Text description provided by the architects. This project was strongly guided by the success of the 68 York Street workplace in Sydney undertaken by Lion Nathan and PCG some four years earlier. Given the objective to create a compelling place to work, the project team settled on the location of Sydney Olympic Park and the recently completed GPT development at 5 Murray Rose Drive which has become better known as 5MR. The building comprises approximately 12,440m2 over 5 levels and a blank pallet upon which to interpret the Lion workplace manifesto founded on the following 6 points:
Agility – a workplace which provides flexibility and iteration of people as opposed to the workplace through the provision of multiple work settings supported by enabling technologies
Intimacy – Incorporating scalability and intimacy through work settings and planning
Interaction – leverage connections through informal interaction and conversation
Innovation – Stimulate thinking, collaboration and knowledge transfer
Investment – Transform real estate from a fixed overhead to profit driver through greater productivity
Identity – Be consistent with Lion’s vision, values, people and brands
The new 5MR workplace comprises a ground floor and 4 upper levels each 2,500m2 in area. The ground floor accommodates the buildings reception and amenities for Lion clients and employees comprising bar, café, gymnasium, change rooms, masseuse rooms, data centre, and training room. The upper four levels accommodate numerous company divisions with each floor being differentiated by theming which supports the overarching philosophy of creating a more sociable place through the responsible consumption of the companies great brands. The theming of the four floors includes Australian iconic environments such as "The Park", "The Backyard", "The Beach" and "The Vineyard". All five floors are connected by a centrally located feature stair and a corporate branding regime has been generously applied throughout the workplace to reinforce the values and culture of the company.
