Located in Botany, Sydney, Rochester Street Office is the workplace of Robert Plumb Collective. Set within a precinct once defined by industry, the project reflects the area’s gradual shift into a hub for makers, builders, and designers. Cascading greenery wraps the building, softening the surrounding mix of warehouses and apartment blocks and signalling a new relationship between work, landscape, and wellbeing.

The Rochester Street Office demonstrates that nature is our first home, biophilic design is embedded across architecture, interiors, and landscape as a cohesive system. Extensive planting wraps the building and extends into terraces and edge beam planters, allowing greenery to become part of the everyday workplace experience. This integration softens the surrounding industrial context while offering consistent visual contact with nature, supporting reduced stress, improved concentration, and a greater sense of calm throughout the day.

The presence of planting also contributes to improved air quality and thermal comfort, while outdoor spaces provide opportunities for fresh air, informal meetings, and moments of pause away from desks. Visual and physical connections to landscape encourage movement, social interaction, and mental restoration, helping to counter the cognitive fatigue often associated with desk-based work. These biophilic strategies foster a healthier, more balanced workplace environment that supports wellbeing, creativity, and long-term productivity.

“We wanted a space that was filled with light and provided a calm environment that makes coming into the office a joy, with a large kitchen where people could have lunch and socialise across the different levels and different arms of the business; some outdoor space for fresh air and to integrate planting with the built form was essential. We also wanted meeting rooms for privacy, breakout spaces so that people could get away from their desk and a ping pong table for some fun. We were also interested in testing new materials, building performance and making sure that the design took advantage of all the skills within the Robert Plumb Collective.”

—— Bill Clifton and Will Dangar, Directors of Robert Plumb Collective

Designed by Allied Office, the building is composed of three stacked volumes constructed from concrete posts, beams, and slabs. This robust structural system supports large expanses of glazing and provides the strength required to integrate substantial planting across terraces and edge beam planters.

Generous windows draw daylight deep into the interior, while the building’s form manages solar exposure through careful shading. Upper levels extend beyond the glazing line to protect the floors below, while perforated brick screens regulate light and frame views across neighbouring rooftops. The architecture balances clarity and performance, allowing greenery and structure to work together seamlessly.

Akin Atelier and Second Edition collaborated on the interiors, layering material expression with a sense of exploration. The ground-floor lobby features recycled offcut marble flooring sourced locally, paired with polished concrete, glass screening, and a finely crafted timber staircase that draws the eye upward through the building.

Throughout the workplace, materials carry both narrative and purpose. Terrazzo made from salvaged marble offcuts introduces texture and variation, while a pared-back kitchen is defined by moss green cabinetry set against a neutral palette. Bathrooms form some of the most expressive spaces, lined with recycled terracotta tile render and Oregon joinery, creating warmth and tactility.

Many materials were sourced directly from Robert Plumb Build sites, including terracotta roof tiles, timber, and natural stone. Loose-fit joinery and furniture crafted from recycled Oregon timber reinforce the connection between design, making, and reuse. These elements form an interior landscape that speaks clearly to the collective’s values of craftsmanship, sustainability, and collaboration.

Rochester Street Office functions as a productive workplace and a clear expression of collective identity. Architecture, interiors, and landscape are deeply intertwined, creating an environment that supports focus, social connection, and making. The project demonstrates how thoughtful design can align people, place, and practice within a contemporary workplace setting.

Credit

Architecture: Allied Office

Interiors: Akin Atelier

Landscape: Dangar Barin Smith

Photography: Rory Gardiner

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