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Flo
By : St-Joseph Design d'Espaces
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 16th edition
Discipline : Interior Design
Categories : Office / Office 5,400 - 54,000 sq.ft. (500 - 5 000 sq. m.) : Silver Certification
Categories : Special Awards / Acoustic : Bronze Certification
Categories : Special Awards / Interior Design + Colour
FLO
This project was designed to serve the growing needs of our client Flo.
Faced with rapid and exponential growth, the company is proceeding to expand its Quebec City business office.
Facing a return to work tinged by the new reality of telecommuting, our client opted for a non-assigned type of layout that prioritized numerous and versatile meeting rooms as well as spaces dedicated to employees and their well-being.
Referring to the company’s mission; Accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles by providing the best possible charging experience for our customers. the design is tinged with references related to urban living and car use.
The project is built around a central core designed to accommodate meeting rooms of all kinds. From duo booths to multi-purpose rooms, the idea is to provide employees with diversity so that they can judge the best work environment for the task at hand. As an example, the large room, dubbed the autobahn when it was designed, can be divided into three sub-rooms of 8-12 seats or opened to full width to accommodate 20-30 people depending on the configuration. The removable walls are covered with whiteboards and their acoustic properties serve the purpose. The folding tables on wheels come to confirm the will to create a versatile and adaptable room for different situations: brainstorming room, war room, training, 5 to 7, etc.
Inspired by the heart of big cities its meeting places are marked by light and dark colour contrasts and the floor coverings echo the asphalt. Marked by symbolic pedestrian crossings, places such as the coffee space, the lounge and the lockers are underlined and grafted onto the main circulations.
In the center of the core, the coffee space carves out a small place. With a muted atmosphere and an assumed logotype, this space creates a comfortable transitional place to meet as a subgroup.
Like urban parks, the open areas are thought to be intended for quiet, individual work uses, away from the bustle of the central core.
Near the windows and in a limpid atmosphere, the workstations benefit from all the brightness of the exterior windows. These simple spaces are punctuated with natural vegetation and the FLO blue touch. The main corridors are covered with a perforated metal ceiling in the company’s colours. This linear ceiling lines all the main corridors and also reminds us of the linearity of the signage.
Like a high-rise building, the space for senior management needs to rise above the fray to make informed decisions! Slightly out of the way, this area has a clear-cut atmosphere. The linearity and the play of light and dark are assertive and frank! A bit chicer, this space is conducive to intimate entertaining.
A well-kept secret of a big city, the lounge can remind us of that small bar accessible by the alley or even the VIP lounge of the airport! Tinted with its neon effect lights, its game table and flexible layout, allow this room to be used for multiple purposes. This playful area serves both permanent employees and occasional visitors from external sites. Thoughtfully designed to be versatile, the furniture is transformable and relocatable.
Finally, the simple, corporate-coloured signage creates the connecting thread that ties all the pieces together and echoes the different cities that benefit from FLO products!
ACOUSTICS
When acoustics want to be seen…! Our client was quite bold in accepting our proposal to incorporate crystallized foam walls into a few meeting rooms. As this product also has acoustic properties on its back, we were able to create large gestures that dress up the space. These vegetated walls become unusual focal points and they are 100% assumed!
On other occasions, the acoustics have been thought out in such a way as to make it almost imperceptible. Tone on tone, sometimes white, sometimes black, Ezobord acoustic panels dress the walls in strategic locations to maximize their effectiveness.
The project is punctuated here and there, always look forward to integrating it into the design as seamlessly as possible. Would you know how to find them?
Finally, we had a great time realizing our idea of an acoustic mural located in the lounge. This mural, composed of two layers of acoustic panels, lets the pictograms used by the company show through. The mural energizes the space and responds to the need to absorb ambient noise.
COLOUR
As you might have guessed, the FLO colour is blue. We desired to create clean, modern spaces. The strong contrasts of white and black accentuated by the linearity in the installation and the arrangement of materials come to create a strong contrast. On this canvas, we apply colour sparingly. The idea, is to play the line, the thread. Certain ceilings, lighting fixtures, signage and common areas are accented with corporate colours to create a dynamic environment. The colour was used as a tool to organize and zone the space. It delineates uses and directs the layout. As an example, the circulations, are clearly delineated and accentuated by the contrast of colour and material.
Collaboration
