ONE TEAM

“The end result has exceeded my expectations… It’s been an absolute pleasure working with such a passionate, collaborative and dedicated project team… our people are delighted with their new workplace.”
– Trevor Childs, Head of Human Resources, ESR

ESR Australia & New Zealand are leaders in sustainable industrial and logistics real estate. In  2024, the business expanded due to an acquisition, and as such, Davenport Campbell was engaged to bring the two companies together in a new workplace at 39 Martin Place, a 6 Star Green Star building in the centre of Sydney.

To foster a ‘One Team’ culture, we set out to create connections across floors and design spaces that would encourage collaboration and innovation. By guiding ESR through a design benchmarking exercise, we established a set of Guiding Design Principles that focused on creating sustainable and approachable spaces that would support seamless connection and balance individual and team needs.

Childs says, “choosing the location for our new headquarters was about striking the balance between convenience and creativity — a space that suits our team and the way we work. Accessibility was key, ensuring our people have an easy-to-reach office, while designing an environment that fosters collaboration.”

To minimise the environmental footprint of the fitout, our designers worked with the client team to reupholster and refinish classic furniture pieces to give them a fresh feel, and to align with the overall material palette. 

To create a unified brand experience, our graphics team created signage and wayfinding elements to support intuitive navigation, including the creation of a new logo icon which drew inspiration from the global ESR logo.  An interconnecting staircase creates a strong focal point and anchors the meeting and social hubs across both levels, and Indigenous room names were carefully chosen to acknowledge and pay respect to Country.

The design outcome features neighbourhoods with soft boundaries, and achieves a balance between the separation of spaces and an overall harmony of the workplace. We are proud to have created a workplace that supports ESR’s culture of sharing and innovation. Childs confirms, “The result is a dynamic workspace …that reflects our brand and provides the ideal setting for our team to thrive, with room to grow”.