For SEEK, relocating from their home of 13 years on St Kilda Road was a decision that was not taken lightly. Selecting the right location, the right landlord and the right team to bring their vision for their new Global Headquarters to life was paramount.
Buildcorp Victoria’s appointment to the team in mid-2020 alongside award winning Architect Hassell, CBRE, ARUP, Altus Group and landlord Cremorne Properties was the last piece of the puzzle. Here began the journey to deliver 20,000m2 of purpose-built office space in less than 19 weeks during a global pandemic.
How we did it
A fast-track project of this scale required six months of pre-construction planning to de-risk the project and fine tune the design alongside base building and interior architect Hassell and ARUP. Careful coordination, testing and protection of the Under Floor Air Distribution system throughout the building was painstakingly planned to enable the team to hit the ground running. Identifying long lead time items, ordering material in advance and planning for the early handover of the main and field comms room’s for SEEK’s IT team was key for the project’s success.
Other innovative methods to ensure SEEK’s timeframes were met included the use of a material hoist positioned inside the stair void to expedite material movement, while a significant number of Buildcorp’s team members and labour resources consistently maintained works across all floors concurrently.
The Project
The fit-out spans 7 levels and includes over 1500no. workstations, 81no. meeting rooms, 5no. seminar rooms, boardroom, collaboration spaces, 2no. kitchens and 5no. breakout spaces, Winter Gardens on 5 levels, terrace and entertainment space on Level 6.
Key elements of the project include
Locally sourced materials showcasing Australian designers. In particular, the ground floor reception required an exceptionally high-quality finish and attention to detail. For these elements, our in-house joinery business Euroline was selected.
Switch glass was used for the ground floor central meeting rooms to create privacy without inhibiting the view through the space.
The fully operable Market Place auditorium space is designed to be configured to offer multiple meeting spaces with glazed frontages to allow as much natural light to flow from the ground floor garden as possible.
The Hub space on level 6 is dedicated to SEEKers and provides a place to mingle, relax and have fun. The top floor space includes a bar, games area, a freestanding commercial kitchen pod designed and installed by Mariljohn, a variety of eating spaces and a rooftop terrace with breathtaking views over Melbourne’s skyline.
Congratulations and a very big thank you to the whole team and partners including SEEK’s project team, CBRE, Hassell, ARUP, and Altus Group. Without the level of teamwork and mateship formed during the project it could not have been the success that it was.
We hope SEEK enjoy their new home. Welcome to the neighbourhood!
Read about SEEK’s new workplace in the Australian Financial Review here: https://www.afr.com/property/commercial/seek-spreads-out-its-staff-in-new-melbourne-office-20220509-p5ajuj