Activity-based working, where workers can change desks depending on what they are doing, pioneered by consultants Veldhoen + Company of the Netherlands, dominates the design of Auckland's new waterfront ASB North Wharf.
Derek Shortt, ASB's property manager, took the Herald on a filmed tour of the controversial new Wynyard Quarter HQ, criticised by some for its radical, cone-shaped roof feature and unusual appearance.
Shortt said the new working layout meant 1280 staff could choose where to sit each day and often throughout the day, depending on what they were doing, from high-focus confidential conversations in a traditional walled office, to low-focus group meetings in larger open areas where tables could seat about 14 people or more where many other staff would pass by.
Veldhoen says this system means staff don't go to the same desk each day but instead work in a far more flexible fashion. This can drastically reduce the number of desks and offices required and some of the budget saved in leasing and fit-out can be invested in a higher spec working environment and information technology, he says.
One of the building's most striking features is the huge, multi-coloured, aluminium outdoor artwork by Michael Parekowhai, which Shortt said was about 30m long and almost one level high. Achy Breaky Heart, coated in automotive paints and on the wall of Te Wero Lane between the two campus-style buildings, is based on cuisenaire rods.
