This article was originally shared by the Committee for Melbourne.
Welcome to another edition of Fast Five – our series where we ask Victoria’s most influential and exceptional business leaders five questions to get a behind-the-scenes look at some of Australia’s most dynamic businesses.
Cachet Group designs and delivers bespoke commercial interiors, offering tailored strategy, interior design, project management and construction delivery services throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
In this edition, we spoke to Mark Turek, Managing Director at Cachet Group. With over 25 years’ experience across strategy, design and build in Australia and New Zealand, Mark leads teams to deliver practical, high-performing commercial fit-outs for major clients including Aussie Broadband, ANZ and Ford.
1. Cachet describes itself as a full life-cycle partner – design, construct and care. What’s the biggest advantage for clients of having one team across all phases?
Continuity and simplicity.
When one team carries a project from strategy and design through construction and into post-handover care, the original intent doesn’t get lost in translation between phases. Decisions stay connected. Risks get identified earlier. Costs are tested against real delivery conditions rather than modelled in isolation.
But the deeper benefit is the quality of advice along the way. Our designers make better choices when they genuinely understand buildability. Our construction teams deliver better when they understand the operational goals behind the brief. And our Care service becomes far more meaningful when the team already knows why the space was created and how people are meant to use it – whether that’s a workplace in Sydney, a hospitality venue in Brisbane, or an industrial facility in Auckland.
For clients, that usually means fewer surprises on site, fewer gaps between phases, and a space that performs better after handover.
2. What are the latest trends in workplace design, and why?
The strongest shift we’re seeing is away from generic space and toward purposeful space – and it’s not limited to offices. We’re seeing the same pressure play out in hospitality, retail, health, and industrial environments too.
In the workplace specifically, hybrid work has fundamentally changed what the office needs to do. When people can work from home, the office must earn the commute. That means organisations are now planning around specific modes of work – focus, collaboration, learning, social connection – rather than rows of desks.
Alongside that, there’s a stronger hospitality influence in how commercial spaces are being conceived. Better amenities, more intuitive technology, and environments that feel considered rather than just functional.
The third theme is adaptability. Clients want spaces that can absorb change, like team growth, new technology, shifting attendance patterns. That’s one of the reasons our Care platform exists: a fitout shouldn’t be a one-time delivery. A space will evolve and clients need a partner who’s still there when it does.
3. How are clients balancing competing pressures – cost, sustainability, employee experience, and brand – when making decisions about space?
The most effective clients stop treating those as separate conversations. Cost still matters enormously. But the question has shifted from “what’s the cheapest solution” to “what gives us the best long-term value.”
What we see in practice is clients being more selective about where they invest. The elements people feel every day – lighting, acoustics, air quality, the arrival experience – get prioritised. Areas that add cost without improving performance get simplified. The same logic applies to sustainability: more organisations are choosing retrofit, refurbishment and circular material because they reduce embodied carbon and often make stronger financial sense than a full strip-out and replacement.
Brand is also being handled with more discipline. Fewer superficial gestures, more focus on creating spaces that reflect how a business actually works and what it values. We’ve delivered spaces for some of the world’s most recognised brands, and the ones that land best focus on making the values of the organisation legible in the way the space functions.
None of this is easy to balance, but it becomes much more manageable when priorities are set clearly at the start. When clients know what the space genuinely needs to achieve, decisions get faster and more consistent.
4. Sustainability and wellbeing are increasingly linked to space. What are the practical, high-impact choices organisations can make – even on a tight budget – to improve outcomes?
Start with the things people notice every day – that’s where you get the most return.
Lighting quality makes an enormous difference. Acoustics is consistently one of the weakest-rated aspects of commercial spaces, and one of the most fixable – panels, soft finishes, thoughtful zoning, a proper quiet room can materially improve focus and reduce fatigue without a massive spend.
Choice of setting matters too. Even modest spaces perform better when people can move between a focus point, a small meeting room, and an informal collaboration zone.
Reuse where possible, prioritise fresh air and thermal comfort, and make wellbeing visible in the way the space functions – better end-of-trip facilities, a calmer breakout area, a layout that reduces daily friction. We use a virtual tool called 3DXP to help clients test these decisions before anything is built, which means more confidence in the outcome and fewer costly changes later.
Small operational improvements often land harder than expensive feature items.
5. Looking ahead 12 to 24 months, what’s your prediction for the commercial property and workplace landscape – and what should leaders be doing now to prepare?
I think we’ll continue to see a real shift toward quality over quantity, and much more deliberate decision-making around space.
The best-performing environments will keep attracting investment because organisations are still prioritising talent, culture, and efficiency. At the same time, there’s going to be more pressure on secondary space to reposition. It’s not just about filling area anymore. Both landlords and tenants are being asked to demonstrate how a space performs.
We’re already seeing that come through in the landlord conversations we’re having. It’s part of the reason we built 3DXP, to help owners and agents show what a space could be before committing to a fitout.
Alongside that, we’ve been growing our services across both sides. On the tenant side, that includes workplace strategy and stay vs go scenario planning. On the landlord side, it’s capital works planning and pre-lease digital marketing solutions, helping assets compete earlier in the cycle.
A few themes feel particularly strong right now. More selective investment in quality across all asset classes. A shift in how real estate is measured, moving away from pure occupancy and toward experience and engagement. And a deeper integration of technology into how people use space day to day.
In terms of what leaders should be doing now, it starts with being clear on what their space needs to do. Understanding how it’s being used, not just how it was intended. Then prioritising upgrades that improve performance, not just appearance, and making decisions with a longer-term view.
The organisations that will do well are the ones that treat space as a genuine business tool, and partner with people who are still there well beyond handover.
You can view the original Committee for Melbourne article here.
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