
Matthew Sully – Architect
Yvonne Tong – Graphic Designer
Andy Medhurst – Graphic Designer