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ANZ looking for 100,000 sq metres of space !

6K views 47 replies 27 participants last post by  Muse 
Curtain said:
Why a shame?

I would rather work at the Docklands than in the CBD, its a much more "human" space.

One 350m skyscraper is more than enough for Melbourne.

"Canyon city syndrome" belongs in Sydney.
The CBD is just as human as Docklands, even more so.

However I don't think it would be a shame either - it would be a crying shame if they moved to a burb, like Optus & Microsoft to North Ryde, GlaxoSmithKlyne to Noble Park, Siemens to Bayswater and St. George to Alexandria.
 
Blabbyboy said:
It makes sense for manufacturing and IT firms to move out to the burbs,
Bollocks blabbs! Look at Telstra - it used to have 16 or more office sites around the city and has slowly been closing them and consolidating closer to the city - I don't think there's a presence on the Mornington Peninsula (or even Franga anymore) and the furthest away 'suburban' office is in Brandon Park (unless the Dandenong office is still operating) next to NEC HQ - of which the NEC HQ is just white-collar workforces (300+), no manufacturing or anything of the sort is done on site there.

ANZ HQ is prime for legal space, just look at how quick Bourke Place was snapped up for legal firms after BHP moved to Lonsdale St.
 
Good points re: Victoria Harbour:

- creates a massive financial precinct, could easily rival Martin Place in pulling power (NAB, ANZ, AXA and Bendigo versus CBA, MLC, MAQ and WBC)
- potential to attract more global players to the area (Vic Gov does want more managed fund business, wants to make Melbourne a global centre for it)
- pumps even more people (5000?!?!) into Docklands.
- 'landmark' = potential for something good, remember the tower which is always rendered at the foot of Bourke & Collins?
- 2010 is not far away and it's pushing development further down that peninsula.

Bad points re: Victoria Harbour:

- they'll be using a lot of space for office, I think there should be a cap if ANZ do go for it down there.
- potential for mediocre design, notwithstanding people's obvious dislike of Campus over skyscraper, if it's a good design, I'd be happy. if it's pretty average, it'd be a crying shame (See suburban comments).
- related to too much office space, Victoria Harbour, unless other uses pick up, could become a commuter precinct, i.e dead after 8pm.

that's all I could think of in 5min.
 
^ hah nice.

Blabbyboy said:
so our worst fears have come true - ANZ are looking at a campus style development. my first thoughts (fears) are that Vic Harbour will be, as Tays noted, a commuter precinct - dead after 5pm (not 8pm!). Nuff said.

I already noted above, and now others have too, that this will spell the end of new CBD office towers for YONKS because there'll be a glut of office space. That's it - it's all over. We all might as well move to Adelaide. no matter how good the campus style development is, we're all stuffed - no more new commercial scrapers for yonks. and the fact is - NAB isn't exactly an ING, issit? Are we going to get an archiwonder? Hope so, but probably not. I don't understand HOW CAN THERE NOT BE ENOUGH SPACE IN THE CBD TO SUPPORT A NEW SKYSCRAPER?!

btw, mallesons recently moved into bourke place, so that's the end of that.

I'm tearing my hair out over this!!! I'm getting stresseD!!!! :rant:
you're now starting to read like a Herald Sun front page headline blabbs! :lol:
 
^^ 100,000sqm = Rialto sized building (both towers combined etc)

____________________________

Bank kicks some tyres, Capital Gain, The Age 7/5/05

The ANZ bank has coneded Docklands is back on the table as a possibility for a future home, but claims it isn't likely within the next three years.

A round of media stories this week speculated the bank was starting the hunt for a mssive 100,000 sqm space - something that would essentiually empty out its current CBD abodes.

Senior ANZ property figures were spotted at last week's launch of Ian Gandel and Glenn Corke's office concept 360 Degrees at Docklands.

Spokesman Paul Edwards confirms the ANZ is undertaking "a strtegic look at its property needs" for the next five years, with everything, including Docklands, on the cards. But he says the bank is simply kicking the tyres and that the process would have no implication for the next three years. Any official market requirement is a long way off, he says. While he concedes the bank's 1980s-designed head office at 100 Queen Stree "has not a great footprint", another industry source is more colourful. "IT's an absolute dog," the unnamed source says gleefully.

which it is, not only is it small, but it's very very plain on the inside - I saw what Fountainhead was talking about in the Melbourne POMO thread first hand last december, very very cheap on the inside

so keep yer pants on ladies and gents, not all hope is lost! :)
 
AFR.

Surviving the open-plan office
Susannah Moran
3/5/05

Open plan offices are all the rage but there are pros and cons. In this special package we look at training staff to work in the open, ask the players whether they'd rather have a room of their own, and talk to an expert about designing for better work.

When the National Australia Bank moved 3500 staff into new offices in Melbourne's Docklands they were not just given a seating plan, they were also handed a video on how to behave. The open-plan design of the building, where there are no discrete offices, meant staff had to be reminded of appropriate behaviour.

NAB corporate affairs manager Amanda Murray-Johnson says the video was a light-hearted way to get the message across without dictating to staff how to act: "We got a group of employees together and filmed it Survivor-style with one team behaving the right way, and the others doing things like yelling across the room and putting their mobiles on an obnoxious tune at maximum volume."

NAB is one of many companies going to open-plan design and breaking down the barriers between senior executives and the rest of the workforce. These days, even chief executives are coming out of their corner offices and joining the masses at their workstations. The trouble is, in open plan everyone can hear you scream or shout or sob, which is why many firms are now running special induction courses or programs on how to work in open environments.

Ernst & Young, which is rolling-out new open-plan offices, offers guidelines to new graduates, hundreds of whom join the professional services firm every year. Among the advice, says senior manager for recruitment and mobility Kate Herbert, is the suggestion they turn their mobiles to silent when in the office.

"We don't make a big deal about being prescriptive about it," Herbert says. "But you watch other people and that is how you model yourself."

The firm also briefs staff about the importance of locking away their laptops at night and ensuring confidential documents are not left lying around.

Staff at Australian Gas Light Co in Sydney will move into new offices this year and group manager for people and culture Gareth Bennett says staff will be briefed on the "common courtesies" such as using the informal spaces to hold casual conversations and not leaving mobile phones ringing.

The firm has also instigated a clean-desk policy.

"It makes the environment look slicker and makes for a more professional environment," Bennett says. "It's also for security reasons."

Bob Beaver, the general manager of Freiberg Australia, a company that makes workstations, says companies are increasingly asking for lower screens between desks which can make for a noisier workspace.

But there are ways that noise can be combated, such as fabric on the partitions to soak it up.

Open-plan design is seen as a plus in terms of interaction but can often lead to a casual atmosphere in which productivity can fall, says Neen James, a consultant who has recently moved to the United States.

"If people yell across partitions, don't answer their phones, and leave their radios on, it can be very destructive," she says.

But the good news is that open-plan environments work well for established teams who thrive in the close-knit atmosphere, and once other workers learn to eliminate distractions, they too become much more productive, she says.

When James goes into an office to sort out why staff productivity has dropped off, she starts by asking what the norms are.

The biggest grievances, she says, are noise and the lack of consideration by colleagues.

"It is like being in a car," she says. "People don't think anyone can see in, and they become oblivious to others. So they often start by talking loudly on the phone."

Then there are those workers who think open plan means no need to respect the privacy of others.

They are the ones who often listen to the conversations of colleagues sitting near them and even think it's acceptable to give advice, often mid-conversation about the content of the call, business or personal, says James.

Other bad habits that workers fall into include treating their desks like an extension of their home.

One or two photos and an inspirational poster are okay, but smelly gym shoes, spare clothes, and towels hanging over the back of chairs are not on.

James recommends that companies wanting a healthy workforce should start by having managers lead by example: no eating lunch at their desk or working ridiculous hours.

And don't have meetings around your desk or in the corridor.

James also advises companies to provide lockable cabinets, so there is no risk of losing intellectual property, and documents are free from prying eyes.

Then there are the little things like keeping the volume low on phones, and turning mobiles to silent.

She suggests one key test for gauging whether an office is up to scratch: "Would you let your clients see this?"

And if your co-workers still haven't got the message that you mean business, put on your headphones.

Even if you are not listening to any music, it can drown out the background chatter and give colleagues a sign that you are not to be disturbed, says James.

THE RULES

The 15 rules of open-plan existence:

1: Have a clean-desk policy. Clear desks are important for overall presentation and security.

2: Don't yell across workstations.

3: Manage your phones. Try to answer your phone within three rings. Select a mobile phone ring that won't annoy others around you.

4: Do not hold conversations outside others' workstations.

5: Keep things off the floor and keep your paperwork and any other items within your desk area.

6: Be aware of personal hygiene.

7: Don't discipline people in public, and have confidential conversations in meeting rooms.

8: Don't sticky-beak at your colleagues' computer screens.

9: Don't comment on colleagues' personal or business telephone conversations.

10: If you are listening to music, keep it down or invest in headphones.

11: Book a meeting room for more than two people.

12: If you do answer someone's phone, take a message and email the details immediately.

13: Surround yourself with inspiration or something that is meaningful for you, such as a photo of your family, but don't overdo it.

14: Respect your colleagues' space.

15: Keep your voice down, especially if your voice tends to carry.
 
The floorplate's small and they can't do much with it in the current HQ (see articles in this thread), NAB House still has NAB employees in it afaik and ANZ are a heavily Melbourne-centric bank - a very high percentage of its top executives / directors & all the people who work under them are in Melbourne with one or two in Sydney and one or two in Auckland - so they require a lot of space - i.e. upwards of 100,000sqm.
 
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