Director of Sibling Architecture, Timothy Moore, says the agile spatial direction for Hanover House emphasised circularity by repurposing and reusing existing materials and objects wherever possible.

“Over a third of waste in Australia goes to landfill, while nearly half of waste worldwide comes from construction and demolition, so we were really in this idea of a project where there was a lot of stuff to strip out. We saw it as an opportunity to explore the process of ‘making in architecture’,” he said.

Elements from the original building have been repurposed and reused, such as the office furniture, lighting, carpets, and gypsum walls. More than 1800m2 of ceiling tiles have found new life as stacked seating arrangements and display units. The glass cubes in the Atelier, which artisans work from in full public view, have been constructed from existing office partitions within the building.

The agile spatial direction for Hanover House emphasised circularity by repurposing and reusing existing materials and objects wherever possible.

The result marks a pivot towards the retail spaces of tomorrow that inspire creativity, push boundaries and elevate the consumer experience into one that is emotional, intuitive and innately human. Using a clever taxonomy of design that shapeshifts form and function, the chameleon conversion allows for limitless layouts while minimising the need for raw resources or ‘new’ items.

“The design intent of the taxonomy was to provide a family of joinery that allow for a variety of uses, including unforeseen uses, due to the experimental nature of the BETA By STH BNK programming at Hanover House where we could not foresee what would happen,” said Timothy.

Working towards a future where retail designers look to actively extend project afterlife through reuse, repair, or refurbishment, a series of movable and multi-functional furniture items fitted with wheels can be reused between floors for various BETA events, as well as at different sites and locations into the future, ensuring that these objects remain in circulation and avoid going to landfill.

New materials were introduced, such as seaweed-based bioplastic panels and moveable furniture such as a bar, counter, table and seating – which are planned to be reused in the future, limiting the footprint of this office-turned-creative hub. 

By allowing sustainable retail brands to experiment with new frontiers in physical space, programming, and business models, Sibling Architecture’s experimental taxonomy provides a glimmer of how future retail will play out within the pioneering STH BNK development. By embracing sustainability in innovative ways, retail brands can shape an eco-conscious future that not only keeps pace with consumer demand, but sets new benchmarks in design innovation.

Discover more by visiting sthbnk.com/event/beta-taxonomy