A slap shot away from Rogers Place arena, in the heart of Edmonton’s transformational ICE district, the interior design team at DIALOG has created a new workplace for Oilers Entertainment Group (OEG); one that reflects the brand’s evolution from a sports-centric business to an entertainment and hospitality focused group.
When OEG quadrupled in size, DIALOG was brought on board to create an environment to encourage synergy and drive progress within a new 60,000 sq. ft. space. Global workplace trends show companies benefit immensely from multifunctional, multidimensional, and organic workspaces. The team built on this idea; taking executives out of corner offices and placing staff at the centre of the action, the designers moved 80% of employees to open workstations. Teams and managers collaborate in diverse departmental zones and all open workstations float at the perimeter of the space, enjoying an abundance of natural light.
At the core of the environment, Center-Ice is the social hub of OEG. Here, a reception area greets guests when they arrive and doubles as a flexible events space; providing generous seating, a service bar for coffee and food, and multiple meeting rooms, allowing for multiple uses and seating requirements – from casual to formal, small to large.
To encourage both closed-door productivity and open-concept collaboration within OEG’s space, the interiors team used sound absorbing materials and careful placement of a gym, restroom, and coffee station amenities. The result: collaborative spaces that are distraction-free and which offer a variety of active, contemplative areas to work together or independently.
Major themes within the space are a nod toward the sports arena: bank tiered seating, staff lockers, and the centre-ice zone reinforce OEG’s focus in a way that is elegant and not at all gimmicky. The materials palette is also inspired by hockey, and features netting motifs, lit glazed signage, curved corners, ice fractal carpet tile, and textural wood accents designed to the exact thickness of hockey sticks.
In Edmonton, the business of hockey is as sophisticated as it is serious. Capturing the spirit of a rowdy hockey arena and its iconic team within a corporate workplace interior was an enjoyable challenge for DIALOG’s interiors team.
