Office Conversion
Project Information
Type
Office Conversion
Location
Etobicoke, Toronto
Size
4300 ft2 / 400 m2
Date
2018
Contractor
Ripple Projects
Photos
Vanessa Guillen
Project Description
The consolidated concepts for our reinvention of a 1940s Etobicoke Warehouse into an Office Building. The introduction of Light, the celebration of the Existing Structure, and the occupation of the Flexible Open Plan with Functional Volumes overlap to establish the proposed Scheme.
Design Concept & Execution
Natural Light can breathe new life into an old structure. To transform an existing Warehouse and drastically change its use RUB introduced 12 new exterior windows for an Office Building’s second life. The strategy provided an abundance of natural light in heavy used areas so that the greatest number of workstations would have access.
What are the architectural possibilities when re-purposing an existing Warehouse? RUB decided to expose and celebrate the buildings existing 40 Foot Clear Span Structure. The steel beams and baring masonry columns read as a continuous sequence and provides a visual rhythm through the flexible open plan Office Building.
How can a Flexible Open Plan be organized for an Office Space?
To provide a distinction inside the repurposed Warehouse it was decided to isolate and enclose the required support spaces for acoustic and visual purposes. The new volumes occupy the center of the clear span structure and then define two working zones within the scheme.
