The Social Hub is a prototypical fit out that crosses the borders between tertiary education and commercial practice by containing boutique law firms with academia through a series of innovative and flexible spaces. Intended in part to provide a degree of baseline learning for the future, it was delivered against the background of a challenging program, dilapidated existing shell, and careful stakeholder consultation. The design is a hybrid of adaptive reuse (the existing sweeping stair welcoming entrants to the building is celebrated), ‘cheap wins’ (that present a quality belaying their cost), and precise new work, creative a tapestry of parts that mirrors the building’s philosophy.