Forward Thinking Design is a member of ASOFIA (Australian Shop and Office Fitting Industry Association).  Two of our staff recently attended an ASOFIA meeting at which Greg Smith, Westfield General Manager National Shop Openings spoke about the GFC experience and Westfield's plans for 2010.  It was interesting to hear that despite the global financial crisis, the average national fitout cost of new shops was around $145K and the average cost of upgrades was around $60K.  The majority of retail tenancies are under 100sqm so it's fair to assume one should set a new fitout budget of at least $1000-$2000 per square metre for a Westfield centre tenancy (or like).  Certainly, the Westfield Sydney City Project promises to be highly impressive in terms of it's quality of presentation and so we would expect strict design standards and serious budgets to be the order of the day alongside ground breaking design solutions.

We were also invited to the Westfield Sydney City presentation held to launch the project to the fitout industry.  One of the stand-out features of the development is the use of full-height glass outer walls to perimeter tenancies which will provide a challenging and exciting opportunity to any designer as they look to maximise the impact of an almost 360 degree viewable space.  The effect from street level should be particularly marvellous when the stores are internally illuminated at night.  The level of transparency promises to be remarkable.  Further information on the development can be found at www.westfield.com.au/sydney/retailer-delivery