Bendigo Bank commissioned BVN Architecture and Gray Puksand to design the corporate headquarters in Bendigo to house over 1,000 staff. The brief for the building and integrated fitout coalesces 5 current locations into one central facility. As the site is located centrally in Bendigo in a heritage precinct we developed a new masterplan to integrate the building into the existing context. In keeping with The Banks community values, a new series of lanes cross the site and connect the Bath Lane community into the development. Public interaction is encouraged with retail facilities at ground level and extensive public spaces, including a new public square giving the building a new address to the mall precinct. A board walk has been developed along the existing creek edge. The timber board walk links the traditional rear elevation of surrounding buildings to provide a large public connection for the bath lane community.

In the development of the project a strong emphasis has been placed on creating a workplace to support the culture and aspirations of The Bank. The building has been designed as a low rise campus, creating large floor plates connected by atriums that flood the interior work environment in natural light.

The buildings exterior has been designed to respond to the individual orientation of each façade. The major façade to the west is adorned with coloured perforated aluminium sunscreens. The sunscreens reduce the harsh western sun and provide a visually stimulating reading of the building. The palate of colours represents the reds of the existing Bendigo brick buildings transitioning to the greens of the park opposite. A saw tooth roof is orientated to the north and maximises the internal daylight while providing a dynamic form to the buildings skyline.

An extension to the commission was undertaken to incorporate artistic elements into the urban landscape surrounding the building. The lyric square interpretive art installation references the historic past of the site over the last two centuries culminating in the Lyric Theatre dramatically burnt down in 1968. A series of plinths display text by Local Historian Edith Lun, describing the past lives of the site.

Awards

2009 RAIA National Award for Commercial Architecture
2009 RAIA National Commendation for Sustainable Architecture
2009 RAIA VIC Commercial Architecture Award
2009 RAIA VIC Regional Prize