Located in Montreal Canada, the Fédération des établissements d’enseignement privés (Federation of private educational institutions), (FEEP) has a redesigned building.
Dating back to 1960, the building offered spaces ill-suited to today’s professional needs. It therefore hoped to offer more collaborative spaces, to encourage meetings and sharing activities, and to improve the staff well-being at the workplace.
From the entrance the new reception is revealed, with the faceted reception counter becoming the main focal area of the space. Different rooms have been opened and annexed to the central corridors, providing more light in these different areas and promoting points of contact.
Reception: Reception waiting lounge and reception desk. Image credit: Maxime Brouillet
On the periphery, other areas have undergone major transformations. Satellite offices now offer unassigned workstations, adapting the workplace to the new reality of teleworking. Some previously individual rooms regroup several employees working in close collaboration. This new environmental space is now halfway between a traditional vision offering closed individual offices, and a contemporary vision mainly focused on open workstations in common spaces.
One of the major elements of this redesign is the transformation of the old library located in the heart of the building. This room, formerly dark and partitioned, has become a place bathed in natural light. Thanks to the abundant presence of glass walls, this area now bridges the two main corridors. Previously completely separated, employees are now able to meet in these places to discuss various subjects. This environment includes, among other things, two closed meeting rooms with varied capacities, as well as several open but intimate work areas. Each of these spaces offers separate furniture and equipment suitable for multiple tasks. Acoustic, textural and decorative, felt is used in several ways in the various rooms: seats and armchairs upholstery, wall covering and custom lighting. Central and diverse, this place now focuses on meetings, collaboration and on the comfort of employees.
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- Pigeon: The pigeonholes has elements of roasted cherrywood. Image credit: Maxime Brouillet
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- Hallway: The hallway of the Federation. Image credit: Maxime Brouillet
Initially benefitting from interesting interior architectural details, such as the presence of several walnut slat walls, these elements were initiators of the project transformation. The warm hues of the building’s cover have been highlighted and arranged with various shades of blue, the identity branded colour of the FEEP. This combination offers contrast and depth to the new spaces, while invigorating the premises. The warmth of the roasted cherrywood, favoured for its local provenance and its durability, perfectly matches the softness of the felt, making the places intimate and peaceful.
Giving the institution its unique character, various murals, wallpapers and signage elements have been custom-made and developed, incorporating existing graphic codes and facilitating visitors’ movements. These daring elements, sometimes coloured soberly and other times vibrantly, punctuate the space harmoniously and dynamically, while giving this new work environment its professional and elegant essence.
