Transurban George by Cox Architecture

Cox Architecture designed a new network of workplace and operation centres for Transurban across Queensland, a commission that began in 2019. The brief consolidated the infrastructure group's Brisbane footprint, moving the team from five separate sites into three central locations and freeing up room to grow.

Transurban researches, designs and operates some of the world's largest infrastructure projects, and its connection to the urban environment runs through the interior. Working across Australia, the United States and Canada, the company keeps a consistent global character, and the Brisbane office reads that character through a distinctly Queensland lens.

A biophilic approach shapes the workplace through form, palette and planting that respond to the sub-tropical setting. Exposed ceilings are painted dark green, with a digital and planted canopy suspended overhead. Meeting rooms sit back from the façade to create quieter break-out moments and to keep sightlines open across the floor.

Laid out over three floors, the workspace is stitched together by a large atrium and a connecting stair. The top level holds a social kitchen, collaborative space, training rooms and a town hall. The design sets out to challenge the idea that infrastructure is dull, supporting staff wellbeing, sustainability, streamlined technology and a culture of innovation.

Architecture by Cox Architecture (project team Tahlia Svingos). Photography by Christopher Frederick Jones.