Client
- Client
- The Challenge
- Discover
- Design
- Deliver
- Testimonial
Client
Iress is a global technology company providing software and services for trading and market data, financial advice, investment management, life and pensions, and data intelligence in Asia-Pacific, North America, Africa, the UK and Europe.
The Challenge
Iress’ previous 5,900sqm office spanned three disconnected floors, creating inefficiency, limited connection, and low workplace energy. The business needed a more cohesive workspace that could unite its people, reflect an evolving culture, and deliver tangible cost benefits.
Key challenges included:
- Inefficient space: 250 employees were spread across three floors, resulting in disconnection and underutilisation.
- Lease pressure: The existing footprint no longer aligned with business needs, and an early lease exit was required.
- Cultural misalignment: The workplace did not reflect Iress’ values, identity, or ways of working.
- Office attendance and talent attraction: The space lacked appeal, making it harder to attract talent and encourage staff into the office.
- Acoustic complexity: A central atrium in the new building introduced challenges around sound transfer to adjacent work and communal areas.
- Tight timeframe: Full workplace strategy, design and delivery had to be completed within four months.
Discover
The strategy focused on redefining Iress’ Sydney office as a connected, high-performance destination that brought people together, supported flexible work, and delivered measurable business outcomes.
Key strategic actions included:
- Rightsizing for performance: Reduce the workplace footprint by 40% while improving functionality, enabling an early lease exit, cost savings and stronger team connection.
- Destination-led design: Position the Sydney office as a compelling place to work, encouraging attendance, collaboration, and engagement.
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Connection and flexibility: Reunite dispersed teams and support hybrid working, evolving behaviours, and future growth.
- Operational clarity: Establish clear back-of-house planning and circulation to improve efficiency and usability.
- Local identity: Embed a distinct Sydney character into the workplace, differentiating it from Iress’ global offices.
- Embed culture: Translate Iress’ values and desired behaviours into the physical environment.
Design
Guided by Iress’ values of going beyond, acting smart, and winning together, the Sydney Workplace Launch Pad was designed as a journey through zones for focus, collaboration, and connection.
Reflecting Sydney’s identity, the concept draws from the city’s vibrant aesthetic, incorporating ocean blue, botanical green, and sandy neutrals, layered with warm timbers, exposed ceilings and textured finishes.
Key design features include:
- Work neighbourhoods: Scalable workstation clusters with open sightlines and a mix of fixed, sit-stand, and hot-desking options suit a variety of working styles. Dedicated wellness and prayer rooms provide privacy and respite.
- Entertaining hub: A large adaptable staff breakout features a mix of seating, drop-down screens and a games area for socialising and company events.
- Intuitive way-finding: Movement is expressed through shifts from timber to stone-look vinyl, encouraging a circular flow through zones.
- Acoustic control: High-performance acoustic treatments ensure privacy and confidentiality whilst auto-sliding doors limit noise transfer from the central atrium and support fire-system functionality.
- Sustainability technology: Dynalite DALI lighting allows dimming, daylight harvesting, and energy reduction.
- Biophilic design: A large moss wall forms the focal point of the reception, bringing greenery, natural texture, and a sense of tranquility into the space.
Deliver
Spaceful completed the complex commercial office fit-out ahead of schedule and under budget in just 19 weeks, demonstrating the strength of a nimble, integrated team working to an accelerated program.
Highlights include:
- Complex coordination: The atrium auto-sliding doors required precise collaboration with building management and fire, mechanical, and acoustic engineers to meet both acoustic and fire-safety requirements.
- Sustainable execution: Through an integrated de-fit process and detailed furniture audit, 90% of demolition waste was diverted from landfill and significant existing furniture and AV/tech were reused.
- Integrated security: Access control and CCTV allow back-of-house areas to be secured during events while maintaining smooth operational flow.
Testimonial
“Our new home at 1 Shelley Street provides a contemporary, flexible office space which brings us closer together as a team, while uplifting our working environment.
The communal ‘entertaining hub’ which includes our kitchen area, collaboration and conference space, is a standout space in the office that brings our people together to connect, both professionally and socially. This space has been designed so it can accommodate individuals who want to catch up outside of our usual meeting rooms, or for bigger more formal events such as our regular team Town Halls. In addition to being a great event space to bring together our own people, we can also use it to host and welcome people from outside of Iress, such as our customers and business partners.”
— Rebecca Harrison Deputy COO at Iress
