Surmesur

Distinctions

Discipline : Interior Design

Categories : Office / Office: Small & Medium (≤ 1,860 m² / ≤ 20,000 sq ft) : Silver certification

The renovation of Surmesur's new offices was built around one idea: make the case for coming in. A space that reflects the company's values and gives people a reason to be there in person.

The building had good bones. The existing architecture, defined largely by its exposed ceiling structure, was worth keeping and worth showing. So the approach was to work with it rather than over it. Most of what was already there stayed: closed offices, work furniture, fixed millwork, the staircase down to the ground floor. What could be recovered was recovered. What could be transformed was transformed.

At the centre of the first floor, arched glazed sections with a sliding door create a clear separation between the two levels, handling acoustics and visual distinction without closing off the space.

Within that existing framework, individual and collaborative workspaces were rethought to give each team room to settle in on their own terms. Common areas were redesigned for flexibility, built to hold both weekly check-ins and larger gatherings. The original vaults, left over from the building's life as a bank, were put back to work: storage on most floors, and on the third, a tucked-away speakeasy for informal meetings.

The furniture, sourced from various places around the world, carries the personality of the clients and the company. The more precise nod to Surmesur's core business comes through the decorative curtains, made from fabric supplied by the very first textile partner that helped the company get started. The textures, colours, and patterns of bespoke suiting run through the curtains, the wall colours, the furniture choices, and the lighting, a thread that connects the space back to where the company began.

The project in images