3M - New Zealand
- New building in Albany, Auckland
- Open plan office space for 126 people over 2 floors
- Architects: Herbst Architects
- Interior design: Warren and Mahoney Auckland - designers Gier Jong and Phil Judd
- Completed: August 2009
The project was a collaboration between Cite, Warren and Mahoney, and 3M’s project team, led by Paul Robinson.
Cite proposed and supplied Vitra’s Level 34 system for individual work surfaces, storage and occasional seating – the largest Level 34 project in New Zealand. Common storage was provided by the Vitra Storage system. Meeting room tables were from the Diamond system by Italian manufacturer Sinetica, while Vitra Joyn collaborative benches made up the sales reps’ desks. Melteca tabletops and cupboard doors, fabric screens and steel storage accessories were all manufactured in New Zealand, making the ratio of local to imported product approximately 50:50.
Performance benefits
With the project’s vision statement being “Our people, our place, an open home”, the new workspace focused on people first and foremost. From a 30-year culture of enclosed offices to an open-plan working environment, it was vital to introduce the change ‘gently’. By creating individual spaces without high partitions, the combined needs for privacy, storage and comfort were easily met. Level 34’s flexible configurations offers staff members many different ways and places to productively work, communicate and collaborate, while allowing them to focus on individual tasks when needed.
Sustainability
ESD principles were key to this project, and implemented in the fit-out wherever practicable. Warren and Mahoney recommended natural innovations such as timber feature walls and resilient goat hair carpeting, recycled products and furniture from accredited sources such as Vitra. Manufacturing certain components of the furniture such as tabletops locally helped to further reduce the building's overall carbon footprint.
Usability
As a company, 3M are constantly evolving. The Level 34 modular system allows flexibility for future staff growth by simply rearranging a couple of components. The central bench of the Level 34 system can adapt easily to various types of workstation by adding additional tabletops, and can multi-task as TV consoles, space dividers or credenzas.
“The Cite team were very helpful in explaining the myriad technical details, and were always willing and able to answer my queries. During the installation those little things that come up at the last minute were dealt with professionally and quickly with little fuss - making my job all the easier.”
Paul Robinson, Outsourcing and Distribution Manager, 3M
