Bringing health, wellness and diversity to the fore of this workplace for IDP Education has been recognised with the project winning gold for Interior Design, Education in the DrivenxDesign Awards, 2021.
IDP Education Ltd (IDP) is a global leader in international education services, offering a global platform to guide students in their journey. Headquartered in Melbourne, the business has a rich history and has played a major role in the development of communities around the world.
IDP uniquely represents a range of people from diverse nationalities, backgrounds and personalities. These considerations, along with values of community, care, expertise and integrity shaped every aspect of the design.
The design brief for their new office was anchored IDP’s culture, vision, brand and their overall aspiration for all teams within IDP to come together on a single level and create a cohesive team space. The multicultural diversity of its staff was also celebrated and the concept was for the new office is to enable everyone to grow and thrive, with health and wellbeing placed front and centre to support IDP’s most valuable assets – its people.
Pops of IDP’s signature blue and orange stand out around the new office, along with green spaces that complement the building’s Greenstar rating. Rooms solely for staff wellbeing abound, including relaxation rooms and a gratitude area. Meanwhile, future-focused technology makes the space accessible to all teams in more than 30 countries.
Plants and biophilic design are abundant, responding to studies showing plants reduce worker fatigue. Water stations are placed around the office, encouraging hydration and movement during the day.
The office is also designed to be future-proofed for the post-pandemic work environment, by fostering collaboration and promoting wellbeing, with best practice design in place to support employee health.
The innovative and creative interiors are what landed IDP Education and Siren Design the 2021 DrivenxDesign Melbourne Design Gold Award for Interior Design in the education category. The project was the first that Siren commenced and completed during Covid 19 during Victoria’s strict lockdown. This, says Siren Design Melbourne’s managing director and co-owner Nicole Pollak, adds “another layer of pride in the achievement of an award win within a new world and a new way of working, with a team that was able to so seamlessly adapt to virtual design collaboration”.
IDP chose Siren as they believed the design firm would be a good match for their diverse needs. Siren’s values of ‘it’s what’s on the inside that matters’ was unique, and for IDP, they saw an exciting individuality and complexity to Siren’s designs, and the sense that the spaces created were filled with heart.
IDP also has a commitment to gender balance, inclusivity, and driving positive change. As such, Siren’s all women management team was a drawcard, along with the company’s focus on sustainability in design. In collaboration with Siren, IDP has created a safe space that enables different working and learning styles to flourish, from smaller two-person corners, to larger open collaboration spaces.
“The design is also anchored in the IDP brand values and community in order to create a space IDP can feel both comfortable in, and proud of,” says Pollak. “Underpinning this, sustainability of every product and material in the construction and furnishing of the project was a key priority and the fitout was proudly designed to WELLS Platinum and Greenstar 5 star certification.”
IDP’s commitment to their connected international community drove the design, with bridging moments of interaction and collaboration that were incorporated into the design and denoted by defined ceiling features, light and bursts of IDP’s brand colours, representing a user’s journey to their ultimate destination, along with textures, materiality and design features representing the diverse, global company.
The resulting workplace is an inclusive and collaborative workspace of the future. It’s a place where IDP’s people want to spend time together and are proud to call their workplace, enabling IDP’s people to flourish as individuals and as a global family.
“I’m extremely proud of what our team at Siren Design have achieved, and honoured that IDP Education chose and trusted us to design their new Melbourne HQ. The project’s success is a testament to a trusting and collaborative client and to the entire project consultant and construction team,” says Pollak.
Project: IDP Education
Location: Australia
Design Studio: Siren Design
Photo Credit: Shannon McGrath
Website: sirendesigngroup.com
