A Venn diagram of connectivity.
‘The Link’, 2780 East Broadway, Vancouver
Creating a social service hub to satisfy the needs of three tenants is certainly a challenge, but one CTA was happy to take on.
The requirements of Westcoast Family Centres (WFC), the Pacific Community Resources Society (PCRS), and the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) form a Venn diagram with collaboration and accessibility at its centre. CTA kept this in mind while carrying out a seismic upgrade, roofing/window replacements, and an interior/exterior renovation of the second floor of a former industrial building. A welcoming environment was established through an abundance of natural light and the interior floral designs. By making a space that satisfies each tenant’s individual needs, while fostering professional integration between the three social service agencies, we ensured that The Link was not only a centre of dedicated service delivery, but also one of connectivity and improved resources.
Transit Facility Transformation
BC Rapid Transit Company (BCRTC) Operation and Maintenance Facility 2 (OMC2)
OMC 2’s interior renovation needs to provide a highly flexible, adaptable, and efficient space to meet the long-term vision and organizational growth of BCRTC. A staff-orientated and collaborative layout and welcoming work environment are essential to attracting young talent.
More emphasis is being placed on BCRTC’s professional training initiatives, which are provided to both internal staff and outside contractors. OMC 2 will potentially function as a Training Hub, as well as providing extra office capacity.
The challenge is optimizing space use for these purposes without over-densifying the design. The renovation incorporates clever furniture solutions, flexible integrated modular partitions, vibrant colours, and carefully coordinated environmental graphics. All of these elements present a strong company identity and showcase BCRTC as a state-of-the-art workplace equipped for future growth.
A Modern Operational Model
City of Vancouver Revenue Services Department Interior Fit Out
With the City Revenue Services having grown significantly over the years, the existing situation of having some staff located in another part of City Hall was no longer cutting it. The City wanted to accommodate all staff in one location to foster collaboration.
With the new premises being one of two areas in City Hall that have not been renovated in the past twenty years, the renovation required a significant amount of modernization. The new design includes new ergonomic desks, high acoustic performance meeting booths, open collaboration space, and a staff breakout room with audio visual capability. These design features support a new operational model that will improve the City’s efficiency, resulting in shorter waiting times for the public. The design also emphasizes the City’s strong identity and corporate pride.
A Service Refresh
Service BC, Chilliwack
The goal of this tenant improvement for Chilliwack Service BC was to provide a culturally inclusive facility and ensure the best possible user experience. Situated in a single storey leased premises, the building needed modernizing to provide a professional workplace with improved privacy, better staff safety/amenities, and, most importantly, increased operational efficiency.
The outcome is a fully refreshed interior with an increased number of service counters, enabling a higher staff count. The visitor seating area is designed to be more inviting with multiple settings replacing traditional rows of seating in order to satisfy the diverse clientele. The renovated facility has seen its services optimized and waiting time reduced, which is positive for both staff and clients.
Work in Style
City of Vancouver, Office Fit-out at 510 West Broadway, Vancouver
The future is here! When CTA was tasked with designing the newest workplace addition to the City of Vancouver, we knew we needed to pull out all the stops.
The amazing natural view of False Creek and the North Shore at the new location is combined with state-of-the-art tenant improvement features throughout the 5 levels. The design includes plug-and-play meeting pods, an open ceiling concept with a high-performance acoustic cloud ceiling, a 100% modular wall system, and AV technology integration with 250 plus standard and flex work points. The result is an innovative office space that meets the City’s highest workplace expectations and blends in with its West Broadway surroundings, looking functional and futuristic. The nature of the workplace is always evolving and we are happy to play a part in its transformation.
Colour this workspace inviting
Government of BC Accommodation, Office Fit-Out 1050 Pender Street, Vancouver
Imagine a work space that incorporates a casual coffee-shop feel with a creative business environment. We call it the “next office”.
This contemporary workplace was designed to embrace the concept of a well-integrated community and create a feeling of warmth and safety. 90% of the workplace can access both daylight and view. Studies have shown promoting walking and standing in the workplace improve health and productivity. So booth style meeting spaces and free standing huddle tables are used to great advantage.
Demountable glazed walls with stylized environmental graphics are used for enclosed rooms. Break out rooms have lots of visibility to discourage staff from hiding out in them. The overall take-away is a vibrant workplace which can be used to house different departments over the term of the lease. A variety of furniture groupings were provided in the collaboration hub and staff break room. To allow for formal or casual meetings, High quality, customizable furniture sets could be arranged to accommodate everything from blue sky sessions to video conferencing.
Seamless design
Government of BC Accommodation, Office Fit-out at 4000 Seymour Place, Victoria
The ask was an interior tenant fit-out of the Northwest Quadrant at the main level of premises leased by the Government of BC.
The new layout accommodated 50 new Workpoints and includes meeting rooms, quiet rooms, privacy rooms, enclosed offices, support space, collaborative spaces, a kitchenette and some open work stations. As part of the Client’s design criteria, the interior of the new space was designed to be a seamless transition from one tenant space to the next. The project includes enclosed offices, privacy rooms, quiet rooms and meeting rooms which are all constructed of demountable partitioning.
We employed generic planning and design at the project’s beginning and then modified during the construction to accommodate the specific.
Choose this port in a storm
Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Penticton District Office Relocation, Osoyoos Port of Entry
The lease on the old CBSA District Office at Penticton expired. So the office was being relocated to Osoyoos Port of Entry in the spring of 2018.
The District Office provides support for all ports in the entire district from BC to the Alberta border. Given this large mandate, flexibility for future growth and a stand-alone space separate from operations of the Port were key.
The newly designed office contains 10 work stations, 3 enclosed offices, storage, kitchenette, a meeting room, a quiet room, service space, a locker room, and male and female bathrooms. A universal washroom was also provided within the office space. Some new perimeter windows were added on the existing walls to offer a view towards the magnificent Okanagan landscape. And the already existing clerestory windows remain with an added open ceiling to allow light to flood in the main open office area.
Brainstorming in inspirational surroundings
Vancouver International Airport Link 2 Level 5 Operations & IT Office Tenant Improvements
This office renovation came with a special request. Could you make the Briefing Planning Room extra cool?
Consider it done.
The 1,100m2 office is located at the 5th floor of the Link Building at Vancouver International Airport. The space holds 2 major departments – the Operations Department and the IT Department. The Ops people were the ones with the “brain room” that held their blue sky sessions for their strategic planning meetings. We decked out the room with a highly flexible multi-media audio visual system and a movable display system to help with the inspiration.
They were inspired.