Vision of a redesigned head office

Our new offices are located on the sixth floor of a building in Sainte-Thérèse, where meeting rooms are shared with the building community. Our design team took advantage of this shared space to reduce its square footage requirements and devote more space to team members.

Throughout the creative process, our vision for DKA's new headquarters remained the same: to create a space that promotes harmonious coexistence and encourages interaction. The notion of comfort quickly became a predominant element of the design.

A shared living space

Upon entering, rather than facing a conventional reception desk, the space opens onto a panoramic view of Montreal and the surrounding area, then leads to a large kitchen. Conducive to meetings and exchanges, this common area invites users to socialize and chat informally throughout the day. Its versatility allows it to host a variety of activities that enrich daily social life: all-staff meetings, team lunches, board game nights, meetings with suppliers, etc. Rather than maximizing the number of workstations, we have freed up enough space to create areas encouraging convivial interactions between colleagues.

The main circulation is organized around a central core that includes bathrooms, changing rooms, and access points, freeing up the periphery for the various workspaces - a thoughtful layout thanks to which everyone can enjoy outside views.

Optimal comfort and flexibility of use

The traditional open-plan office, a typical layout for offices, has been redesigned here to ensure acoustic, thermal, and lighting comfort. A large storage wall, located in the northern part of the central corridor, separates the workshops from the rest of the open space, creating areas that can be closed off to provide a more intimate and flexible atmosphere. The remaining open area is subdivided by narrowings that separate the south and west workshops, ensuring their acoustic comfort. Thermal comfort has also been taken into account by optimizing natural lighting, moving workstations away from direct sunlight, and controlling heat effects near curtain walls.

All closed offices are sized to accommodate a variety of uses and scenarios, with no fixed workstation assignments, allowing each employee to use them according to their needs. This organization promotes a dynamic where each team member can choose the work environment that suits them best. Flexibility is reflected in the variety of workspaces: open or closed workshops, adjustable workstations, with or without a view, for teams or individuals.

Residential inspiration

Natural-colored materials, residential-inspired furniture, plants, and access to a full kitchen reinforce the friendly atmosphere and evoke the comfort of home. The layout reflects the company's spirit of togetherness, promoting a warm and human-scale environment conducive to professional and personal exchanges.

We have designed an optimal working environment that combines efficiency and comfort, where it is pleasant to collaborate on a daily basis. Thanks to this approach, we have established a judicious balance between professional requirements and the well-being of our team.

Award

2025 Architizer A+Awards Special Mention Architecture +Workspace