New Zealand Commercial Design Trends Series NZ Commercial Design Trends Vol. 34/03C | Page 61

Left:Once cold and uninviting
with no seating, the reinvented
atrium features a rope-like
screen, plantings, raised seating
areas and wood elements.
Below:High-profile retail tenants
make the most of the Collins
Street location and the T&G
Building’s heritage facade.
mesh. That last design move meant lift occupants
could still look out over the atrium, but were out of
sight and mind of the atrium’s occupants.”
The architects also replaced the green, leaded
glass in the internal windows overlooking the atrium
for a brighter light quality, and the slab edges of
the floors were highlighted. This turned the atrium’s
overall disengaging vertically stress into a more
horizontal one – again for a more human scale feel.
Plus the atrium’s cold, hard surfaces were
replaced with wood and mosaic elements and a
variety of seating where there had been none before.
In addition, a large see-through, rope-like sculptural
partition brought at once a sense of cosy enclosure
and an appreciation of the wider space.
From the atrium, the internal link continues down
stairs to the Ramsden Place entrance, with its steel entry door, and by extension out to Flinders Lane.
Complex reworkings of traffic – such as minimising
loading dock activity from Flinders Lane and
moving the T&G parking entrance from Flinders
Lane to Russell Street – engender activity and
easy connections here. The bike facilities, showers
included, are located at this less-formal entrance.
The two entries – one large, bright and formal
and the other decidedly informal – also correspond
to the nature of their retail and hospitality offerings.
On Collins Street, the rich heritage frontage is
the ideal setting for luxury brands that seek to gain
leverage off their august environment. On Flinders
Lane, retail options are more boutique and quirky,
a look reflected in the Ramsden Place entry. One
inner-city address and two quite different entrances
with distinct personalties is a pretty neat trick.
Project:T&G Building, Melbourne
Architect and interior designer:Tim Leslie, Bates Smart
Developer:Pembroke
Construction:Built
Mechanical and electrical engineer, fire consultant
Arup Design
Quantity surveyor:Rider Levett Bucknall
Landscaping:Fytogreen Australia
Internal atrium cladding:Glazed, steel frame
Internal glazing:Heritage Glass
General flooring:Silverstone marble and other stone
Exterior paving:Bluestone
Wall treatments:Paint, plasterboard, render, brick, tile
Paints:Various, typically Dulux Natural White
General area ceiling panels:Plasterboard Veneers:Lignapal by Feathers from George Feathers & Co
Lighting:LED in offices, by Eaton
Security:Linel
Signage: Design – Studio Ongarato; manufacturer – Diadam
Lift:Schindler
Escalator services:XIIL
Story by Charles Moxham
Photography by Peter Clarke
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