The National Australia Bank building at Melbourne Docklands sets a benchmark in the design of workplace communities.

Designed from the inside out, the project is an integrated fit-out with the base building, tailor-made for an organisation embarking upon significant cultural change. National@Docklands is designed on the premise that people are a corporation’s greatest asset and reflects the company’s move away from a hierarchical mentality to a more collaborative, people-focused model where work is done on a project basis. As a result of extensive international research, the development represents a number of sustainable advances in energy use, materials choice and internal environments.

The building’s striking multicoloured exterior ensures significant presence in the Docklands precinct. Its horizontal shape is the opposite of the traditional skyscraper, providing flexibility and requiring less energy to build, run and maintain.

The interior also reflects a new way of thinking in office layouts. Atria, flooded by natural light, separate the two main building blocks. Large open floor plates with attached service cores provide flexibility for future change in work patterns and office arrangements. Bridges and stairs enable staff to move between floors, and a range of meeting spaces increase opportunities for people to interact informally and build relationships.