The Brisbane Street project transforms a former stamp-collecting office into a refined, light-filled studio for SRH Architecture. The design process began with a space that was dark, heavily partitioned, and filled to the ceiling with storage boxes. The brief was to create an open, professional environment that embodied the practice’s values of clarity, collaboration, and material authenticity.
The new layout maximises the building’s double frontage, drawing daylight deep into both levels and establishing a sense of transparency throughout. Level 1 accommodates an open-plan workspace with custom standing-desk joinery, a restrained palette of light finishes, and blue-toned carpet to anchor the space. The simplicity of the detailing enhances flexibility and reinforces a calm, cohesive atmosphere conducive to focused and collaborative work.
Level 2 contains the kitchen, boardroom, and private office. The kitchen—crafted from brass and stainless-steel joinery with a polished concrete floor—serves as a functional and social hub, supporting informal interaction and daily rituals. Floor-to-ceiling glass partitions mirror the rhythm of the original steel windows, allowing light to filter through while maintaining acoustic separation.
The material composition draws from the surrounding industrial context, combining polished concrete, warm timber accents, and raw finishes that express the building’s character. Throughout the studio, artworks by local artists introduce colour and texture, reinforcing the practice’s connection to community and creative culture. The result is a workspace that balances utility and craft—a setting that reflects SRH Architecture’s ethos of design grounded in place, materiality, and human experience.
