Project: Blackbird Ventures Workplace
Architecture: Studio Sestra
Location: Surry Hills, New South Wales, Australia
Year: 20
Photo Credits: Andrew Worssam
Blackbird Ventures is a venture capital (VC) company that has backed many successful companies that are in their infancy and many go on to becoming huge success stories such as Canva and SafetyCulture.
This community of start-ups and their founders sit at the heart of Blackbird and these stories needed to be celebrated in the new Blackbird workplace. Blackbird’s dynamic, fun branding was developed previously by super talented graphic design company We Buy Your Kids (WBYK) and we were thrilled to work collaboratively with them on this project particularly with such a bold colour palette and patterned aesthetic.
Aspects of hospitality and retail design were included in the project brief. The client requested an area to host new prospective entrepreneurs as they waited (most likely nervously) to pitch their ideas. We designed a highly colourful and patterned bar area at the heart of the space which is surrounded by a retail display that exhibit products, branded apparel and accessories from Blackbird backed companies. We combined printed 2D graphics with 3D elements for extra impact. Further WBYK designed custom portraits of Blackbird backed founders which line the walls of the space. We designed text plaques below the portraits along with track and spot lighting to create an art gallery ambience.
To celebrate the notion of fledgling start-ups and building upon the bird theme, we designed a birds nest installation as a portal to the main Boardroom and the internal Boardroom wall is also layered with timber representing a stylised birds nest. We introduced a series of printed framed logos of Blackbird backed companies into the nest, just as a bird builds its nest from found objects we developed this analogy symbolically as Blackbird backs new start-ups. We explored this bird concept further in the large breakout area. We designed oversized birdcage canopies to sit over circular booths and surrounded this area with an abundance of living greenery. The Blackbird brand colours were utilised in the upholsteries and finishes and are complemented by WBYK’s hand painted in-situ mural. Meeting rooms are colour blocked in the flooring, ceiling and upholstery specifications plus WBYK’s illustrations added a playful, whimsical quality to these spaces.
The overall effect is a wild interplay of colour, pattern and form that celebrates Blackbird’s strong branding in a three dimensional forum. The raw, industrial characteristics of the building intentionally contrast with the new contemporary forms, finishes and bright colours. This is a workplace where new ideas and new companies have the possibility to become the next big thing and the design is a statement of this possibility, where creativity has no bounds.
