For our team, it has never been about attendance in the office. It is about presence, and what we are able to create when we are connected, engaged and inspired by each other.
Of course, just like many workplaces, there have always been barriers to getting into the studio. Patchy or non-existent public transport, flat tyres on bikes, and parking challenges within our CBD location were already part of daily life. Then came a global pandemic, and with it, a major shift in how we approached the working day. We proved we could still deliver projects effectively from almost anywhere, but something else quietly disappeared.
The hum of collaboration. The spontaneous design critique. Stacks of butter paper layered with scratchy iterations of ideas. A stationery cupboard that always looked like it had been robbed.
They were all signs that some of our best creative thinking happened when we were together.
While remote work supported flexibility and productivity, we started questioning whether it could fully support the culture, curiosity and creative energy that made people love what they do in the first place. Our studios had become efficient places to work, but they no longer felt magnetic.
“The beer fridge was always full, it was a dark time (unless you were a beer)”
-Anonymous Team Member
It prompted an important period of reflection for our leaders and studio leads. We have spent years designing workplaces for clients around productivity, staff retention and brand identity, but what did that mean for us? How could we create an environment people genuinely wanted to be part of?
The answer was 100% not a return-to-office mandate. It was figuring out how to design for presence rather than attendance.
Through conversations with our people, we identified three things to test, noting this would be process, not a solution.
The first was emotional presence, not just physical presence. We wanted to support the curiosity, social connection and shared contribution that make creative practice unique. That meant creating an office that encourages informal collaboration, passive observation, spontaneous conversations, and yes, even space for a giant lolly jar. Sometimes culture is built through surprisingly small moments and chocolate.
The second was user experience. We stopped thinking about our studios as purely operational spaces and started thinking about them as experiences. The workplace journey matters, from arrival, to focus, to collaboration and social connection. Across our studios, this led to significant reconfiguration to better support different ways of working and interacting throughout the day.
The third was ensuring our spaces reflected our own culture and craft philosophy. We wanted evidence of making. Spaces that reveal process, experimentation and personality, not just polished outcomes. Our studios needed to feel lived-in, creative and distinctly Ignite. We also introduced more social and creative events that allow people to engage with their work, and each other, in different ways.
These changes have helped reinforce the value of presence, both socially and professionally. Our studios now feel like great places to be, not simply functional places to work. Tauranga City Council has strengthened this further for us through provision of choice; the Cameron Rd Cycleway, the bus network improvements, the new Devonport Road Carpark and the Hamilton St ‘integrated’ Public Carpark and Private Hospital all contribute.
Importantly, our teams are still hybrid. Flexibility remains critical, and arguably our studios are only as successful as they are because people retain autonomy over how they work. The goal was never to force attendance. It was to create environments, experiences and culture that people actively choose to be part of.
About the Authour
Ignite Architects are an award-winning architectural practice with more than 30 years of experience delivering innovative design solutions across New Zealand and Australia.
With a team of 140 architects, designers, and technicians working from six studios, they create impactful spaces across a wide range of sectors, including commercial, education, healthcare, hospitality, residential, and civic projects.
Guided by empathy, curiosity, collaboration, and smart design thinking, Ignite Architects are committed to delivering exceptional outcomes that balance creativity, functionality, and commercial value.
