Larger than life

A company's offices present its most visible calling card. For the Brisbane office of this high-profile global engineering, construction and services company, a move to new premises brought the opportunity to showcase its people-focused, forward-looking ideologies.

KBR is one of the world's leading engineering, construction and services firms, employing over 1800 staff in six Australian states and 50,000 people world-wide. KBR delivers projects of all sizes, in both urban and remote environments, and has contributed to many Australian landmark developments, from the Snowy Mountains hydroelectric scheme in the 1950s to the Alice Springs-to-Darwin railway.

Due to KBR's substantial growth in Queensland in recent years, the company needed to relocate to larger offices. Presented with this opportunity, KBR set about securing a modern tenancy that would reflect its company ethos and position as a leading consulting engineering firm.

While conducting business in a global arena, the engineering and consulting giant places its emphasis on people not least its own staff, says James Wright, KBR's Queensland state general manager.

"As an organisation, we appreciate that people give up a lot to come to work and spend many hours here, so it was important to us that the new offices were fun, vibrant, and inspiring," says Wright. "We started with a consultation process to find out what staff wanted, including the choice of location for their new office."

The building eventually decided on was located in Southbank the first choice of KBR Queensland staff. Besides location, the prominent new building satisfied a raft of other company and staff prerequisites. These included proximity to public transport, cyclist amenities, nearby retail and entertainment options and ease of access for clients. Signage rights and the ability to create an ergonomic interior fit-out were other imperatives.

"Because KBR contracted to lease 7 levels of the new 14-level building we were also offered the option of naming rights," says Wright. "Both the building and its naming signage are clearly visible from the Brisbane CBD across the river helping to promote the fact that KBR is a major industry player."

The new building's design also provided options for achieving an efficient, friendly work environment. The generous balconies, for example, could be incorporated into key areas of the fit-out planning especially in the reception and staff club facility.

A number of the meeting rooms have been planned with operable walls, which enable quick and easy modifications to the room size in order to match the number of people attending a meeting.

As a reflection of KBR's people-focused culture, the fit-out had to reflect stand-out, contemporary interiors as well as the latest energy-conscious, sustainable advances. The fit-out is targeting the Green Building Council of Australia's 5-Star Green Star Office Interiors rating for sustainable design.

To create a sense of dynamism, larger-than-life, colourful wall graphics celebrating KBR's areas of operation are splashed throughout the offices, keeping the company's core market industries in prominent focus for both staff and visitors. Even the floor-to-ceiling letters spelling out the company's name at the entrance provided a strong, yet playful giant-sized welcome.

"Another goal of the fit-out is to promote a strong learning culture, creating centres of excellence where KBR can communicate technical innovations and leading OH&S practices," says Wright. "Work settings and records management are designed for continuity across different projects so staff can speedily locate information on previous projects."

The interiors boast the best use of technology, video conferencing and smartboards for effective and efficient communication with KBR's other offices. A new Cisco IP Telephony system and wireless coverage further upgrade the fit-out's interconnectivity. There is also a flexible multi-purpose training room, providing computer training facilities and dedicated study areas for cadets, graduates and employees who are enrolled in the KBR University or undertaking external studies.

As a company deeply involved in construction, energy efficiency and sustainability are close to KBR's heart.

The tenancy was designed to optimise energy efficiency. This was achieved through maximising natural lighting, strategic lighting scenarios using energy-efficient T5 light fittings, and installing motion sensors for after-hours lighting. The fit-out also features the latest water-efficient tapware.

For sustainability, all air conditioning refrigerants and pipework insulation have zero ODP (ozone depleting potential). Workstations, surfaces and floor coverings are free from VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions and the furniture is suitable for recycling or re-use at the end of its current life cycle.

In addition, the tenancy fit-out was integrated with the base building works to prevent wastage associated with base building fittings where finishes are disposed of by new tenants in favour of their own fit-out items.

The fit-out's mechanical services are equally up to speed with current industry standards and make use of the latest technologies in audiovisual conferencing and computer training. Technologies include structured Systimax cabling systems, redundant, or back-up air conditioning to ensure maximum uptime of equipment, and backup power to the main computer room.

"It was critical that when we made the decision to move, our new building would reflect our KBR culture, and our Queensland and Australian culture," says Wright. "I think we have incorporated people's views pretty well in a workspace that is welcoming and friendly and also minimises our environmental footprint."

Current major KBR projects include flood management and natural disaster mitigation projects in Vietnam; the award-winning multi-million dollar Southern Regional Water Pipeline to deliver drinkable water to the booming populations of south-east Queensland; and infrastructure for several of Australia's largest mine projects including Kestrel in Queensland, Hope Downs 1 in Western Australia and South Australia's Olympic Dam.

For further details on KBR Queensland, phone (07) 3721 6555, or visit the website: www.kbr.com.

For details on the building architect, contact Geyer, phone (07) 3211 9889. For fit-out information, contact Schiavello, phone (07) 3368 3388.

Story by: Trendsideas