New Zealand Commercial Design Trends Series NZ Commercial Design Trends Vol. 35/01C | Page 36

Project
Attraction Media
Location:
Montreal
Interior designer:
Imperatori Design
CREATIVE THINKING
New premises for a media and entertainment production company establish brand
identity through how its employees use and interact with the space rather than
through overt brand messaging
For many companies in today’s fast-paced,
ever-changing business world, the most effective
way to grow is often through acquisition. But when
a company is an amalgamation of several small
creative companies, how do you provide a uni-
fied work environment without employees feeling
they’re now just a cog in a large, structured office.
That was the challenge Montreal media and enter-
tainment company Attraction Media presented to
Imperatori Design for the design of its new facilities.
Attraction’s rapid acquisition-for-growth pro-
gramme had seen the company expand to 300
employees, divided into activity sectors across
three floors of an industrial building, with each
activity retaining its own corporate identity.
Imperatori senior designer Chantal Ladrie says
Attraction wanted to change that closed office
environment and move all staff to a single floor
space of 4925m 2 that still recognised the different
team activities while at the same time encouraging
interaction across the whole company.
“The plan is like a small city, with neighbourhoods
here and there that people can wander through and
meet others,” says Ladrie.
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Central to the city/neighbourhood layout was
the creation of a ‘downtown’ area to act as a focal
point for everyone.
This function is fulfilled by a large lounge com-
plete with a barista coffee station which employees,
clients and collaborators first encounter when they
walk into the premises. It’s a place for casual or
social meetings, an alternative workplace, or just
somewhere to relax.
A low stage at one end of the lounge means the
space can also be used for large events.
While departments such as finance and legal
have dedicated spaces in the fit-out, Ladrie says
offices in those areas have no doors and so still
reflect the open nature of the wider fit-out.
The rest of the space is designed to give maxi-
mum flexibility in the way it can be used.
“Because they are producers, the work pro-
gramme changes all the time – and the number of
people in the premises can vary greatly through
the year. Teams need to be able to assemble for
a project, and then the teams break up when it’s
complete and assemble somewhere else.
“But because this space is so big, we didn’t