LJ Hooker Design Award

Words by Ryan Ellem June 20 2018 

A Lower North Shore real estate agency has won acclaim from the design fraternity for an architectural vision that has set a new benchmark for customer experience.

LJ Hooker Willoughby | Artarmon has won Silver in the Commercial category of the prestigious 2018 Sydney Design Awards for the design of their office on Mowbray Road, Willoughby.

The panel of judges – whom come from the spectrum of design and creative disciplines – recognised the office’s bold approach to making their workplace feel like a ‘luxury home’.

In their judgment, the panel acknowledged the space where the ‘boardroom feels more like a dining room, (and) the meeting room appears more like a lounge room with an elevated sense of luxury flowing through to the workspace’.

LJ Hooker Willoughby | Artarmon Principal John McManus said: “I wanted the office to be a physical representation of the experience customers expect from the real estate process".

“When people are selling, buying or investing, they’re making what can be lifechanging decisions and expect a level of service commensurate with their commitment.

“That level of service should extend from their first phone enquiry or attendance at an open for inspection right through to any meetings in our office.

“Vendors welcome us into their home, and we strode to create an agency that reciprocated that privilege.

“We therefore needed to create a workplace that was comparable with many of the prestige properties we market and manage. It’s less like stepping in to negotiate a deal and more like an extension of the Lower North Shore’s character.”

Mr McManus said the setting also enhanced the diligence and commitment of his team.

“Your approach to work is a by-product of your setting, so when you’re working in an innovative environment, it undoubtedly influences your own standards.”

LJ Hooker Willoughby | Artarmon engaged Prospace Australia to develop the concept, with OP Projects and Cordony Design materialising the vision. 

LJ Hooker Chairman L Janusz Hooker congratulated Mr McManus and his team on the workspace.

“It’s a game-changing design outcome which meets the expectations of the savvy, modern day real estate customer,” he said.

“In every state we have agency experiences which have turned preconceptions of the real estate shopfront on its head. LJ Hooker Willoughby | Artarmon is a prime example of our brand leading the transformation of the real estate experience.”