This office renovation project represents a new studio location for the Toronto-based architecture firm RDHA. During the pandemic, the firm chose to give up its former leased studio space and purchase a building in the Queen West area of downtown Toronto. The scope of work included the complete transformation of the first two floors of the existing structure, creating approximately 400 m2 of space to accommodate 28 workstations, a boardroom, three small meeting rooms, a collaboration bar, a kitchen, three washrooms, a server room, a mechanical room, a sample storage area, a specifications and book library, and the opening up and restoration of the front façade.

The project provided an opportunity to develop and evolve RDHA’s design vocabulary of progressive yet economical details, which are used in many of the firm’s public projects, while applying these details to a small private sector office project. In this manner, the office is both an exercise in augmenting the business plan for the operation of the studio, and in parallel with this, the creation of a built example that showcase these details and design methodology at a small scale for comfort and productivity, while serving as a teaching tool for staff, consultants, and clients.

Material systems explored and integrated into this small office project include 4-way capless, SSG curtain wall; large scale glazed, exterior, phantom doors; minimally detailed structural glass walls; structural glass balustrades; curvilinear geometry studied through the development of a small structural steel feature stair; automated retractable fabric awnings; customized system furniture; 3D model creation and exhibition; current project image creation and exhibition; library shelving for design content and specifications; public collaboration space solid surface millwork; industrial rack shelving for product material samples; use of minimal, dimmable led lighting throughout; use of suspended globe lighting within small street side atrium space; design of hidden storage millwork throughout; use of custom ceramic frit patterns of glass; use of structural glass door hardware throughout; use of preferred emergency systems products throughout; and the design and integration of interior and exterior sliding door hardware for increased spatial efficiency.

Further to this, the design solution embraces the current paradigm shift in the way that people work post-pandemic. This includes the acceptance and encouragement of remote working for 50% of each week. This shift allowed the studio environment to effectively double the number of staff workstations and increase the amount of shared amenity space. This fact was a major driving force behind making the decision to reduce our footprint and purchase a building.