Commercial interior design project spotlight: HEABC’s Vancouver office

In the following case study, we dive deeper into one of our commercial interior design projects in Vancouver, to demonstrate how partnering with a firm like 34F Design can make your office design project quick, painless, and ultimately worthwhile.

In 2017, the Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC) was searching for interior design firms in Vancouver to create a brand-new office space in East Vancouver’s Renfrew Centre. Taking inspiration from the natural colours and sceneries of the west coast, the designers at 34F created a beautiful interior design fit for business in Vancouver.

Here, we share our strategy with HEABC to illustrate our unique approach to office interior design and give you some commercial interior design inspiration for your workspace.

Designing an office for collaboration and cohesion

HEABC is responsible for managing the human resource and labour relations interests of BC’s healthcare employers. It works closely with the Healthcare Benefits Trust, the Post-Secondary Employers' Association, and the BC Public School Employers' Association, under the provincial government.

In 2017, HEABC, along with its three affiliate organizations, leased a space in East Vancouver’s recently constructed Renfrew Centre. Previously, these businesses worked in separate locations throughout the city and were not positioned to work collaboratively.

Given their fragmented operation, the goal for this new space was to have all four organizations work together in a cohesive space, while still allowing for each company to have its own dedicated area.

Adopting an agile approach to the design process

When 34F Design was selected for this project, the Renfrew Centre had only recently been completed, which meant the team would design over a cold shell. With a tight budget and an even tighter eight-month project window, most interior design firms in Vancouver would have scoffed at the project, but 34F’s team welcomed the challenge.

The designers at 34F knew this project would require a great deal of velocity and resourcefulness. In order to complete the project in time, the team adopted an agile approach to the interior design process. This meant executing iteratively and coordinating with a wide range of professionals, including an architect, mechanical consultants, and structural engineers.

Our approach was to be highly adaptable to our client’s needs and all relevant code requirements, while also being strategic about every design choice. The team injected innovation and resourcefulness into every design choice, from using custom-built statement pieces to repurposing existing furniture.

Incorporating a west coast interior design concept

At 34F, we have a passion for helping our clients define and enhance their own unique style. Given their reach across the province of British Columbia, HEABC wanted their new commercial interior to have a look and feel distinctive of Canada’s west coast.

To execute this aesthetic concept, our designers thought of some of the experiences that define life here on the west coast. We envisioned trekking through temperate rainforest, swimming in a turquoise alpine lake, and strolling along the oceanfront at Stanley Park’s seawall. Through these indelible experiences, humans pick up on the organic patterns, colour tones and textures that intersect to create a lasting visual statement. Every small element that invoked this west coast appeal informed our design choices for this project.

Creating a functional office layout

Floor plans are a crucial tool for establishing the scale and proportion for any space. Deciding on a workable layout is probably the most fundamental aspect of the interior design process, particularly in an office environment.

For HEABC’s office space, we focused on ensuring the layout would allow for each organization to have a devoted zone, so certain teams could work adjacently. It was also critical for us to create spaces that could promote cross-functional collaboration – areas where staff from different brands could come together and form social bonds.

To do this, we zoned out specific meeting rooms by creating “neighbourhoods” in the office. It was important to incorporate local landmarks in these neighbourhoods to promote a sense of community and engagement when defining certain spaces within the office.

We were also able to incorporate this concept into smaller design elements later on, by layering real-life photos of local neighbourhoods onto glass partitions. This design choice had the added benefit of privacy, since the photographs prevented passersby from seeing potentially private documentation on the screens of each meeting room.

Guiding the eye through the office space

While space planning was an important first step, perhaps more important was ensuring a natural cohesion between these spaces, a sense of flow from room to room. Movement and rhythm are often neglected in the design process, but are nevertheless critical to ensuring every element of the space tells a story.

For HEABC’s office, we focused on keeping the eye roaming by providing areas of interest and curiosity, manipulating perspective, and introducing asymmetry to bring the space to life. One technique we used was installing vertical timber slats as a screen element throughout the space. This kept certain workspaces undisrupted by people walking by, while creating the three-dimensional, “peekaboo” visual effect that’s resonant of weaving through trees in a dense forest.

Maximizing natural light throughout the office

Since the perimeter of the Renfrew Building is glass, the space already had access to a great deal of natural light from all sides. The designers wanted to make sure this abundant light penetrated deeper into areas that weren’t window-adjacent, by using glass partitions to separate various spaces.

The designers also wanted to use light fixtures throughout the space to animate other elements of the room. In the building’s reception area, we used a slightly canted wood grain, pairing it against a sumptuous white quartz and the distinctive tree-like screening. The light fixtures selected were deliberately more delicate, to embody objects that would hover near a tree, such as birds’ nests or hanging fruit.

Evoking natural elements through colour and texture

When considering the colour palette for HEABC’s space, the designers thought of the rich hues of the west coast – chocolatey wood grains, lush evergreens, white snow-capped peaks, soothing ocean blues, and the greys of our often-overcast skies.

While many of the walls and ceilings were neutral, the flooring provided a unique opportunity to play with colour. Throughout the space, the carpet tiling moved from warmer, earthier tones into deeper blues, subtly emulating the soft rolling of ocean waves on a beach. In some communal areas, the designers created a kaleidoscopic floor pattern that interlaced the corporate elements from all four companies, emulating when natural elements like greenery, water, and sunlight all collide to create radiant visuals.

Choose an experienced commercial interior design business

By taking a fresh and thoughtful approach to fundamental design concepts, 34F’s team transformed a raw, vacant space into a functional and beautiful office for HEABC and its affiliates.

Tight budgets and time constraints are inevitable in any project, and can often make the design process seem unfeasible. But by partnering with an interior design business, you can get the office of your dreams from an experienced, dedicated team of design professionals.

As one of the premier interior design firms in Vancouver, we at 34F Design consider office interiors one of our specialties. Whether you’re moving into a brand-new space or renovating your existing office, our team of interior designers is here to help you through every step of the process.

Looking to spruce up your commercial space? Contact 34F Design for your next corporate interior design project.