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Rising 44 storeys on the northwest corner of Yonge and Adelaide Streets in Toronto's Financial Core stands Brookfield Properties' Bay Adelaide Centre East. Largely completed in late 2015 with finishing touches completed earlier this year, tenants have begun moving into the 980,000 square-foot office tower throughout the past couple of months. The main tenant Deloitte, one of the world's leading professional service firms, occupies the first 16 storeys. To celebrate their opening, they hosted a tour of the podium floors earlier today, with members of UrbanToronto in attendance.
Deloitte's offices here have been designed by London, England-based Arney Fender Katsalidis (AFK), and to begin the tour, attendees were first taken to the sixth (and highest) floor of the podium and introduced to "The Greenhouse", which as the name implies, smells like and slightly resembles a greenhouse, with its distinct theme informing the whole space.
The Greenhouse then leads straight into the Discovery Zone, providing employees a space where they can engage with work-related topics, allow creative thinking, and which doubles as a safe environment to meet with clients. One common element throughout the podium particularly in evidence here is the provision of a variety of furniture that is creative, fun, engaging, and which shifts away from the traditional office style of cubicles and private offices. The photo below shows a collaborative workspace, with large touchscreen monitors, various furniture styles, and which has the option to be subdivided into two separate rooms.
Heading to down to the fifth floor, perhaps the most notable feature throughout the podium's atrium is AFK's green floating staircase. Beginning at the sixth floor, the staircase floats above the atrium at each floor, until it reaches its destination on the second floor.
A common theme articulated by Deloitte is having a work-life balance with a high happiness level. In order for that to happen, the podium consists of many accessible features that can accommodate to the employees' lifestyles. As the tour progresses down to the fifth and fourth floors, this theme becomes quite clear: employees have the option to have adjustable desks so as to stand if need be, jump on the treadmill while doing some work, or go into a phone booth to take a personal call.
Throughout the podium, there are different graphics that add to the enrichment, visual stimulation, and overall landscape of each floor. Designed by Entro Communications, the elevator lobbies are treated with wooden panels, while artwork can be seen on glass doors throughout the podium.
Each floor also has their own colour-themed café, complete with double ovens, and booths along the wall for employees to sit down and enjoy their meal.
Stepping into the fourth floor, one room that stands out is the D411 room. Laid out similar to that of an Apple Store, this space has been referred to as the concierge room. Employees can go to this room for dry cleaning, fix any electronic devices, and even book flights.
Moving along on the fourth floor, the tour is lead into the Recharge Centre, also known as the Wellness Centre. This area is designed to enable all elements of wellbeing, including prayer rooms, massage therapy rooms, and even the option to book appointments with practitioners.
Sequentially, the overarching idea is to let the employees be themselves. Just down the hallway is the meditation lounge, along with two separate workout studios; one smaller studio located by the quiet centre, tailored for soft workouts, while the larger studio contains workout equipment, with the option of having a personal trainer.
As the floating staircase takes the tour back down to the ground floor, the procession continues into the new Bistro that fronts onto Yonge and Adelaide St. Closed to the public, the Bistro provides employees, clients, and Deloitte guests the option of dining for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
To find previous articles or view renderings of the Bay Adelaide Centre, click on links or the dataBase file below. If you would like to join in on the conversation, check out our associated Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
| Related Companies: | Adamson Associates Architects, entro, Entuitive, LRI Engineering Inc., Multiplex, Trillium Architectural Products, Walters Group, WZMH Architects |
