Habourside Light Beacon. The Rubinstein Group Flagship.
A new flagship for the rapidly growing real estate agency, The Rubinstein Group (TRG), utilising every square millimetre to fulfil a diverse range of needs. Following the rise of the business, TRG found the need for an additional space to complement our previously designed Woollahra offices. An extensive list of requirements to fit into a compact footprint, balancing functionality, flexibility, comfort with a sprinkle of the theatrical. A pearly shell-like interior, the idea that it has ‘washed up’ from the nearby harbour
Interior Design Excellence Awards 2024 Workplace Under 1000sqm Shortlist
A daily journey created through the curvaceous interior, with rounded sweeping forms that create a softness and enhance traffic flow. The sinuous pearly shell-like motif establishes a visual language that traces through all the spaces.
The compact site yields a maximum return by utilising every millimetre of the 272-square-metre floor plan. Flexibility was key and ensuring each space could serve multiple purposes drove much of the design. Ground floor meeting rooms can transform into a larger conference room or whole-floor function space, thanks to acoustic-rated, bifold glass doors and adaptable furniture. Spare moments between the angular and the curved create additional programme, such as upholstered nooks for phone calls or meetings.
It was important that the team’s movement through the space - representing their action, energy and dedication - be highly visible. A visual drawcard for the passing traffic, the building shines like a beacon. The stairs are centrally placed and become a focal point of the interior on both levels, as well as from the exterior. The 1.5-metre illuminated stretched ceiling directly above the staircase creates the illusion of a skylight and provides diffused light below.
A workplace as a minimal ‘palette cleanser’ devoid of visual clutter, with an inherent ‘airiness’ and ‘buzz’. The minimal colour palette of shimmering white creates a sense of largesse. The considered palette, along with a play of translucency create a softness to intentionally heighten the senses, and provide a calming backdrop to the high-stakes world of luxury real estate. The kitchen and powder room are the only accents of colour, featuring an island bench of emerald haze quartzite and black floor-to-ceiling tiles and fittings.
Illumination was crucial to highlight and express the pureness of the space. Soft light fills the entire space and ensures the environmental lighting. Natural light diffuses and combines with artificial light through dimming control. Concealed indirect light reproduces as soft sunlight. We designed Illuminated resin desk partitions that create workstations that are softly glowing cocoons.
