Golder Associates

Golder Associates is driven by its values of integrity, excellence, teamwork, caring and ownership. In bringing its engineering teams together from two separate sites in Adelaide, Australia, these values played instrumental parts in the new workspace design. Linear Designs embraced the brief provided by Associates for open plan and shared spaces, and Golder’s Managing Director and State Manager both happily relinquished their offices.

Situated in Adelaide’s CBD, the new office was an opportunity for Golder to enjoy a more modern, contemporary space and create a working environment that was more representative of today’s thinking; an environment that is conducive to collaboration and flexibility, and one that is social, engaging and sustainable.

Demonstrating the benefits of contemporary, activity based working practices was integral to the office’s culturalshift. Golder’s move team was flown to Melbourne for tours of aspirational fitouts as well as discussions with Nick Tennant, Climate Workspace Planner and Keti Malkoski, Principal of People and Culture Consulting at Schiavello. Staff also engaged in Schiavello showroom visits and prototype reviews on site.

Climate was ultimately chosen over conventional workstations for its increased functionality, incorporation of colour and infinite ability to support change and non-rectilinear layouts. Part of the process of encouraging employees to embrace the change also involved providing objects that represented personalisation and security. These items included bespoke joinery units with hanging plants as well as personalised Climate Markers.

After extensive user research, a library with a no phone policy was created, addressing staff concerns for areas catering to quiet research. Olive and ocean blue Kush floor cushions were incorporated into the relaxed breakout area, along with multi-coloured Blom upholstered chairs. The privacy of the Kayt Quiet lounge catered to the need for sporadic collaborative spaces, while Tom Stool is utilised throughout all spaces.

In addition, Golder wanted to support Australian-made products. Judy Allen, Business Systems Support Manager at Golder says, “The quality, aesthetic and value of Schiavello’s products by far surpass its international competitors. From initial prototypes to follow-up consultations, the Schiavello team has been relentlessly dedicated.”