1 Atlantic Ave.

For the past 10-15 years, Kearns Mancini Architects has leased space in Liberty Village. Originally the location was selected for its affordable rents, proximity to transit and ongoing transformation into one of the most desirable neighbourhood’s to work in. As of 2008, Kearns Mancini had grown and an opportunity arose to lease the adjacent space which increased the office space by 50%.

As of 2008, Kearns Mancini had grown in number and an opportunity arose to lease the adjacent space which increased the office by 50%. The design and renovations proved challenging yet surmountable. Kearns Mancini was both the Architects and client. With many stakeholders came many opinions and the original space had become a fragmented, utilitarian space. Architecture offices are by nature a very collaborative environment; however the office layout had organically grown to orient all the desks against the wall, facing the wrong direction. The renovations proved an opportunity to redesign the space and turn the space 180 degrees. The renovated space is now a collaborative open workspace where employees interact and at times hotdesk.

A division of functional spaces was created by creating various working environments. The largest area is an open workspace environment directly adjacent to the collaborative meeting space which is immediately accessible to all employees and visitors. Two additional work environments exist with the inboard semi-private meeting space and an intimate small collaboration space adjacent to the product library that provides double duty as the communal kitchen. A separate private management space ensures the most sensitive firm information is protected in a separate glazed office with a view to the outside through one of the conference spaces.

As the Architect the possibilities within the space were endless, as the client the budget was finite. Kearns Mancini prioritized the needs of Kearns Mancini leveraging the strong relationship with vendors to realize cost savings utilizing systems furniture and consumer sourced high density filing solutions. A somewhat neutral space and colour palette was chosen to appeal to anyone of Kearns Mancini’s clients without applying a specific aesthetic. The design is a clean industrial and collaborative environment providing plenty of daylight and fresh air to furthest workstations from the windows.