Crew Offices and Café Located in the old Royal Bank space on St-Jacques street in Old Montreal, the Crew offices is a project defined by a 12,000 office area for a tech start-up which would also include a café for freelance workers as well as for the public. The project presented two distinct design challenges:The first design challenge originated from the client’s requirements- how to elaborate an architectural relationship and construct boundaries between the various program functions. The second challengebecame a deeper questioning on how to approach design in the context of a heritage building.

The complexity of the program required fluidity between the various work spaces. Part of the floor area was to be designated for permanent Crew employees, and was to contain conferences rooms as well as other office standards. Other areas were to be rented to freelance workers either by the month or by the week. These workers were to have access to conference rooms as well.Lastly, temporary workers or the public could also use the café and the desks for a few hours, having Wi-Fi access, and lockers for their computers as required. This environment was meant to create a flow and possible interactions between permanent and temporary workers, nurturing co-working in the tech community. The design was meant to facilitate this flow by creating transparent and translucent borders between the various officespaces. A complex series of glass walls were erected between the various areas, with a defined access to reflect the degree of permanency for each worker group. The existing bank teller stands dating back from the old Royal Bank were not to be removed. As a consequence, they were used as a natural border between the café space and the conference rooms, which in turn created a separation between the more public spaces and the permanent workers.

The teller stands as well as the existing building shelloffered a great design opportunity, as a rich and textured background; a testimony to another era, which could thrive with a new function redefining its purpose. The 1926 building contained remarkably crafted elements: An inlay marble floor, an ornate painted plaster ceiling along with custom suspended brass light fixtures, as well as other brass elements including theteller stands. Confronted with this heritage ambiance, the design had to be carefully balanced to express, recycle, and respect the existing, as well as simultaneously allowing a contemporary discreet intervention reflecting the contemporary identity of the firm to exist. The new design integrated brass plated steel throughout, fixed to boxy minimal enclosures, in order to dialogue and contrast to the existing ornate brass elements. The conference rooms which were divided and compartmentalized with linear walls, covered withbrass plated steel, and enclosed with glass partitions and a horizontal plane of a ceiling, by coincidence, ended up relating to thepaper compartments within the existingfree standing standsdating back to the paper days, when deposits were inscribed with pen onto paper.

The new design remains a kind of secondary feature, allowing the original building to be the primary feature. It is only bybeing in the space for a certain amount of time that one can appreciate the new intervention.

When we first heard about the Crew project, we thought it was definitely the kind of project that would fit together with our expertise at De Gaspé. Crew's location is unique as it is an old bank from the 20’s. We were excited at the possibility of incorporating our more modern products into an environment with so much heritage. Moreover, we thought there was definitely a fit between Crew and De Gaspé as we are two young companies that are trying to innovate in their respective fields.

Crew's project mandate required tables for the startup office, the co-working space, the café, as well as some custom pieces. As a furniture brand that both design and manufactures, it was easy for us to accommodate to special requests like this. Most of the tables at Crew are based on our Allais model which has simple lines with sophisticated details. Throughout the planning, we adjusted the dimensions and worked with the architects to make it more office-friendly. We added steel boxes to each co-working table so that we could integrate lockers as well as a space to hide the power supplies.

When you visit Crew, you can definitely notice that strong craftsmanship was equally as important as the global architecture in the original construction of the building/space. This immense space has high ceilings and all the details from the bank teller desks. Henri Cleinge Architecte did a remarkable job in choosing designs and materials that maintain the heritage of the building while complimenting the space by adding a touch of modernity. Even though you can notice many different materials, it comes together and creates a unique and fitting atmosphere.

The chosen materials were oak and raw steel which go very well with the existing fixtures, giving the space a golden shininess. All our products are designed to be long-lasting because of their durable materials of solid wood and steel and their strong conceptions. We adjusted our materials depending on the intended use for the desks so there are a mix of furniture in solid wood and wood veneer. This balance enabled us to provide the best possible pieces of furniture depending on their use while remaining within a budget.

Just as the quality craftsmanship work at the Crew space has remained for almost a century, we are confident that our De Gaspé products will still be there for years to come.

Located in the Old Montreal district, over 12,000 square feet have been converted to a tech start up area including a cafe for freelance workers and the public. At the cafe meeting point, concrete innovators Atelier B have produced a concrete counter top with a span of over 4 meters and thickness of 5cm inches. The counter is dressed in ultra-high performance concrete panels in grey with a thickness of less than 2 cm.

The renovation of this building from 1926 contains remarkably crafted elements including an inlay marble floor, an ornate painted plaster ceiling along with suspended brass light fixtures.

The complexity of the program required fluidity between various spaces. The environment is meant to create flow and possible interactions between permanent and temporary workers, nurturing co-working within the tech community.

The new design integrates brass plated steel throughout, fixed to boxy minimal enclosures in order to dialogue and contrast with the existing ornate brass elements. Conference rooms are divided and compartmentalized with linear walls, covered with brass plated steel and enclosed with glass partitions and a horizontal plane of a ceiling. 

More from the Manufacturer:

For the Crew Collective project by Henri Cleinge we produced the counter with a span of 14 feet and a thickness of 2 inches. Concrete and technical recipe by AtelierB. The counter is dressed in our ultra-high performance concrete panels, grey, 3/4 inch thick. A score of panels were produced at the request of the architect, of varying size. The installation is carried out by AtelierB.