Sue Wittenoom

The Soft Build was established in 2015 by Sue Wittenoom as a specialist consultancy that helps organisations use buildings as platforms for renewal and reinvention.  Sue is a registered architect with an MBA and three decades of experience with Lend Lease, DEGW and AECOM’s Strategy+ practice.  The common thread through her work as an architect, a project manager and an advisor is design for change.

Sue works for clients who have building projects that need to be new and different, using both the briefing process and the built environment to shape new ways of living, working and learning.  She collaborates with project managers and architects to provide specialist planning and briefing inputs for consultant teams. And she works directly with client project leaders on engagement, communications and change frameworks.

“Sue’s work is so much more than planning, briefing and change. I’ve known her since we worked together at Lend Lease when DEGW first landed in Australia. She’s always been a rich source of knowledge for any project, curating the best research and information on global trends and then combining this insight with strategic thinking to work with project leaders to deliver change.” Debra Berkhout

Sue has been involved in projects in all Australian states and the ACT. The case studies included here describe how her core capability of workplace strategy and change has shaped projects across different sectors:

For Woolworths , the new Bella Vista workspace pilot was about aligning an online platform in the cloud with the human potential of greater informal working at home and proving that the new model could scale across the portfolio.

For Charles Sturt University, a building that’s going to host a new theological alliance needed to embody this collaboration and build key relationships from the outset.

For SBS each fitout project is about learning and experimenting at all scales from the desktop to organisational culture.

For Melbourne Business School , the Carlton Hub refurbishment was a shot over the bows of workplace strategy in an academic environment and a major rethink of informal social learning.

For the Tasmanian Department of Treasury and Finance, it’s been an ongoing relationship as a trusted advisor to navigate new ways of working – with the most recent challenge straddling the benchmarks of two centuries of office accommodation.

For Ku-ring-gai Council, the Lindfield Village Hub will anchor new kinds of community experiences and push Council operations to collaborate across functional silos.

“Sue’s experience comes from both workplace strategy and education master planning.  Stimulating workplace and learning environments aren’t created by chance, they come from a deep understanding of the organisation and a strategic approach to their spaces, functions, connections and desired outputs. Sue has a unique skill set which can explore and resolve many of  these elements well before a concept is contemplated. The Soft Build experience is like getting the right answers before you really know what all the questions should be.”

Warwick Smith, Director, Sandrick Project Directions