Cera Stribley’s new Melbourne headquarters punctuates its personality within the heritage confounds of a former textile factory, writes Kiri Sawtell.

In the heart of Richmond, on the top floor of an old textile warehouse, Cera Stribley is right at home in its new Melbourne headquarters. The 1000 square-metre empty shell offered the architecture and interior design studio carte blanche to transform a “gritty blank canvas” of exposed brickwork, industrial remnants and a sawtooth roof into a space of its own. 

The design team, led by associate interior designer Juan Hernandez-Flores, set out to create a workplace which honoured the building’s bones, yet embodied “loud and clear” Cera Stribley’s distinguished personality – a juxtaposition of polish and grit.

“For us, the intention was to create an environment that looks, feels and operates like a workplace, while offering amenities that smooth and enhance the transition between work and home, and vice versa,” Hernandez-Flores says.

“When we design homes, we always start by considering the lifestyle and the daily routines of the people living in the space. This was just as true in our approach to designing our own office. We designed the space around an intimate understanding of our team, their lifestyles and their routines.”

The firm required a space that not only reflected the brand but also allowed for future expansion. Founded in 2013 by Chris Stribley and Domenic Cerantonio, two friends who struck a friendship at university and launched their namesake practice at age 28, Cera Stribley has seen rapid growth over the past decade. In fact, since emerging, it has managed to double its staff every two years. The studio quickly outgrew its previous Prahran tenancy in Chapel Street’s grand Conway’s Emporium, a space they occupied since their team was a mere 10 people. Today, the team has expanded to 90 employees, with a sister studio in Brisbane.

inside sat down with Hernandez-Flores, co-founder and principal Chris Stribley, and Phuong Nguyen, senior associate architect, to chat about the project.

inside: How does the design of your new headquarters integrate into its Richmond setting?

Juan Hernandez-Flores: As an adaptive reuse project, we approached the design with the mindset that we are the temporary custodians of the space. The building was here before us, and it will be here long after us, so honouring the industrial heritage of the building was always core to our approach. We wanted to treat the fitout like an installation, using purpose-built components to make the space fit for its new purpose without detracting from its original identity.

With this in mind, all mechanical services, along with the building’s perfectly imperfect brickwork, have been left exposed. Terracotta hues are prevalent throughout the space, continuing the tonality of the brickwork at every opportunity – from the kitchen joinery to the bathroom tiles. 

What inspired the design?

JHF: For any business, its workplace is a reflection of its identity. Integral to Cera Stribley’s identity is our inherent juxtaposition of polish and grit. This is expressed through the thoughtful material selection, which juxtaposes refined elements – frosted mirror, clear glazing, stainless steel joinery and a monolithic stone reception desk – with the raw, unpolished elements of the existing building. 

Describe the floor plan and the different types of workspaces you created.

JHF: A central open-plan workspace is at the heart of the layout. The reception and boardrooms are located up front, with social areas at the rear to foster informal connections. Our design embraces the creative process, with the materials library openly displayed in the centre of the main workspace and acoustic panels serving as collaborative canvases. 

Throughout the design space, we strived to create opportunities for different modes of working. There are phone booths for private conversations and pods for small internal meetings. Kitchen tables double as spaces for spontaneous collaboration. For more formal, client-facing meetings, the boardrooms toward the front of the office are ‘dressed to impress’, generous in size and fully equipped for online and in-person presentations. 

The grand amphitheatre demarcates the transition between the formal spaces and the main workspace. Designed specifically with large gatherings in mind, the amphitheatre is where we host our Monday morning presentations and social events such as trivia night and drag bingo. When it’s not used for gatherings like this, the amphitheatre steps are the perfect spot to nestle in with a book at lunchtime. 

What standout features of the design make an impression?

JHF: There are plenty of ‘wow’ moments throughout the space – the front reception area, in particular. It’s always fun to watch people’s reactions when they step out of the lift and into the reception area for the first time. 

One of the standout features is the monolithic wall of steel laminate joinery that runs from the entrance, all the way down to the start of the main workspace. This wall serves a dual purpose by concealing doorways leading to back-of-house facilities such as the bike store, kitchenette, bathroom and stationary cupboards, while also serving as a captivating focal point within our interior space. This application of decorative panelling not only optimises functionality but also acts as a monumental statement piece in the design of our space – a true union of form and function. 

Were there any challenges that arose and how did you overcome them?

Phuong Nguyen: We were fortunate that the space was a cold shell when we took it on, so there was no need to demolish or reconfigure an existing fitout. However, working within a warehouse building over 100 years old inevitably meant we encountered inherent structural issues and limitations along the way. Whenever we uncovered a latent condition, we had to think quickly and adapt our design on the fly to work within the structural constraints of the building itself. 

Material delays were another major hurdle. We faced several delays from suppliers that threatened the project timeline. Again, this required quick thinking and adaptability to keep things on track. Sometimes it meant substituting materials for something more readily available. Other times, it meant altering the program to change the order in which contractors installed elements on site. 

Overall, the fitout took about five months to complete. That tight timeline, albeit self-imposed, was a challenge in itself. Perhaps the biggest challenge of all was move-in day. If you think moving house is hard, try moving an office of 80+ people! 

What workplace comforts does your new space provide its users?

JHF: We designed the space around an intimate understanding of our team, their lifestyles and their routines. In particular, we designed around their social, eating/cooking, health/fitness and, of course, their working habits. 

The kitchen breakout space is a big part of this, not only because it facilitates the organic social culture that every company covets, but because it allows our team to treat the office like a ‘home away from home’ in a way that suits their lifestyle and routine. Naturally, the kitchen gets a workout in the morning, with people having a chat while they make their coffee or breakfast. Some people like to arrive early and chill on the couch reading a book for a while. 

End-of-trip facilities such as the bike store, showers and change rooms are another prime example of our user-centred approach to designing the space. We know that many of our team members are into their fitness – there’s a run club, a Pilates group, a weekly group gym session and a number of people who cycle into work – so providing the amenities to support this important aspect of their lives was a no-brainer. 

Now that you’re in the space, how does it feel to be working there? 

Chris Stribley: Moving into a new space is like breaking in a new pair of shoes. At first, it’s all shiny and new and takes a bit of getting used to. But once you’ve settled in and found your rhythm, it starts to feel comfortable and familiar. The initial stiffness gives way to a perfect fit, and your new space starts to reflect your personality and habits. 

We’ve been in this space for almost 12 months now, so we’re at that point. We’ve experienced the space through all four seasons. We’ve established weekly routines and daily rituals. We know all the local hotspots and where to get the best pub lunch. We’ve found a new gym for our weekly group sessions. Our run club has thoroughly mapped out all the best running routes. It feels like home. 

Photography by Aaron Puls.

This article originally appeared in inside 119. Click here to subscribe and receive future issues.