Top Canadian interior design firm Bartlett & Associates Ltd. has won another award. The latest, a First Place in the Large Commercial category from the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), is for the DraftFCB agency. It is the second major award for the project coming after an ARIDO award and a finalist position for the World Interiors News competition earlier this year.
“We love the space: the way it’s designed affects every aspect of our business and the increase in energy was literally overnight,” says Robin Heisey, chief creative officer of DraftFCB. “When people arrive for an interview they get an instantaneous impression of energy, light, openness and professionalism. There’s a lot of meaning in the way this design operates.”
Heisely adds, “The space talks about our brand in a very positive way — innovative, modern, open — and that’s an impression you get immediately. The reputation on the street is that we have one of the nicest spaces in the industry. People are seeing our space and talking about it.”
Bartlett & Associates created a dramatic solution that incorporated principal elements of a turn-of-the-20th-century converted warehouse with historical roots as a lightbulb factory. The design works so well because it respected the substantial scale and pillar and beam construction of the existing space.
DraftFCB, a global advertising powerhouse, wanted a transformation from an office-dominated culture with 90 private offices to an energetic open-plan environment to encourage teamwork, collaboration and a sense of corporate community. In the final iteration, there are 15 private offices plus a number of multifunction spaces including open breakouts with serpentine sofas, a mezzanine, and the market square café area.
“It is our critical thinking on a project that most differentiates us,” says Inger Bartlett, president of Bartlett & Associates. “For DraftFCB, this meant interpreting the industrial quality of the loft space. Everything has a purpose and people move through the space very well.”
ABOUT BARTLETT & ASSOCIATES LTD.
Bartlett & Associates Ltd. has a strong body of work dating back 30 years. Specializing in corporate and residential interiors, their projects have included Saatchi & Saatchi, FUEL, Rivet, Vale Inco, George Weston, Marsh Canada, Magna, UBS, Royal Bank, Brownes Bistro and others. For information, visit bartlettdesign.com.