In a busy part of the Verdun neighbourhood of Montreal two separate spaces formerly used for a Jiu Jitsu gym and beauty salon have now become a coworking space for Spacial. Designed by IVYSTUDIO, the flexible working environment for a total of 120 people features different sizes of rentable offices and a variety of shared common areas.
While over 8,000 square feet in size, the building footprint previously had little access to natural light as windows are situated in the front façade only. A solution was found by adding new glass brick openings in the staircase wall, resulting in two different front sections. Separated by an existing centre brick wall, the first section includes a reception desk with a working lounge and three conference rooms, along with a banquette and a series of lower sofas. The second space includes a kitchen, dining areas, and private booths for smaller groups.
Offices are condensed into a single core and placed in a central area behind the glass wall of the reception desk. A total of 20 skylights were added in the surrounding corridors, allowing in as much sunlight as possible. Coloured in a dark burgundy, the closed offices are made up of fixed and sliding glass panels. Along with the existing brick walls, sandstone floors and natural light from above, the resulting environment takes on the feeling of being an exterior courtyard.
At the building entrance, the reception counter is centre-stage with a colourful zinc-plated covering. On either side of the two open spaces, a large monolith is covered with the same zinc steel sheeting. Below the glass block openings is a long burgundy velvet banquette with a full length integrated planter. On the opposite side, the kitchen makes a similarly distinctive statement in colour with Rosso Levanto marble and mint green curved cabinetry. The rounded stainless steel island mimics the custom-designed chrome planters dispersed throughout the space.
Between the kitchen and office area are a series of private phone booths as well as individual washrooms. The entire sanitary block is treated as a single unit and is finished with 2x2 black ceramic tiles and matching plumbing fixtures. All additional furniture in the space is black, contrasting with the light grey terrazzo marble flooring.
In te conference rooms, televisions are mounted in front of matching circular black mirrors, each backlit to put forward the white-washed brick wall. Two similar baby blue mirrors are installed back to back on the dividing brick wall, creating a main focal point visible from all around.
