The Art Of Work

The best elements of working (almost) from home are incorporated into the new offices of Alexander & Co in Sydney’s Bondi Junction.

WHO OR WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME OF YOUR ENDURING CREATIVE INFLUENCES?

Jeremy Bull, principal: I have always been inspired by architectural modernists and classicism. But I am a lover of history in all its fullness, from the pop of the cultural ‘now’ to the patina of the age-old structures.

IS THERE A COMMON ELEMENT, AESTHETIC OR APPROACH THAT RUNS THROUGH YOUR WORK?

The “mistakes” that result from handmade and natural things are gorgeous. We combine my contemporary and modernist architectural training with an interest in the makers and their materials and technologies.

HOW DID ALEXANDER HOUSE COME ABOUT?

I saw a need to develop away from our old commercial, open-plan office. I thought a flexible, purpose-built co-working space could better showcase our design work “in the flesh”, and our ecological mission would better suit our organisational context. It also provides a working environment which is more healthy for our team. It’s been described as “a home for working in” rather than a traditional office – more like an artistic residential environment than a utilitarian commercial one. Tess Glasson, marketing director: Living next door, it was always an idea, a seed planted 10 years ago when we bought our home (the adjoining property to Alexander House). The idea of a space that showed our work within walking distance bubbled away for a while!

WHAT APPEALED TO YOU ABOUT THE SITE? DID IT POSE CHALLENGES?