Q4A Toronto Studio

Our work environment was designed for designers. Directly connected to public transportation, our brand-new studio is perched high above the West Don River, with sweeping views of the neighbouring tree canopy, golf course and Don Valley ravine.

Designed as a series of layers, there is a focus on collaboration spaces, technology, models making, photography, nature and projects. Our office was designed to maximize views, with an emphasis on daylight and staff well-being.

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Commercial & Retail

Q4A Toronto Studio

A two-time participant in Doors Open Toronto, Q4A’s studio is perched high above the West Don River, with sweeping views of the tree-canopy and Don Valley ravine. Our studio was designed as a series of layers, with the first welcoming visitors to our boardrooms and introducing the views.

Visitors and staff walk though the central collaboration spine, a flexible space intended to promote and encourage knowledge sharing. This area showcases material samples, floorplans, sketches and enables cross-studio conversation with our offices across Canada. Flanked by our ‘Wall of Knowledge’, that houses architectural artifacts and our design library.

Beyond is our open studio space, where more than 50 Architects and Designers work and learn together.

The studio was designed to maximize views to the outside, with an emphasis on daylight and the well-being of staff. Throughout the studio there is professional photography of our work, telling the story of how the work created in Yonge Street home radiates across the GTA and Canada.

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Key aspects of the space include:

Daylight & Views: This became a primary driving force of the design. The entire south zone of the studio was opened to permit our team to have full access to natural light during their workday. The existing sloped ceiling “pop-ups” were revealed & accentuated to add volume to the naturally lit space. The areas immediately flanking the windows were given as a shared amenity of lounge seats and tables for flexible works stations.

Knowledge Sharing: Also seen as a Collaboration Hub, Library Lounge or Event Gathering Area, this space was conceived as the heart of the office, with easy access from both the main staff work zone and reception/client areas. The space is equipped with technology & flexible furniture that allows it to host lectures &events and brainstorming sessions. It’s separation from the studio was intended to be permeable, with a physical structure (nicknamed the Wall of Knowledge) which accommodates the firm’s library, showcase prototypes.

Wall of Knowledge: This large custom-designed furniture piece implies a separation between the work and social zones, while permitting light to pass through and facilitating easy movement between the spaces. It is both a showcase of our previous work, and a fully functioning resource repository filled with reference books, media, and material samples.

Q4A Family space: A large boardroom was completely removed and reimagined as a fully open kitchen with group seating and lounge areas. The space opens to the adjacent Collaboration Hub. The adjacent movable sliding door allows the family zone to be private or more public, and host a bar, food service, etc. for larger events. The space also serves an area for us to “gather around the table”, share stories and enjoy breaks.

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To minimize new-materials, areas of existing embedded high-value construction such as stone floors, wood paneling, bulkheads, drywall ceilings, etc. were fully retained. The receptionist area was minimized, and the resulting space was given over to a visitor's gallery.

An existing large visitor seating area was enclosed as a multi-purpose meeting space. The existing curved wall and sliding door were retained so the door can be opened and used to provide a free-flowing connection between the reception and the Family Zone during public events in the space. Spaces which required little to no daylight, and which may be disruptive to ongoing work, such as the client presentation rooms, the prototyping lab, and various storage & service functions, were placed against the back wall of the studio.

Our main studio was designed with standing desks, ergonomic seating, maximized natural light, and access to the views. No workstations ever block views or impede flow. The work lighting is energy-efficient and designed to minimize glare. Although this is our main studio, the entire office was designed for a post pandemic world of hybrid work and connecting our other locations (Ottawa and Calgary) to this central creative hub. Cameras and microphones embedded into the central spine allow collaboration wherever someone is working from.

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