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Black Sheep’s Office Design fosters creativity

Jun 03, 2013

Creativity and a sense of fun transformed a derelict old pool hall on Rundle Street into Black Sheep Advertising’s light-filled workspace – complete with ping-pong table.

“When we first moved in we could have sold the carpet back to Coopers, there was so much beer in it,” Black Sheep co-founder Andrew Millar tells Indaily Design of the space, which sits above Café Brunelli.

Millar and business partner Simon O’Brien carried out the renovations themselves, toiling away in their spare time.

“I was working for another company at the time, and it was kind of cathartic to come in here and bang things with hammers,” Millar says dryly.

After the dust had settled, the pair had created an open, organic space to put their employees and clients at ease.

“It was just a big open space with light streaming in from Rundle Street; all we did was line the walls with benches,” Millar says, understating their efforts.

Visitors are greeted at the door by a life-sized black plaster sheep, introducing the company’s logo with a sense of fun.

The interior of the office is separated from the exterior by a tall black partition which sits a few feet in from the door. On the partition hangs a painting which features the second of many sheep to be found throughout this office.

The opposite side of the entry partition is painted in blackboard paint and used by the creative team as a surface on which to brainstorm ideas.

Beyond the partition, the office space is light, open and inviting, with views out onto bustling Rundle Street.

“We used to have a badminton net stung up across in here at one stage, but we had to stop that, because the floor moves too much,” Millar says. “Well, you can see why the pool hall moved out. Every time you do that, I imagine you’re dusting everyone downstairs with ceiling dust.”

The interior space is centred around two meeting areas, both of which are lit by long light-shades, hung low to increase the feeling of intimacy.

The first area is a relaxed and informal set-up situated near the windows and comprising a couple of long, low, purple suede couches on either side of two equally low steel coffee tables. The second has a more formal, anodised-steel meeting table surrounded by chairs. The steel table doubles as a table-tennis table which employees can use to unwind after a hard day’s creating.

The meeting areas are separated visually and physically from the work areas by white modular bookshelves.

A steel kitchen area is situated in the south-east corner of the office, and it is not unheard of for clients to come in early for a meeting, brew a cup of coffee and sit on the couch to relax.

“That’s what we were trying to do within the space: remove barriers between the clients who want the work done and the people who are actually going to do the work,” Millar says.

The ample floor space, coupled with the wooden floorboards, helps echo conversations clearly across the office, amplifying the light feel of the expansive and energetic workspace.

“This place was kind of quiet for five years and then it was like we need some noise in here,” Millar says.

“I think a lot of designers need a little bit of noise to actually engage the brain.”

Interested in architecture? InDaily Design has partnered with the Australian Institute of Architects SA to run the City of Adelaide People’s Choice Award for the best public architecture project in the CBD. Click here to vote.

 

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