Inspiration / Bond Brand Loyalty

ALL TOGETHER NOW
A NEW DOWNTOWN OFFICE
THAT TRANSLATES LOYALTY
INTO THE PHYSICAL SPACE

How does a marketing company that specializes in building loyalty for their customers, incite that same feeling in their corporate headquarters? This was the challenge for Figure3 Workplace Strategy Director Jillian Warren and Jamie Gruenwald, Senior Team Leader, who looked to translate the concept of “loyalty” into a physical space.

Originally based out of Mississauga, Bond Brand Loyalty, a company that focuses on customer centric growth, was looking for a new location that reflects the character and personality of their brand, coupled with the convenience of downtown Toronto. They found it on the 19th and 20th floors of 25 King Street in the heart of Toronto’s financial district, where historic stone gargoyles peer into the office from adjacent buildings and are surrounded by the energy of this urban location.

Designing the Bond Brand office presented various opportunities for innovation, as the space had to address not only the needs of today’s hybrid working environment, but also function as a highly collaborative backdrop to their unique client process. It was through an extensive journey mapping process, an exercise Bond Brand employs with their own clients, that Figure3 was able to determine the functionality of each unique area, and actualize a space that facilitates client connection, prioritizes flexibility, and inspires their own staff to head back into the office after a long period of working from home.

This mapping process also helped to determine the strategic location of meeting rooms, client spaces, and workspaces. There are similar offerings across both floors, which include a combination of flexible rooms and offices that aren’t dedicated to any one employee. Open deck ceilings and recurring slat walls throughout the space reinforce a freedom of mobility and transparency. Lighting is integrated into umbrella-like Arktura sound baffles and the furniture was selected to be as movable as possible to suit whatever function they might require of the space at any given time.

“The office is quite playful” states Warren when describing the design that Figure3 delivered to transform the two floors. “It feels comfortable for everyone and is incredibly flexible and conducive to social connection.”

As you enter the 20th floor, guests are greeted by an open reception desk and a neutral black and white palette with strategically positioned pops of colour providing the perfect inspiration for an engaged client session.

“As you move through the office, it unfolds for you,” says Warren. “Something exciting opens up at the end of the corridor and then you turn a corner and it’s something else entirely.”

The 20th floor social space features a café, with booth seating, mint tiled walls and harvest tables that provide a hospitality feel. The café is equipped with a servery that includes a fridge, sink and dishwasher all tucked behind a slatted wall, as well as audio visual capabilities to provide that multifunctional use.

This suits a post-Covid world completely
and it’s what our clients are asking for now.

The idea of bringing people back together
and collaborate in a much more flexible
environment: this ticks all the boxes.
/ Jillian Warren, Workplace Strategy Director

On the 19th floor, visitors encounter a collaborative space equipped with multimedia, soft seating and refreshments, perfect for entertaining clients.

“It’s a manifestation of the user experience for their clients” notes Warren. “This isn’t a traditional front and back of house design; as trust is built and the client relationship grows, they’ll move from being greeted at reception to walking through the corridors to the main engagement spaces.”

The idea of collaboration, and how loyalty evolves through this process was key to the design. Understanding how client relationships strengthen through Bond Brand’s process, Figure3 delivered a space that could unfold to support that progression.

“It’s building loyalty by relationship building. This office supports that and it’s a comfortable progression. Loyalty is in their name, but the user experience of their clients is foremost. That is what they’re always thinking about, and they couldn’t do this in their Mississauga building,” Warren explains. “To me, this suits a post-Covid world completely. It’s what our clients are asking for now. The idea of bringing people back to be together and collaborate in a much more flexible environment: this ticks all the boxes.”

LinkedIn0