Client: J.L. Richards & Associates Limited
Location: Ottawa, Ontario
Size: 3716.1216 m2 (40,000 ft2)
JLR undertook integrated multidisciplinary feasibility, design, tendering, and construction support services to consolidate JLR’s three existing Ottawa offices to two floors at 343 Preston Street. Rather than building an entirely new office, JLR decided to retrofit an existing office space to fulfill our business needs. With the COVID-19 pandemic requiring us to embrace a hybrid working model, we decided to create a progressive and technologically integrated office space that adapts to new challenges presented by the post-COVID working reality. By retrofitting the office, we were able to revitalize carbon-intensive materials already in place and reduce the environmental impact associated with new construction.
JLR’s new office was designed to incorporate an activity-based/hybrid work model that requires less area and creates a community of spatial neighbourhoods that maximize access to daylight for all users. Plants are integrated into the design of common spaces to connect interior spaces with the building’s exterior. The new office is an open concept floorplan design with a staircase connecting floors nine and 10. This design created an unbroken, interconnected, and dynamic work environment that supports JLR’s transition to a hybrid working model while allowing our employees to collaborate more freely and efficiently. The workspace fit up was designed with the diversity and inclusion of the JLR team in mind. With activity-based working, an easily navigable floor plan, and quiet focus rooms, we created an accessible office that is accommodating to a wide variety of mobility challenges and neurodivergences.
We are proud to have been able to create an office that adapts to the realities of post-pandemic flexible work, fosters collaboration, and supports employees with disabilities. Our new office shows JLR’s ability to adapt to a changing world and develop modern solutions for modern challenges.
Read the full article here: J.L. Richards’ employees pay homage to decades of work with a new, sustainable space – Ottawa Business Journal (obj.ca)
