A couple of recent articles on www.architectureau.com highlighted architecture’s role in bringing people together to create meaningful, culturally relevant new places. One promoted the theme of “Community Design” which has been chosen for this September’s Sydney Design Week 2025. The other was a thought-provoking interview by Simona Falvo with Lina Ghotmeh, the founding principal of Lina Ghotmeh Architecture. Among several worthwhile and interesting points, she commented that

“Any project starts with caring, really caring; caring about the client, the team, the result, the users, the land and caring about the world.”

This human-centred, collaborative and caring approach to design is surely not just important in the creation of new buildings. It is equally important to the interior design of new buildings, the retrofitting of existing buildings and on a smaller scale, to the creation of a new space where a change of use is required.

Improving corporate office environments

Over the last few years there has been a focus on improving corporate office environments with the aim of encouraging more staff to work regularly together in the office rather than remotely.

Architects and designers have been taking time and putting in effort to observe how people work and use their existing workspace and engage with them to discover and invent new, sustainable and flexible layouts which will better support collaboration and increase both wellbeing and productivity throughout a diverse team. This new environment will need to fully accommodate all its current and potential employees. The nature and culture of the enterprise will obviously affect the design, but certain aspects will apply to most: There will be a requirement for ergonomic workstations, a brightly lit and easy to clean canteen, a layout which is accessible to differently abled staff, and healthy heating and cooling systems.

Multi-faith room

Open-plan workspaces undoubtedly help employees to work better together, but there is also a need for a quiet space. Depending on the amount of room available, this may need to be a flexible design which can be easily adapted for a variety of work related uses, such as private client meetings and staff appraisals, as well as other purposes more connected to the wellbeing of the workforce, for example quiet contemplation, calm relaxation, study or prayer. Where space allows in a commercial building, creating a specific multi-faith wellbeing room can contribute to making everyone feel part of their office community, and make a significant difference to their daily working life.

The requirements for a multi-faith prayer room will be varied, dependent on the religious beliefs of those involved. Involving all potential users of the space in the design process, whether they are of any particular faith or none, fosters mutual understanding and respect and helps all employees to feel welcome, regardless of their background or beliefs. For more information on multi-faith room provision in the workplace download WuduMate’s guide 'Diversity Matters'.

Pre-prayer ablution

Appropriate washing facilities should be provided by employers, as most religions value cleanliness with some practising ritual washing before prayer or mealtimes.

The WuduMate Classic is central to WuduMate's range of footbaths and accessories for the Muslim pre-prayer ablution ritual of wudu. This model enables the safe, hygienic, comfortable, and dignified performance of wudu and, like every WuduMate model, can be configured with some level of accessibility for disabled users. The Classic started life as The Commercial in 2008. This product design, while innovative, was just the beginning of the development of today's CSA (Canadian Standards Association) certified Classic, whose design improves the user's experience through its great attention to ergonomic detail.

No less attention was paid to the Pillar Tap (Square), also CSA certified, which, when installed with the Classic, has the spout in exactly the right position and at the right angle to minimise splashing. This means that the floor remains dry and therefore safe, and that grey water is not splashed back onto the person performing wudu, invalidating the wudu ritual.

Find out more about WuduMate products on their Barbour Product Search page