Ashurst Canberra

Ashurst’s new Canberra office sets a benchmark for what a contemporary legal workplace can be.

Located in the CQ1 building, the 1,080-square-metre fitout was designed from the ground up to support an agile and hybrid working model – a departure from the traditional conventions of legal practice. Through workshops and detailed consultation with Linear, the Ashurst partners shaped a workplace built around flexibility, collaboration and genuine choice in how people work.

Most notably, there are no dedicated offices. Every work setting is shared, and the variety of spaces – from quiet focus areas and informal team zones to fully equipped video conferencing rooms – is designed to support different tasks and working styles equally. All meeting spaces carry exemplary acoustic properties, and enclosed individual settings offer space for focused solo work or close collaboration between two people. The practice has adopted a 70:30 ratio of workspaces to people, reflecting a considered and confident approach to flexible working.

The design palette is neutral and calm – sage green tones and strong limestone elements drawing a connection to the Canberra landscape and the limestone plains on which the city was built. Floor-to-ceiling glass façades frame the fitout throughout, offering uninterrupted views across to Parliament House and Lake Burley Griffin.

From a technical standpoint, the project also included the construction of SCEC-compliant facilities for sensitive material handling and a high-end IT facility built on site – a layer of complexity that was managed by Linear.

Project delivered in partnership with NDY, Slattery, FDC, Puzzle Partners and Grant Hobson Consulting.