Announcing the contenders for the Rork Projects Office Pod Challenge!
Vote for your favourite Office Pod on our Linkedin Page – the winner will go into detailed design and development for sample manufacture.
Rork Projects Victoria certainly knows how to rise to a challenge.
Despite working hard from home through lockdown, finalising tenders and delivering projects, somehow they’ve found a way to continue achieve and look out for each other.
As well as all this, some enthusiastic volunteers have gone the extra mile to complete a challenge set by Rork Victoria General Manager Steve Raymond.
The mission: design a practical and cost-effective solution for an external office pod or “focus space” purpose designed for working from home.
Steve hoped that working in smaller teams would be good for morale and give staff a creative outlet to distance themselves from lockdown and a once in a lifetime pandemic.
“Rork Victoria has always had a great spirit of teamwork and looking out for each other and we need that now more than ever,” said Steve.
The teams provided mood boards, sketch designs, floor layouts as well as a high-level budget.
With the construction industry ongoing, Steve couldn’t be more impressed with his office staff as they continue to work from home during these difficult times.
“Preparing and submitting tenders, delivering projects during the long lockdown have all been challenging, but they have taken it in their stride.
“They’ve collaborated digitally throughout this stressful period and worked within a very tight budget and scope.
“Rork Victoria has always had a great spirit of working together and looking out for each other and we need that now more than ever,” said Steve.
Vote for your favourite Office Pod on our Linkedin Page
Meet the teams
Podstars
Shareen, Luke, Franz and Sam
Inspiration:
A few elements of the project brief provided inspiration; modern, modular and lightweight were key drivers. We tried to incorporate finishes sustainable and recycled materials where possible.
We were also mindful of the Indigenous drivers which can be implemented to honour Australia’s Indigenous heritage and our company values, so we’ve chosen to call the Pod “Ngurang” meaning hut in the Wiradjuri language.
Process:
We’ve all been in lockdown for a while now, working from bedrooms and kitchen tables. Our General Manager Steve Raymond is working in his baby son’s nursery.
It’s made us aware of how important it is to have a space to work and focus. We hope we never have to go through this again, but if we do, we would like an Office Pod just like this!
Office Pod Goal:
The Pod should be a warm and inviting space to compliment the backyard, that doesn’t look like the garden shed.
Any other comments?
May the best team win, as long as it’s the Pod Stars
Team SOS
Scott, Claire, Corney and Anthony
Inspiration:
Our inspiration came from ourselves being in lockdown thinking about building something that was eco-friendly while being aesthetically pleasing. As well as making someone feel like they were in office environment to be able to focus on the task at hand without distractions.
Process:
The team definitely enjoyed it as it bought us all together with one common goal. It has meant a lot to have some good laughs while brainstorming for the office pod, especially through these difficult times. It was also a great idea to get to know our workmates better.
Office Pod Goals:
The most important thing about the “dream” office pod is provide the capacity to focus on work while still being able to spend time with family.
One thing this lockdown has taught us is the fact that those closest around us are the most important asset someone can have.
The office pod is a great initiative to consider if we do have another lockdown in the future and also because more people might work from home in the future.
Not everyone is able to deal with the distraction that comes from being in a busy household and it would be great to have somewhere to focus.
Any other comments:
Our team has enjoyed this challenge and hopefully we can be able to showcase our office pod as the winner.
Team Brio
Jaime, Rozika and Milly
Inspiration
Our inspiration was to design a POD versatile enough to be used in different ways.
It doesn’t just have to be an office but could also convert to a yoga retreat, gym or summer room in better times.
The modular design allows the possibility of joining two pods together to allow multi- functionality of area use.
Having watched everyone on our daily video calls and seeing how they are managing “working from home life” it confirmed that some staff need a “quiet focus space” to get work done distraction-free.
Process
Doing a group project has its obstacles when we aren’t able to collaborate in the same room and create our POD design together.
During this lockdown we’re missing the face-to-face interaction with colleagues, so this challenge was a timely change of pace.
Being able to catch-up informally (online) and discuss something away from our usual projects has been a welcome distraction.
It has certainly cemented why staying connected is so important in these challenging and uncertain times.
Office Pod Goals:
We think like any office or workspace the Office Pod should be somewhere you feel inspired, comfortable and focused. A welcome retreat with the versatility to be used for different purposes by the whole household.
Criteria
A focus / office pod that meets the following criteria
- Budget is no more than $5,000.00
- Waterproof construction
- Has a door/s
- Has a Window/s
- Power Data
- Cooling Heating
- Lighting
- No more than 10m2 in footprint
- Must be modular construction– light weight
- Must only require 2 person erection, and minimal hand/ power tools (no drilling or alterations allowed)
- Preference using recycled materials
- 100% Australian Sourced materials
- Can with stand the elements
- Must be a structure that can dismantled and relocated multiple times
- Have a super modern appearance.