Arup Workplace Perth/Boorloo champions sustainability
28.07.25
For Elton Group, long-time sponsor of the Sustainability Advancement Award, this project shows what’s possible when designers lead with integrity and purpose. Arup’s Perth/Boorloo workplace sets a new bar for cultural, material and environmental respect.
As sustainability consultant for the Australian Interior Design Awards jury, Katherine Featherstone of the Green Building Council Australia notes: “You can tell this project isn’t just a sustainability platitude. It’s warm, welcoming and pared back with a light touch – but the depth of thought is profound. Everything has purpose. This project is sustainable through and through.”
From the outset, Arup’s ambition was to create a workplace that ‘walks the talk’ of sustainability, aligning with its global commitment to net zero by 2040. Perth was chosen as the third Living Building Challenge (LBC) pilot after Adelaide and Auckland, with Hames Sharley involved in early feasibility and site selection. “Arup views its own fitouts as an opportunity to lead,” says Associate Interior Designer Jessica Green.
A deep co-design process shaped the project. Arup’s lighting, sustainability, and services teams worked side-by-side with Hames Sharley and Peter Farmer Designs to craft a spatial narrative grounded in Whadjuk Noongar country.
The workplace expresses its values in structure and detail. A sculptural tensegrity stair spirals through a central void. Sub-floors host flexible platforms like the Ideas Nest—a digitally enabled workshop space—while a winter garden adjacent the kitchen brings greenery and natural ventilation into daily life. “We wanted the building’s workings to be visible, nothing is hidden, everything’s expressed,” Green adds.
Material selection was both rigorous and revelatory. Arup’s in-house sustainability team tracked over 640 materials, prioritising health, transparency and provenance in line with LBC standards. More than 20 per cent of the materials were sourced from WA, and 50 per cent from within Australia. Salvaged and second-hand furniture, storm-felled timbers, FSC-certified products and a total avoidance of PVC or BPA all contributed to a circular, ethical palette. “We’re now culling our entire library. It’s our responsibility to understand provenance, and educate our clients,” Green says.
This project shows what’s possible by committing to a sustainable approach in every aspect. Congratulations to Hames Sharley, Arup and Peter Farmer Designs for your deserved award win. Elton Group is proud to support industry innovation through the Sustainability Advancement Award category of the Australian Interior Design Awards.