Super Good Commercial Office Design

The ongoing Toronto Design Offsite Festival (and upcoming Toronto Interior Design Show) has me thinking about interiors. In the commercial office especially, the subject represents a fascinating intersection of creativity and productivity and I'm sorry to have missed an opportunity to tour some of the coolest design studios in Toronto. Contributing to the celebration of architecture, today we look outward from Toronto toward some of the best, most comfortable, sustainable offices in the world. The thread connecting them all is the expertise of Burohappold Engineering (who I have absolutely no connection to whatsoever, other than my pattern of highlighting excellent architecture).

The first building we visit is the Q22 in Warsaw designed by Architect Kurylowicz and Associates. Management consultants Deloitte – a company I have always liked but has little connection to the architectural field – show excellent design taste, or at least a smart brand strategy, by choosing to locate their Polish headquarters in Q22. The interiors of their office show the excellent potential of the interior spaces. All building services were super-charged to provide world-class efficiency, including waste water and elevators, to achieve a BREEAM rating of excellence. A nice touch was the use of triple-glazed glass in the project, a feature I've called out for before on the blog, and therefore deserves credit here.  

The next example is the dramatic new Emerson College building sitting on Sunset Blvd. where they hope it will become a permanent home for their internship program. If I didn't already know Emerson College was a film school there is scant info available about what internship programs are offered here. Certainly not animal husbandry. The form of this building is as extreme as it is creative and no doubt caused the structural engineers some head scratching at points. Beyond being notable for winning many awards the year it was completed (2016) there was quite a lot of energy modelling, both solar and thermal, which informed the designed. And again, because the form is so unconventional, so too is the challenge of modelling it.

A photo posted by Morphosis Architects (@morphosisarchitects) on Nov 16, 2016 at 7:26pm PST

The ambitious architects of the above project, Morphosis Architects, also have a cute connection to Burohappold Engineering in that they were consulted when the firm opened a new studio in Culver City, CA. From the images it looks like a great place to work and I'm always somewhat surprised when other companies don't take such a proactive approach to the health and happiness of their workers. Lots of fresh air and sunlight flood the interior but it's all been executed with great care to limit drafts and annoying high-contrast areas of sunlight throughout the day.

This leads us to Burohappold Engineering's own self-designed offices in L.A. (800 Wilshire Boulevard) which, while perhaps being slightly less ambitious than some of the designs they contribute to, nonetheless shows a strong commitment to the health, wellness and social equity issues the firm represents. The space was also granted a Sustainable Innovation Award in 2016 which recognizes facilities in L.A. that develop and push sustainable design without necessarily strictly adhering to the standardized LEED checklist. While high-profile design might not be available, or even a goal, to everyone, making inviting, comfortable, and healthy work spaces is achievable for any firm.