The Jean Canfield Government of Canada Building, designed by HOK in joint venture with Bergmark Guimond Hammarlund Jones in PEI, delivers on the federal government’s pledge to embrace new technologies, methodologies, partners, and means of delivering service to Canadians. Thoughtfully planned, the JC building has revitalized an underused neighbourhood, uses design to reflect the local flavour of the community, encourages employees and residents alike to use the space and sets the standard for environmentally-progressive government buildings.
The following video explores how the design team successfully met the federal government’s objectives of sustainability, supportive work environments, and connectivity, and highlights HOK’s integrated design approach to the project.
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Posting on behalf of Deborah Rutherford, Operations Leader for HOK in Canada’s Corporate Accounts Practice and President of ARIDO.
December 8th – Tsinghua University
Performer
We were at our second conference today out at Tsinghua University, one of the top schools in China. The Forum today was focused on corporate office space and in addition to us Canadian speakers, there were two from China who have worked in Corporate Real Estate groups for large corporations in this region. There were a mix of Asians and Caucasians at the conference, but there were a greater number of people that spoke English than in Shanghai. It was helpful at the break to have more people who spoke English that …
Posting on behalf of Deborah Rutherford, Operations Leader for HOK in Canada’s Corporate Accounts Practice and President of ARIDO.
December 7th – Embassy Visit & Forbidden City
The Opera House
Today we went to the embassy and met with the trade commissioners, Marc and Shirley, who gave us a presentation on business in China. They have never had an interior design delegation before, so they tailored it more to the construction industry and architecture consulting services. It’s only been about 10 years since you can buy property in China (not including the land which the state owns and leases to you), so people are not that familiar with ownership. Quality is an issue …
Posting on behalf of Deborah Rutherford, Operations Leader for HOK in Canada’s Corporate Accounts Practice and President of ARIDO.
December 6th – First Day in Beijing
Deborah, Theo + Ted
On our last day in Shanghai it was the clearest day we’ve seen; the heavy pollution seemed to be gone and there was little traffic as we left for the airport early in the morning. It was a sunny end to our four days in this vibrant city. Beijing is completely different with its wide boulevards and shorter buildings with very large footprints. It is like Washington and Shanghai is like New York. Luckily we’ve had wonderful service at the Grand Hyatt hotels in …
Posting on behalf of Deborah Rutherford, Operations Leader for HOK in Canada’s Corporate Accounts Practice and President of ARIDO.
December 5th – Final Day in Shanghai
Today we went from pristine public squares near the Science museum to jam packed streets full of overloaded bicycles and people. This contrast is what makes China such a unique place; however, everything is growing at such a rate that the local culture may be left behind or supplanted with western culture. We saw photos of Shanghai from only 15 years ago when the broadcast tower was only half constructed and all of Pudong was flat. Since then it is packed with new high-rise buildings, some of the …
Posting on behalf of Deborah Rutherford, Operations Leader for HOK in Canada’s Corporate Accounts Practice and President of ARIDO.
December 4th – Design Forum and PM Dinner in Shanghai
Today was packed from one end to the other. I had never practised the PowerPoint I prepared 2 months ago so I stayed up until after 1:00 AM last night figuring out what I was going to say. I was the first of seven speakers and gave a retrospective of Corporate Office Interior Design in North America over the past 50 years, along with a few thoughts of where we might be heading. The audience was designers from Asia as well as interior design …
Posting on behalf of Deborah Rutherford, Operations Leader for HOK in Canada’s Corporate Accounts Practice and President of ARIDO.
Old slaughterhouse
December 3rd – Introduction to Shanghai
Today was a day of contrasts. We saw a renovated cattle slaughterhouse originally built in 1933 which we could easily picture as the type of space we want to find for ARIDO’s new office. The complex has not been successful with most Chinese because of the connection to death, but there were some creative firms in the building, so maybe that will change. A glass floor has been inserted between two levels and a light and sound show for an event was being tested while we were strolling around. We …
For the second consecutive year, the Toronto studio participated in Habitat for Humanity’s Gingerbread Build. The design inspiration for this years house was the 2010 winter Olympics with a sprinkle of Dr. Seuss’ Who-ville.
The base is a sugar covered “Whistler” mountain with a competative skier making her way down the slalom course. At the finish line the Olympic mascots, including Quatchi the Sasquatch, Sumi the Thunderbird and Miga the Sea Bear, cheer her on! The house mimics a home from Who-ville painted in all 5 official Olympic colours and they’ve even included an Inukshuk marker at the top of the mountain to represent a guiding light for all our Canadian athletes!
GO CANADA GO!
All gingerbread houses will be auctioned …
Don Crichton, interiors practise leader in HOK’s Toronto studio, talks about the design for Warner Music Canada’s headquarters.
Warner Music Canada artist Alanis Morissette
Previous edition of ITDS: Mark Vogl
HOK has just been selected as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for 2009.
