The new Medifab/Spex Christchurch head office represents a purposeful alignment between architecture, accessibility, and human centered design. Medifab’s brief was ambitious: to create the best possible workplace environment, one that would position them confidently on the international stage as a global leader in mobility design. Equally important was the need to support staff wellness, comfort, and efficiency, recognising that a healthy and empowered team is essential to the company’s ongoing success.
A two-story workplace with a mezzanine gallery, the building brings together manufacturing, engineering, and office functions under one roof, creating a unified environment that reflects the company’s mission: developing mobility solutions that enhance quality of life for people with specialised needs. Every aspect of the project was to be shaped by this ethos, ensuring the building not only supports operational efficiency but expresses the values at the heart of Medifab’s work.
Accessibility was a fundamental driver from the outset. With one staff member using a wheelchair, the need for an inclusive, barrier free environment was both practical and symbolic. It made sense to create a workplace that not only accommodated mobility needs but celebrated them, aligning the physical environment with the company’s mission and the people it serves. The workplace strategy informed both interior, and architecture. Early integration meant the building design was interior led.

Spex’s work centers on supporting people with unique mobility requirements, this became the conceptual anchor for the entire design strategy. Rather than treating accessibility as a technical requirement, we used it as the foundation for the design language, defined by softness and inclusivity. The spatial experience was shaped not only by functional needs but by empathy and dignity of users with diverse mobility challenges.
The idea of “comfort through form” became the core concept driving the interior environment. Rounded edges, flowing lines, padded acoustic treatments, and generous circulation routes. Gym, catered lunches, biophilic elements and flexible office for wellbeing.

The material palette reinforces this sense of warmth and care. Walnut timber, warm neutrals, and tactile finishes create a calm, grounded atmosphere, while accents of Spex red energise the collaborative and active zones including the custom sculptural feature wall we designed in the entry lobby. This features Heradesign wood wool acoustic panels painted in Spex brand colours and offset with LED silicone strip lighting giving depth and form. The Heradesign adds texture and functional acoustic absorption to the lobby. The tree motif represented growth, hope and new life. Custom printed timber grain Autex ceilings in the cafe, training and boardroom spaces were printed to match the Melteca.

By creating a workplace that supports staff wellbeing — through movement, nutrition, comfort, nature, and choice — the project also contributes to social sustainability. A healthy, supported workforce is a resilient one, and the building’s amenities reflect a long-term investment in their people. Accessibility shaped several design innovations: softened geometries to reduce impact risk, integrated acoustic padding for sensory comfort, circulation routes designed for manoeuvrability, and a spatial layout that mirrors the company’s product ethos. The project demonstrates how accessibility can elevate design rather than constrain it. Materials were customised and feature artworks designed by us

Sarah Langford – Principal Interior Creative – Interior Designer
Charlie Bishop – Euroclass – Director – Base Building design and Integrated Construction Base and Interior
Paul Parkes- Euroclass – Contracts Administrator – Base Building design and Integrated Construction Base and Interior
Simon Pullar – Saint Architecture – Architect base building
Heather Crilly – Prendos – Project Manager and QS
Tim Lee – Latitude Lighting – Lighting designer
Danny Chui – Electrical Engineer

01. Medifab Lobby is a welcoming arrival space. The sculptural feature wall, with its flowing natural forms and layered timber tones, sets the tone for the building’s design language. Its gentle curves echo the project’s focus on comfort and safety, reducing hard edges while creating a visually dynamic focal point. Three curving fronted meeting rooms with oversized frameless glass sliding doors enable easy access. The wheelchairs are displayed in the window in a lit display case that is visible from the outside.
02. The void over the ground floor lobby visually connects the floors.
03. Three curving fronted meeting rooms with oversized frameless glass sliding doors enable easy access. The wheelchairs are displayed in the window in a lit display case that is visible from the outside.
04. The staff cafe opens right up to a large training facility and serves as additional cafe/ function space.
05. The staff social hub is designed to incorporate a full commercial kitchen and designed with a range of seating options to enable small groups, larger groups and individuals who want some time out.
06. The Autex grid ceiling tiles were custom printed to match the Danish Walnut Melteca selected in the cabinetry.
07. Quiet spots and booths lead the way to the training space.
08. The workspace is designed as a hybrid mix of assigned and unassigned spaces. Its fully flexible and has many quiet focus areas and drop in style settings. The quieter spots towards the ends and edges, and noisier collaborative shared zones near the entry.
09. This setting near the top of the stairs and flanking the void is a co-working style space, with both seating and a shared high work bench for visitors to drop in and teams to meet around.
10. The meeting rooms are designed to feel comfy and generous. The upholstered wall at the TV end embodies the concept of softness while adding acoustic benefits. This room has a prime view out to the enormous factory.

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