Maurice Blackburn Lawyers Office Fitout

Maurice Blackburn Lawyers took Level 3 at 153 Foster Street, in the Dandenong court precinct. The tenancy runs 419 square metres with floor to ceiling glazing on the street corner and an outlook over the surrounding trees. It is a floor clients come to, so the front of house had to carry the firm’s reputation from the moment the lift doors opened.

Reception, a waiting area, three meeting settings, 12 private offices and an open workstation area all had to sit on the one compact floor, with security and accessibility requirements applying to almost every door. The firm came to us with a traditional law office look in mind, dark timber and heavy detail.

We planned the floor with reception and the waiting area at the main entry, the boardroom and meeting rooms held against the glazed corner where the outlook is best, the 12 offices set along the perimeter and the 16 workstations grouped through the centre of the plan. The palette moved as the design developed. Walnut gave way to a lighter natural oak, carried through the reception desk, the kitchen joinery and the meeting and boardroom tables, and a wine tone taken from Maurice Blackburn’s own brand colours went onto the accent walls and the lower joinery. Black framed glazing, wine toned ribbed acoustic panelling and statement pendants finished the enclosed spaces. Privacy film, secure entry hardware and a duress point at reception were built in without changing how any of it reads.

The finished floor is calm and contemporary, a long way from the heritage look the brief started with. Maurice Blackburn now runs client meetings, private legal work and 16 workstations off a single 419 square metre floor in the court precinct, with the security and accessibility requirements met inside the design itself.