A complete commercial office tenancy fitout in Melbourne's CBD required tenancy partitions, suspended grid ceilings, feature bulkheads at reception and meeting zones, and Level 4 flushing throughout — delivered within a six-week programme window including after-hours access constraints imposed by the building management.
Fitout Brief
The tenant — a professional services firm relocating from suburban premises — required an open-plan work area with enclosed meeting rooms, a reception zone with feature bulkhead and integrated lighting, and a boardroom with enhanced acoustic privacy. The base building provided a concrete soffit and column grid; all interior definition was achieved through Aikon Interior's partition and ceiling scope.
Building management restricted noisy works to after-hours and weekend windows, compressing the effective installation programme. Aikon Interior sequenced framing and board fixing during permitted hours and scheduled flushing and sanding operations within the approved time slots to avoid tenant complaints from other building occupants.
Scope Breakdown
- Steel stud partitions for meeting rooms and boardroom
- Acoustic-rated boardroom walls with enhanced insulation
- Exposed grid suspended ceiling across open-plan area
- Feature plasterboard bulkhead at reception with lighting integration
- Perimeter shadow line detailing at window zones
- Services cut-outs coordinated with mechanical and electrical trades
- Level 4 flush and sand ready for tenant's paint contractor
Feature Bulkhead Execution
The reception bulkhead was the architectural focal point of the tenancy — a lowered plasterboard ceiling zone with recessed LED strip lighting, shadow-line perimeter detailing and a transition to the higher open-plan ceiling beyond. Bulkhead construction required coordination with the lighting contractor's shop drawings, the joinery installer who fitted the reception desk below, and the painter who applied a feature colour within the bulkhead zone.
Aikon Interior constructed the bulkhead from steel framing with multiple planes and recessed channels. Set-out was verified with laser level against the lighting layout before any board was fixed. The finished bulkhead achieved the architect's shadow-line tolerances without remedial work — a result that depended on framing accuracy rather than filler compound compensation.
After-Hours Programme Management
CBD building management imposed strict noise restrictions: no hammer drilling, sanding or cutting during business hours (7:00 AM – 6:00 PM weekdays). Aikon Interior restructured the programme into permitted work windows — framing and board fixing during approved hours, flushing and sanding restricted to after-hours and weekend slots. This constraint added approximately 15% to the programme duration but was unavoidable given building rules.
We communicated the adjusted programme to the head contractor at mobilisation with a revised daily output schedule. Noisy works were completed within the first three weeks; the final week focused on flushing, sanding and touch-up during permitted hours. The tenancy was handed over on the lease commencement date without extension.
1,800 m²
Complete tenancy fitout including open-plan work area, three meeting rooms, boardroom and reception zone with feature bulkhead.
6-Week Programme
Delivered within the lease commencement deadline despite after-hours access restrictions imposed by building management.
Minimal Paint Rectification
Level 4 flush quality across all surfaces reduced the tenant's paint contractor rectification scope compared to their previous fitout.
Project Gallery
Outcome: Tenancy handed over on the lease commencement date. The tenant's project manager noted that lining quality — particularly bulkhead finish and grid ceiling alignment — required minimal paint rectification compared to their previous fitout with a different subcontractor.
Tenancy Layout & Partition Schedule
The 1,800 m² tenancy was configured as approximately 70% open-plan work area with three enclosed meeting rooms, one boardroom and a reception zone at the entry. Partition types varied by acoustic requirement: standard non-loadbearing partitions for meeting rooms, enhanced acoustic assemblies for the boardroom (specified Rw rating for confidential discussions), and half-height partitions at the reception zone interfacing with feature bulkhead construction above.
| Zone | Partition / Ceiling Type | Key Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Open-plan work area | Exposed grid ceiling, perimeter shadow line | Grid alignment with lighting layout, services integration |
| Meeting rooms (×3) | Full-height steel stud partitions | Door hardware coordination, switch locations |
| Boardroom | Acoustic-rated partition assembly | Specified Rw rating, perimeter sealant |
| Reception | Feature bulkhead, half-height partition | Shadow-line tolerance, LED channel integration |
Handover & Defect Closure
Commercial tenancy handover requires lining surfaces to be paint-ready, grid ceilings aligned and complete, and bulkhead finishes free from visible defects under the tenant's nominated lighting conditions. Aikon Interior attended the joint inspection with the head contractor and tenant representative, closing six minor touch-up items within 24 hours of the inspection walk-through. No structural or compliance items were identified in our scope.