With more than five decades of experience, Sue Carr and her team are no strangers to winning awards. Renowned for their innate understanding of space and ability to translate complex problems into thoughtful, purposeful and practical design solutions across multiple typologies, Carr’s design for Aesop’s Australian headquarters is a distillation of everything Carr and Aesop are celebrated for.
Designing a workplace at scale is arguably one of the most challenging typologies. There’s a need to strike a balance between reflecting a potentially global brand identity and creating a localised sense of place and community. The judges consider not only the programmatic design and spatial efficiency but also the expression of corporate vision and values in the context of the human experience. IDEA jury member Melissa Bright described Carr’s winning project as “understated and refined… reflecting its brand identity”.
“The level of execution is a testament of Carr’s approach to design – minimalistic yet rich in its own way,” Bright said.
Australian Design Review recently spoke to founding principal Sue Carr about the win.
Sue Carr: Winning the award was a wonderful recognition of the Carr team and, more importantly, our hugely successful collaboration with Aesop. It’s always a privilege and joy to work with a like-minded client that carries such a strong brand identity and design rigour.
SC: Aesop’s Australian headquarters marks a new chapter for the skincare company’s recent global expansion. Aesop required a sophisticated workplace that facilitated and supported this growth, while also embodying the brand’s distinct ethos. To distil this design thinking, we first engaged in strategic briefing sessions to optimise Aesop’s pivot in operations.
For the design, we were inspired by ritualistic, restrained and curated elements from Aesop’s own retail experience. In all that they do, there is a moment to pause and go through the motions to have a sensory and tactile experience. This distinct and considered culture is a living environment through how people interact and carry themselves at Aesop.
As a brand, Aesop always looks to its surrounding contexts to be reflected in the interiors to establish a sense of home and attract staff back into the office. This was no different being in the urban surrounds of Collingwood, with the new headquarters exhibiting concrete flooring and a muted colour palette.
SC: With every project, we aim to create an outcome that is enduring and reflects the client’s purpose and brand. Similar to Carr, Aesop values and appreciates the necessity of designing to place, and the skilful manipulation of texture, natural light and form. The inherent alignment and understanding between the client and designer results in a physical environment that is deeply sensory and sensitive.
SC: There’s no doubt that 2024 has been a year of evolution for Carr with the succession of Stephen McGarry, David Brooks and Richard Beel to directors. Throughout the studio’s 53-year history, no two years have ever been the same, and this is an exciting chapter for Carr as we move into our sixth decade. I’m looking forward to continuing this momentum into the new year as we relocate to our new office, 116 Rokeby in Collingwood, and complete a series of milestone projects across the country.
SC: A major milestone project that is reaching completion is Como Terraces in South Yarra. Positioned in the Como Hill precinct, with a frontage to Alexandra Avenue, Como Terraces includes unimpeded views across the Yarra River and Melbourne’s CBD and is truly a once-in-a-lifetime architectural endeavour.
We also have a series of multi-residential projects reaching completion across Melbourne and a boutique workplace fit-out with Hardie Grant.
Studio-wise, we were thrilled to open our Carr office in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley. With a series of dual-discipline projects underway in Queensland, the new office is a reinforcement of our activity and commitment to the region.
Project photography by Peter Bennetts.
IDEA 2024 was proudly brought to you by our sponsors Miele, Cult, Crafted Hardwoods, Neolith, Halliday + Baillie, Krost, MillerKnoll, Laufen, ForestOne, Zenith, Designer Rugs, and supported by our event partners Axolotl, Four Pillars Gin, Moo Brew Beer and Artfull.
A special thank you to our jury chair Clare Cousins, and our jury members Brooke Lloyd, Davina Bester, Graham Charbonneau, Melissa Bright, Michael Alvisse and Manuela Millan.