With all the features and facilities of a corporate office one would expect to find in the heart of a CBD and not typically in a suburban location, the Victorian Government’s Department of Transports’ new home, a mix of commercial and retail, provides staff and customers alike a premium, high-quality environment in a convenient location adjacent Eastland shopping centre and Ringwood Train Station.

The 14,000sqm development is also home to the new VicRoads Customer Service Hub which includes a café on the ground floor, a business lounge on the mezzanine and four levels of carpark.  The PCA A Grade offices have interconnected stairs between levels 5-10 and a rooftop terrace with a function space to host 200 people. A traffic management centre, podcasting, television broadcasting and associated critical services are hosted within the office levels.

The integrated fitout, designed by architects peckvonhartel, has a high emphasis on the use of clever technology that is integrated into workstations, meeting/conference rooms and collaboration spaces to offer flexibility with minimalistic visual connection to services. One such example is that there are no raised floors or suspended umbilical cords from the ceiling to the workstation clusters for any service. This allows panoramic views of the office and uninterrupted external views of the Dandenong ranges.

A key challenge was ensuring that the requirements of all the separate departments and various stakeholders, each with their own unique operational prerequisites yet all sitting under one umbrella, were met and delivered cohesively. Reverse engineering a services requirement brief that meets all interdepartmental requirements, although challenging, was achieved through strong communication and regular collaboration with the wider project team through workshops, meetings over video conferencing and site visits only as necessary due to Covid-19.

Through this collaboration, we have achieved a great working environment for the end-user with spaces that are tailored for individual group settings and multiple groups to improve people’s health and productivity.

To actively promote health and wellness amongst the building’s occupants and help people make cleaner and greener decisions in how they choose to commute, first-class end-of-trip facilities including extensive bike parking, spacious showers and locker rooms are on the lower ground floor.