Lyons Architecture Office

How does an architect create an environment for their architect client that expresses and fosters the culture of the practice, their stewardship as an employer, the need to nurture the creative process and sustainability? NMBW worked with their client to understand their workplace needs and the result is a relaxed environment that the practice can inhabit.

What is unique about this project is that it begins with an understanding of the potential of the existing building, a former department store with generous floor-to-floor height and large windows in the masonry facade. Ceilings were removed and all services exposed in an unfussy way. Nothing is wasted in this low-budget fitout. Simple plywood-clad meeting rooms, meeting tables with trestle legs and concrete floors all come together to create a raw aesthetic that allows architects equitable access to daylight and spaces to interact, create and comfortably spread out their project workings.

Several special pieces of furniture and commissioned artworks act as an elegant counterpoint to this rawness. Dark walls set off an otherwise standard low-cost services aesthetic, while bike racks and bikes in the foyer frame arrival from the lift. A true open-plan design studio, this fitout is a reflection of a strong social agenda by the practice directors. It is a simple, generous, sustainable solution that takes interior architecture to a new edge.

– Jury citation