Plant and Food Research’s historic Cunningham Building opened in 1939, and is the oldest building on their Mount Albert campus.

The building lacked social spaces, so we converted the outdated office and storage spaces into a new social hub that encourages staff interaction and collaboration in a fresh, modern environment.

The ground floor is now home to a café, staff kitchen, and collaborative meeting areas. Level one holds formal meeting spaces, and is connected to the main office building with a covered pedestrian bridge.

An eclectic mix of modular furniture creates flexibility for social, meeting, and dining areas. Salvaged science cabinetry and equipment from old laboratories reflects the building’s history, and has been repurposed into custom joinery units to divide the space. Strategically placed pendant lighting and geometric motifs in the carpet tile design also define the different areas.

The buzzing culture of the café hub has converted the Cunningham from being a dull office space into a lively work environment, which has truly become ‘the heart’ of the campus.