Clemenger BBDO

Clemenger BBDO knew what it wanted from its new office in Sydney, Australia. First and foremost, the advertising agency required a workplace that encourages creativity. It also wanted a workshop style space, but one that reflected its reputation for integrity, attention to detail and precision of ideas.

HASSELL responded to the brief with a design that facilitates a culture of collaboration and inclusion, stimulates knowledge sharing and inspires creative thinking.

It swept away enclosed offices, tearing down the walls that split up the creative teams and segregated them from the rest of the organisation. The new office is a flexible, open environment designed to maximise informal collaboration.

Walls and work surfaces are used as places to display work in progress. "Crit spaces" with pinboards are integrated into the workspace. A "work book" space incorporates large rotating presentation panels, allowing creative engagement within teams and with clients.

The new office offers a mix of quiet spaces, shared work points and informal meeting areas. The mixture of spaces caters to a diverse range of activities, personalities and personal work styles.

"Clemenger BBDO wanted the best environment for producing creative work," said HASSELL designer Julia Borghesi. "We were able to support this by creating an environment that fosters inclusiveness and creativity. The right people for the right jobs can be bought together from across the agency, making it much easier to produce the great ideas and inspiration that are the lifeblood of a leading advertising agency.

"The office is a reflection of the Clemenger BBDO brand and its reputation as one of Australia's most creative agencies."

The project won the office design category at the 2013 Inside: World Festival of Interiors awards, held in conjunction with the World Architectural Festival.

The Clemenger BBDO office is the second workplace HASSELL has designed recently for an advertising agency. HASSELL also designed the George Patterson Y&R studio in Melbourne.