Architect: Bates Smart
Client: Banco Chambers
Builder: MPA Projects
Location: 60 Martin Place, Sydney
Work Completed by Active Metal
Structural steel spiral stairs, steel balustrades to stairs, glazed balustrades to void, plasterboard cladding to soffit, leather wrapped handrails, stone stair nosings, timber treads, timber joiinery lining, tactile indicators
Overview
Banco Chambers specialises in complex commercial litigation and is widely recognised as one of Australia’s leading barristers’ chambers. Having been ranked as a Band 1 Set for Dispute Resolution in Australia by the respected Chambers & Partners publication, Banco was also noted in 2020 as being “committed to excellence,” and “in a different league from most” for its approachability and responsiveness.
Underscoring the “league of their own” status is their new fitout in the iconic 60 Martin Place. Award winning interior designers Bates Smart were tasked by Banco Chambers to design a new Sydney office that brought together previously separate offices in a way that accomodated the complex hierarchy structure as well as fully reflecting Banco’s business model.
The result is a space that is nothing short of the embodiment of elegance. Creating a sense of arrival as one moves through each space, the design is graceful, refined and luxurious.
At the centre of the fitout, surrounded by Banco’s impressive legal book collection is the helical feature staircase, which serves as the connective tissue of the fitout, drawing clients through the space into the heart of Banco Chambers.
Active Metal’s work in creating this sculpted spiral stairway truly reflects the modernist architectural intent, with the warmth of the timber treads and internal joinery lining counterbalanced by the white of the plaster outer skin. Soft leather wrapped handrails and uplighting in the stringer recess add both tactile and visual elements to what is a stunning design.
Fitout by MPA
