Playful timber pods create a sustainable workspace

Project: Intermain HQ
Award: Gold, Workspace Interiors - Corporate Offices (Under 2,000 SQM), 2024
Location: Alexandria, Australia
Design Practice: BVN with Intermain
Client: Intermain

Design studio BVN has co-created the new flagship Sydney headquarters for socially responsible builders Intermain, integrating a vibrant office space within the factory. The original site was a typical industrial factory, featuring a large manufacturing shed and adjacent office with minimal connectivity. BVN’s solution integrates office and factory, inserting an inventive series of two-storey timber pods that extend into the workshop, overlooking the manufacturing floor. These pods house a boardroom, meeting rooms, casual zones, a joinery design studio, an interiors sample library, and a tool shed – all clad in plywood diverted from landfill. Flexible and versatile, they foster creativity and collaboration. Apertures overlooking the factory provide unexpected vignettes of workshop activity.

The judges admired the "playful aspect" of the pods overlooking the factory and said that they "provide a sense of intrigue". They also praised the "modern, bright and welcoming spaces" and the design team's "focus on reuse and repurpose, as well as offcuts and waste".

“In a quest to communicate what's possible in creating more sustainable fitouts, the arrangement of spaces encourages clients and collaborators to weave through the site, telling a story of clever reuse and reimagination,” BVN Principal Sally Campbell said.

Design highlights

The headquarters features a cohesive palette of timber, concrete and cork, which was chosen for insulative and acoustic functionality as well as aesthetics. Timber-framed partitions and joinery can be disassembled to encourage reuse or repurposing. Second-hand Eames' Aluminium Group chairs, reused furniture from the previous office and a custom reception desk made from cleaned-up packing crates and recycled offcuts contribute to circular aims. Block colour accents from Intermain’s brand palette add to the visually striking environment.

The workplace features a spacious kitchen breakout area and sunlit terrace, providing indoor-outdoor spaces where team members can socialise, relax and recharge. Site-specific commissioned artworks enrich communal spaces. 

"This is a great example of thinking outside of the box and really responding to the client and design problems at hand. A well-rounded project," the judges said.

Photo credit: Martin Siegner