Plantscaping business Outside In has taken its expertise to a new level, completing NZ’s most complex interior plantscaping project in partnership with New Zealand’s biggest litigation firm, MC, to create a rejuvenating and calming space for their employees to work from and enjoy.
Designed to achieve WELL certification, MC is now the first law firm in the entire Asia Pacific region with both a 6 Green Star rating and WELL precertification, including the newly created ‘life-sized terrarium’ inspired by native New Zealand forests.
And to cement Outside In’s industry-leading position, last week also saw the business win big at the International Plantscaping awards, taking out the overall Diamond Award for Best in Show for their work at MC. These awards focus on design, creativity, and innovation in plantscaping and attract entries from all over the world.
Ryan McQuerry, Creative Director at Outside In, says that the project with MC was a result of the team’s dedication and passion for merging nature and design.
“We thrive on designing bespoke solutions that integrate nature purposefully into the workplace. All of our team – from designers to fabricators and installers through to our service team – are so thrilled to see our hard work bring this landmark project for New Zealand to life.
Winning the overall Diamond Award for Best in Show for our work in the MC Centre has been extremely rewarding and we hope to see more New Zealand businesses follow in our footsteps to bring nature into the workplace”, says Ryan McQuerry.
MC, which has over 200 litigators and other staff, prides itself on being the best training ground for the Crown Solicitors, QCs, judges and corporate litigators of the future, and integrating the workspace with a taste of the Waitakere Ranges has helped overall staff wellbeing, says Kylie Mooney, MC CEO.
“All New Zealanders love getting outside and exploring what Aotearoa has to offer with peaceful forests and open outdoor areas, and this inspired our vision to bring the great New Zealand outdoors to life inside our own office above the Auckland Viaduct,” Kylie Mooney says.
“We have an extremely hard-working team who are often involved in intense legal work, so putting their mental health and wellbeing first by creating a calm and rejuvenating working environment is one of the best investments we made in our new MC Centre.
“Outside In has been a fantastic partner and we are absolutely thrilled they have been recognised by their industry as the best in the world with their well-deserved Diamond Award.”
Taking inspiration from native New Zealand forests, the MC office has been described as a ‘life-sized terrarium’ with each piece of unique floor covering integrating into the structure of the building with preserved moss mixed with natural tree mulch. The entire project is in scale with the size of the building space which has a ceiling height of 3.6m and has been integrated with trees and plants that hang overhead.
Green Star Accredited Professional and the key architect involved in the MC building, Valentine Machina says this has been one of her favourite projects to date and wants people to understand the benefits of biophilic design and the role of greenery in promoting well-being, health and emotional comfort.
“Seeing this space grow and come to life has been an amazing experience. I’ve witnessed first-hand the benefits of being surrounded by plants and the positive benefits they can provide for employees, resulting in an increase in productivity, creativity and higher job satisfaction enabling employers to retain talent for a longer time. I hope to see more New Zealand companies looking to adopt biophilia driven, mindful and healthy workspaces like the MC office.”
To keep up with maintenance on the building and the lifetime of the plants, Outside In designed an intricate system of photosynthetic LED lights in ambient colour which allows for healthy long-term plant growth. With 222 photosynthetic grow lights and a temperature-controlled environment, the design takes into consideration the long-term health of each plant variety for long-lasting enjoyment and useability.
Kylie Mooney says that MC is in tough competition with the other top New Zealand law firms for talent, and with leading litigation firms around the world.
“Our brief to Outside In and all our team was that our current and future staff should be assured they are operating out of the very best work environment in Aotearoa New Zealand – and Outside In and everyone else delivered,” Kylie Mooney says.
“But a 2020s office must also compete with home, the local café and even the local park or beach as a place for people to meet their employment obligations in the professional services industries. We believe it’s important as many of our team are in the office each day and that means we need them to actually want to be in the office each day – and, again, Outside In exceeded our expectations.”
