Flex by ISPT

Being a flexible conferencing and meeting space, the challenge with this project was to create a distinct character for a space that could in theory be endlessly reconfigured and repurposed. With conventional office ceiling heights throughout the floorspace, the opportunity to borrow an adjacent shared double-height atrium from the base building had to be capitalised upon. The ability to cater to groups ranging from two to two hundred required a design that could compartmentalise itself to allow several different groups to occupy it simultaneously, or one single very large group to spread out across the entire space.

The character of the Flex space derives from the intention to make something that is similar to neither the office or home environment stereotype. A very clear planning diagram breaks the overall space into three key zones: 1/ pre-function gathering spaces; 2/ flexible meeting rooms 3/ back-of-house storage and services The pre-function space can be used as a whole or easily segmented without walls into separate smaller group spaces. Retractable operable walls with fully sound-insulated ceilings allow the meeting rooms themselves to take on any configuration that user groups may desire.

Flex has provided a unique and highly desirable conferencing destination for existing Central Plaza tenants and external users alike. Most conferencing facilities tend to feel generic and bland, leading to predictably generic and bland outcomes from the conferences and workshops that they host. Flex however creates an atmosphere that is at once unexpected but also incredibly welcoming and comfortable, putting users into a mindset that is more expansive and less resistant to interpersonal openness.

In addition to the main flexible meeting rooms, the Queen Street-facing portion of the public pre-function space features custom-designed high-backed group lounge seats gathered around bespoke quartz-topped meeting tables under very intimate lighting. These settings are intended to create a room-like experience without actually being inside separate rooms by the tallness of the seat backs forming a visual and partial acoustic barrier around each meeting table. The conventional grid ceilings throughout the public pre-function spaces have been removed with services exposed and slab soffits painted a deluxe deep green. This overcomes the problem of conventional office ceiling heights being too low for group gatherings to feel special and meaningful. A buffer zone of space between the meeting rooms and the base building amenities core is dedicated to storage of all loose furniture, allowing the meeting rooms to be completely opened out and cleared of furniture if required. Between the main arrival points by lift of serpentine copper atrium stair and the meeting rooms themselves, a line of glass bricks creates a textured and private frontage for each meeting room off the long public pre-function space.