SEEK Global HQ

Anything but typical, SEEK’s new global HQ is an ultra-flexible contemporary warehouse’ that embodies the company’s unique culture – and embraces its future.

As Australia’s leading employment marketplace, SEEK wanted a new home to reflect their evolution as a global, connected tech company. An unconventional office building designed for even greater innovation and collaboration, an agile culture and an ambitious growth strategy.

Our strategists, architects and workplace designers set out to create a fulfilling, highly adaptable environment where employees not only love to work but also love to socialise. 

Set in a thriving technology hub with industrial character, the contemporary, seven-storey workplace showcases SEEK’s single-minded focus on people first’, with a design that puts their interests, character and identity at the heart.

SEEK has a truly unique and great culture that influenced the design of the building. SEEK’s new headquarters is representative of that culture, with a design that puts people first in a space that is truly us.”

— Brigid Carey, Head of Workspace Strategy

As a leading example of a connected, collaborative, and magnetic workplace, SEEK HQ has been honoured with national and international awards for commercial workplace design. 

Client

SEEK

Location

Wurundjeri Country
Melbourne, Australia

Status

Completed

Year

2021

Scale

7 stories / 19,000 sqm floor space

Collaborators

Case Mealin, CBRE, Jack Merlo, Studio Ongarato, Arup, Dixon Patten, WSP, Built, Buildcorp

Design team

Ingrid Bakker, Andrew Low, Steve Coster, Evodia Alaterou, Anthony Dickens, Ben Duckworth, Scott Walker, Christopher Free, Megan Carroll, Laura Vallentine, Anthony Thevenon, Ryan Jayamaha, Sandra Leschke, Clare Chippendale, Fion Feng, Laura Casey, James Parker, Greta Stoutjesdijk, Jeff Chang, Kyle Hui, Mia Willemsen, Madina Zhazylbekova, Maurizio Toniolo, Nathalie Diaz, Nathania Widjanarko, Nick Weaver, Priscilla Kwok, Simon Rich, Victor Vieaux, Yoshia Kashima

Photography

Peter Bennetts

The Property Council of Australia (PCA) A-grade building was designed to provide healthy, uplifting indoor spaces while minimising the consumption of natural resources through operation. 

Highlights include:

  • Solar panels are integrated into the roof in the same proportions as the windows, creating a consistent façade. 
  • The building allows for daylight control and glare reduction while it also maximises transparency, fresh air and connection to the outdoors.
  • In consultation with Arup, we designed the building to achieve a 5-Star Green Star rating (Australian Excellence), a NABERS Energy 5-Star rating and a NABERS Indoor Environment 4.5-Star rating.

Guided by SEEK’s desire for unconventional offices and the local setting, our contemporary warehouse’ concept resulted in a modern building that sits comfortably within its urban and historical context. 

The architecture references the rich, industrial heritage of the area, with twin gabled roofs complementing old school buildings nearby and corium brick reflecting the colours and materials of local makers and manufacturers.

Rising seven stories and incorporating over 19,000 sqm of floor space, the building is set back from all its boundaries to respect its residential neighbours, provide a generous garden for SEEK and the local community, and create a wider footpath.

The building is designed to meet SEEK’s brief for large, flexible and adaptable open-plan workspaces. 

The twin gabled buildings are joined via a natural, light-filled atrium that rises from the ground floor to the roof, creating a central focus for the building. The atrium sparks activity and interaction, and connects the highly flexible, open-plan work floors via a sculptural timber staircase. 

A range of public, community and SEEK-focused amenities are located at ground level, with operable walls turning the 1000-person town hall’ into flexible spaces with access via a separate entrance. 

The workplace levels sit above that new urban precinct, and each floor includes a social hub/​kitchen area adjacent to the lifts. 

A unique social space at the top of the building features uninterrupted city views, while an external terrace between the two peaks is ideal for team or client events.

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