Emily Chapman Laing
Twenty-three years after their doors opened, disability support network Blairlogie has welcomed the addition of a new, sorely needed office space to their Cranbourne South site.
The official ribbon cutting ceremony took place on Wednesday 28 June, with Blairlogie board members Ken Scott and Carol Pollard doing the honours.
The introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme in 2013 saw a boom in the number of people seeking support from Blairlogie’s services.
“Blairlogie experienced massive growth under the NDIS and the building that was opened in 2000 was, to say the least too small for us,” Blairlogie CEO Carolyn Carr said.
“I am not exaggerating when I tell you that, as we needed to grow our administration team to meet the requirements of the NDIS we were looking at any space that we could convert into an office.
Anywhere that could fit a desk and chair was considered.”
The team resorted to converting a first aid room into an office, a bathroom into an office, bringing in portables and turning single offices into two person offices.
“When we employed someone on a part time basis we needed to roster them to work on days where there was a spare desk,” Ms Carr said.
“We pioneered work from home arrangements way before they were part of a pandemic order.
“For a long time many of our staff worked under, well let’s just say, less than ideal conditions.”
The team considered leasing office space off-site to house some of the administrative staff, but the tought was “quickly abandoned” as the team didn’t feel an off-site space would align with their community values.
“Having one office allows us to be nimble in our decision making, it allows us to collaborate in a unique way,” Ms Carr said.
“It allows us to look out the window – or better yet, wander the grounds and see firsthand why we are here, we can interact with our staff and clients so very easily, we can adapt immediately when we need to.
“This building project was born out of necessity for more space, but it was also born out of an unwavering commitment to maintain that unique sense of community and unity and an absolute resolve to uphold what we know is special about Blairlogie.”
The team at Blairlogie engaged with MSM Architects, with a very clear design in mind for their new space.
“We wanted the built environment to reflect our organisational values of integrity, respect, engagement and innovation,” Ms Carr said.
“We wanted it to reflect how we aim to make people feel when they engage with our organisation – welcome.”
In 2019, the initial design briefs were agreed upon, but by 2020 the pandemic had brought the plans to a standstill.
“It didn’t take long, however, for the Blairlogie fortitude and resolve to shine through,” Ms Carr said.
“We had a planning permit by 31 March 2021 and by August 2021 the project was issued for tender.”
Harris HMC were awarded the contract and took possession of the site on 21 February 2022.
Just over a year later, the project was completed.
Ms Carr said the story of Blairlogie is centred on people.
“It is the people that make Blairlogie, it is the 208 people that choose to work at Blairlogie, it is the 330 people with a disability that we support across our services, it is the families and carers of those 330 people that trust us to support their loved ones,” she said.
“We are incredibly lucky to have so many people that love what we do here and want to support us.”
