Fortune-500 Technology Offices
Public Architecture + Design Inc
Public Architecture a Vancouver-based design practice established in 2008, they focus on projects with social impact in affordable housing, education, childcare, and civic sectors. Working primarily in the public and non-profit sectors, PUBLIC is known for a collaborative and thoughtful approach to design that prioritizes sustainability, equity, and resilience.
A pressing need to double desk-count led this Fortune-500 technology company to leave their Yaletown loft for two floors of a downtown office tower. The new space offered little of the character of their previous location, but spatial analysis of their program and technical requirements developed into warm wood lofts. (Photos by Ema Peters)
The program consists of 190 workstations in open offices, with meeting and conference rooms and an ‘all-hands space that doubles as a communal dining room. Support facilities include a barista bar, a catering prep kitchen, and two convenience kitchens.
Public Architecture finds Rform beneficial because it streamlines the construction administration phase by centralizing logs and automating industry-standard paperwork into a single, cloud-based source. It also provides real-time financial tracking and a permanent audit trail, which helps to mitigate risk and maintain project transparency.
The two floors are low in the tower – levels four and five – but afford extended views to exterior ”city rooms’. In addition, two exterior decks are formed by the tower’s podium level. The smaller south deck shares an edge with and views to an adjacent YWCA roof garden, while the larger deck overlooks Burrard St to the north, opening off from a large all-hands space.
New wood-finished lofts form four large rooms with an open perimeter, which allows for free movement, and, in alignment with the company’s ethos of equality and accessibility, views are democratized, rather than reserved for private offices and conference rooms.
Away from the ordered work lofts, activity and noise is clustered in corners. While work lofts are quiet and introspective spaces for focused work, these corners are activated with meeting rooms, phone booths, washrooms and collaboration spaces.
The RForm Solution: A Strategic Partner for Seamless Administration
To meet the demands of this landmark project, Public Architecture turned to RForm Contract Administration Software. The platform was deployed as a strategic partner to streamline every aspect of project administration. By providing a single source of truth for all project documents from contracts and change orders to submittals and site instructions RForm eliminated the silos of information that often plague large-scale construction. (Photos by Ema Peters)
The perimeter form of Bentall 5 is idiosyncratic, but its core is ordered and logical. Activity and noise is clustered in these idiosyncratic corners, while work lofts are quiet and introspective spaces for focused work.
Wood ceiling and wall study model. Seating niche at coffee bar. Wood ceilings fold down to wrap the tower’s core and define workstation lofts. Work loft and interconnecting stairs.
Inspired by the Yukon’s Natural and Cultural Canvas
Design mockup of wood ceiling and wall slats. The materials speak to Vancouver’s coastal forest environment. Douglas fir plank wall cladding at the building’s core weaves into a ceiling slat canopy. At the perimeter, ceilings peel back to expose the tower’s concrete structure, maximising natural light and demarcating circulation. Corners are activated with meeting rooms, phone booths, washrooms and collaboration spaces.
Design Trends
- Activity-Based Workspaces: Moving from traditional layouts to flexible zones for focus, collaboration, and social interaction.
- Integration of Nature & Light: A general emphasis on well-being, often seen in tech offices, using color and strategic space planning.
- Adaptive Reuse: Repurposing existing structures (like Bentall 5) to meet modern demands, as shown in the Fortune 500 project.
Focus on Public Space: The firm’s name reflects a commitment to integrating public elements and user experience, even in private commercial spaces, creating environments that support diverse work styles