Design 2020/21 | Page 53

house ” feel . In this space , the arcitecture is allowed to do the “ heavy lifting ,” communicating trust and well-being and allowing a reduction of actual signage . The quality of natural materials and proportions frame the brand elements , raising their value .
Located in a designated historical downtown building that was once Kitchener ’ s original 1869 City Hall , it was important that the design keep historical context in mind . The architect envisioned a pair of lovers having arranged to rendezvous downtown when a sudden late summer downpour made for a very wet dash . Right at the moment of encounter , soaking wet , they glance at a storefront and set foot inside , saved and dry , They find themselve inside the lobby of a fine establishment with friendly people offering hot cocoa and drying towels . The design explored the depth and width as becoming a conceptual “ sottoportego ” - an alley tunneling under buildings , from which the rendezvousing lovers might seek shelter .
The branch is composed of three primary spaces : Lobby , “ ponte ” Banking Bridge and “ quadra ” Working Square . All of the functions customers expect with banking are in place except relationships with staff and space have been reinvented , tuned back to the origins of banking , a social instrument . The Working Square needed to also function as private offices while maintaining visibility amongst one another . A fully suspended folding glass partition system that did not require floor track and guides that collect dirt was deployed to house private offices with excellent acoustic attenuation . The Working Square is also a gesture of efficiency
customers may be familiar with , similar to the open concept home with the kitchen , living and dining blending into one space .
For the new Libro branch , construction costs were not necessarily lower due to the smaller branch space . In a smaller space , fit , finish and material take center stage , often requiring a higher level of quality than in larger spaces . Sadly , no project is without budget constraints . Unique Douglas Fir end grain wood tiles in the Working Square and Vermont soapstone for the Banking Bridge were exchanged with reputable substitutions . The structural steel framing is an active assembly and solid quarter sawn White Oak infill between the flanges , capturing an elusive flitch beam , managed to find its way to reality .
thinkform . ca I 1.226.476.1428 I 881 Queens Blvd , Kitchener , Ontario , N2M 1A8