New offices for the City of Vancouver’s engineering department are located within the Cross Roads Mixed-Use development situated at the intersection of two major commercial thoroughfares. The offices provide a progressive workplace environment for staff while presenting a message of leadership in sustainability to the public.
A prudent use of space and budget was adhered to with 370 occupants occupying five floors (65,000 square feet). The space consists of forty seven meeting rooms, a lunch room, and nine individual office spaces.
Reception and meeting areas on all floors provide clear site lines to staff work areas and beyond to surrounding city views. Space organization allows views and daylight for all staff, enabling a culture of collaboration and connectivity. Offices are situated along the core of the building. Clear glazing and low furniture panels maximize visibility of colleagues and the city they serve.
The aesthetic direction of the project originates from the business of the client – developer of infrastructure for the city. Black corrugated steel provides a durable finish around the core space and represents the industrial nature of the underground network of services the department is responsible for. Communal and public spaces take cues from visible aspects of their business including traffic lights, pylons and blue boxes for recycling.
Flexible, multi-purpose support spaces are designed to enable spontaneous teaming. This reinforces a collaborative culture within limited space. Kitchens transform into generous staff lounges; encouraging chance meetings by being placed within close proximity to the elevator lobby and main stair. In the main boardroom, all tables are modular and can be easily reconfigured to adapt the room for training, presentations or social events. The main boardroom is also configured to be used as a lunchroom.
Energy use is minimized through day light harvesting, integration of task lighting and the use of motion sensors. All furniture and materials are specified to minimize VOC’s. The reception desk is reused from the client’s original space with a new recycled glass surface, locally produced. Reclaimed local wood is a key feature on the convenience stair and provides a forgiving and durable finish to this high traffic area. All new wood products meet FSC Standards. The green wall is integrated throughout the entire stair area, weaving a message of sustainable leadership throughout the interiors.
The project is LEED-CI Gold certified.
