Office Snapshots » Canada

Quick Look: Astral Media’s New Offices

Stephen Searer — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:00:38 +0000

Astral is a leading Canadian media company, reaching people through a combination of highly targeted media properties in television, radio, out-of-home advertising, and digital media.

Their Montreal offices were recently redone by lemay associés. Enjoy!

Check out Contemporist for all of the pics and info.

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HudBay Minerals Inc. Offices

Stephen Searer — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 14:00:20 +0000

HudBay Minerals is a Canadian mining company focused on the discovery, production and marketing of base and precious metals. With the economy in the dump and gold and other minerals at record levels, I wish I were them. Also, this is our first multi-national mineral company office submission.

In their new LEED Silver headquarters, HudBay Minerals decided to integrate some of their trade into the office by mounting pure zinc ingots, stamped with the company logo on the wall adjacent the elevator. As with many of the design companies we’ve seen, showing clients and potential customers something your company has produced can be a wonderful asset in the office.

“The design was inspired by images from the company’s extensive photo library, ranging from the mining of the raw materials to the smelting processes and the finished products. Over the years, these processes have been carefully documented, producing an archive of stunning photographs that evoke the work of Ed Burtynsky and Jesse Bolles.

The ceiling is composed of panels of recycled spun aluminum, whose open cells allow light from above to filter through. This also evokes the netting that wraps the ceilings of the mines.

Stepping into the reception area, a dramatic view of the skyline of Toronto is framed on one side by three freestanding stone walls that define a large meeting room, and on the other by a commissioned installation by Toronto artist Dennis Lin. The walls are comprised of rough split face stone, inspired by a HudBay photo of vertical cliffs that have been hewn from the rock, while the art piece of copper and walnut evokes both the strata of the earth and the sinuous line of copper as it is poured into moulds in the company’s foundries. Suspended above the seating area, a custom sized “Mercury” light fixture from Artemide by Ross Lovegrove evokes droplets of molten metal.

A rich burned orange colour is used for both fabrics and back painted glass at coffee stations. This was inspired by the colour of molten copper. In place of a more traditional corporate art programme, Taylor Smyth collaborated with Darren Alexander, an art curator, to select actual photos from the HudBay archives, which have been blown up and line the walls of the building’s core.

The concrete structure of the base building has been left exposed, broken up by expanses of acoustic wood ceiling. Offices and workstations are fabricated of teak panels and glass.”

Design – Taylor Smyth Architects | Photography - Ben Rahn/A-Frame

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alsoKNOWNas Offices

Stephen Searer — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 13:00:58 +0000

“The alsoKNOWNas concept is built around bringing together a small collective of talented designers and creative types in a one-of-a-kind workspace that encourages creativity, collaboration, ongoing learning. The AKA studio space is a foundation … a meeting place, a place to share ideas and get feedback, a place to grow your creative perspective and hang out with likeminded
people and ultimately a place that people want to come to work everyday and do amazing work.”

As far we’re concerned, the office looks great with its wooden floors and brick walls. Elegant track lighting spans the length of the space, which highlights the workspaces and wall art wonderfully. The office’s furniture has a very eclectic look. Some Ikea, some old chairs, Eames-style leather seating, a great wooden meeting table, and some good-looking workstation desks. AKA is located in Vancouver, BC.

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Groupe PCMS Offices

Stephen Searer — Fri, 27 May 2011 13:00:14 +0000

Groupe PCMS, located in beautiful Montreal, Quebec, is a company that “designs and integrates custom software solutions for human resources management. Created in 1997, the group’s reputation developed around our software expertise in managing absenteeism.”

The office is pretty straight forward with a bullpen area where most of the employees call home. The company has invested in some nice perks for employees like an espresso machine and pool table. Sometimes, spaces look so clean and modern that they seem sterile and difficult to work in. Groupe PCMS has a nice environment overall that is both easy on the eyes and comfortable to work in. It will be interesting to see what design direction the company will go when they outgrow this space.

Photography by Philippe Lacombe

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Teehan+Lax Offices

Stephen Searer — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 13:00:22 +0000

Teehan+Lax is an interactive design agency in Toronto that focuses on user experience design and digital marketing. Some of their clients include: Virgin Mobile Canada, Bell, Air Miles, John Hancock, and The Toronto Star.

The offices are located in Liberty Village and are quite superb. They were designed by Roy Banse Design. As you can see, the space is very expansive, with many workstations for the company’s employee base. Desks are arranged in several configurations located throughout the space, and presumably house different teams or departments. Employee workstations are fairly standard for the creative industry, though these actually offer storage, something it seems most creative offices leave out.

The common areas and conference spaces are amazing. The large couch ‘U’ is a very unique element that gives people a nice space for informal brainstorming meetings without the formality of a tabled conference space. However, their enclosed conference space is a wonderful space and focal point for the entrance.

The office also have a great feel to it. Exposed brick of differing shades as well as large wooden beams that are mixed with less organic and more modern elements provide some visual stimulus. The lighting, especially the halo fixtures add a nice touch as well.

(click images to enlarge)

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