Univeris Corporate HQ

A cutting edge wealth management company providing services to the Canadian financial and banking sectors required a new and larger head office space located in downtown Toronto.

The new premises are located in a 12,000 sf existing post and beam timber constructed loft-type space. The requirement of the renovation was the demolition of the existing interior and a design that highlighted the newly found splendor in exposing the existing structure, wood roof decking and original windows. The design intent was to accentuate and reveal the existing old historical elements of the building in a contemporary and minimalist way. 

The ante-room or space adjacent to the elevator was created as a nebula, the office logo, by using long, continuous, horizontal, curved steel bars enclosing the space to the rest of the office. This nebula provides security but allows for view through the steel bars to the rest of the large office space. Space is layered and made transparent through the arrangement of materials while maintaining privacy by using translucent glass. The office was designed to allow for efficient use of space while providing large open areas for privacy between workstations. By minimizing the number of closed private offices, workstations areas are comfortably placed adjacent to the large exterior windows. The meeting rooms and closed offices are sandblasted glazed wood framed screens.
 

press + awards

Award of Merit, New Workplaces, Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario (ARIDO), 2006

Lofty Ambitions
Erin Donnelly, Canadian Interiors, Cover & Editorial Feature, Sept/Oct 2005