Inside the office of KPMB Architects, the firm behind the renovated Massey Hall

Inside the office of KPMB Architects, the firm behind the renovated Massey Hall

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In our Workspace series, BC presents interesting, intelligently designed and unique spaces across Canada. From innovative home offices to out-of-the-box co-working spaces and unconventional setups, like this beauty company that ran out of a rural farm and this carbon bike company. Located in a former auto body shop, we seek to showcase the most exclusive and beautiful spaces across all industries. This month we are profiling the Toronto office of KPMB Architects.

KPMB Architects had been operating out of the same 19th century industrial brick warehouse in Toronto’s entertainment district since 1987, occupying around 1,579 square meters over two floors. The firm has worked on high-profile projects across the continent, including renewal and the expansion of Massey Hall in Toronto and the Boston University Center for Computing and Data Sciences. But in 2018, the company received a notice that its office building was undergoing renovations; they had just under a year to find a new place, renovate it, and move on. Two of KPMB Architects’ partners, Paulo Rocha and Kevin Bridgman, were tasked with finding and co-designing a space where their staff of 110, including marketing departments and business development teams, could work, collaborate and generate ideas together.

After securing a lease on the entire 12th floor of the Globe and Mail Center in Toronto, which spans 2,322 square meters, Rocha and Bridgman mapped out a design that echoed the company’s own ethos for office interiors. Instead of executive offices hogging the main space along external glass walls, KPMB opts for a more equitable layout that places all employees at rows of open desks next to each other. “There’s nothing more hierarchical than private offices with all the windows,” Bridgman explains. “Everyone else gets very little light if the executives decide to leave the blinds closed.”

White oak hardwood was used for the flooring and walls of the office’s central meeting and meeting spaces, echoing the heritage feel of his previous office. “The warmth of the wooden beams and ceilings of our original workplace inspired us to bring a similar warmth to our new space,” says Rocha.

The firm also benefited from many updates from its previous office. They’ve grown from three meeting rooms to 12, including a boardroom with retractable glass walls that can accommodate large meetings and whole-team events like town halls. The old office did not have enough space for a dining room, but the new space has become a natural meeting point for staff to gather for coffee and lunch. KPMB’s lunch lounge features black and blue leather armchairs from HAY’s About A Lounge armchair series, a 14-foot island topped with SapienStone porcelain, and oak wood communal tables by Andreu World.

Since then, the company has grown to 155 people with a hybrid work model where staff work in person three days a week. Here’s a look inside.

A photo of the entrance hallway to the KPMB office in Toronto
As staff and visitors step down from the elevator, they are greeted by a reception area with unobstructed views of the city on both sides of the building. The paths that start at the reception also serve as central “avenues” for walking from one end of the office to the other.
A photo of rows of desks by windows in the KPMB office
Rather than shove executive offices against glass walls, Rocha and Bridgman keep this space open to foot traffic, making it easy for staff to move around. “Keeping an open perimeter around the office allowed us to ensure that panoramic views of the surrounding city and Lake Ontario are truly accessible to everyone,” says Bridgman.
A photo of the wooden dining room in the KPMB office
The former KPMB office did not have space for a dining room. But here, staff can host lunchtime chats to share the project they’re working on. It is also a place to screen important events, such as the FIFA World Cup. Shelves display architecture magazines and books for the staff to peruse during their lunch break.
A photo of a dark private meeting room with a wooden table in the interior
Most of the office’s 12 meeting rooms are equipped with screens for video calls to collaborate with teammates working from home and with clients in Canada and the United States.
A photo of three workers together hunched over a desk.
Wooden tables throughout the office serve as meeting points for team members to meet and collaborate. Tables are also a great place for staff to spread out their materials, especially if they need a change of scenery. “I am constantly drawing here and coming out,” says Rocha. “It is important that designers and architects remain connected to their local context. Our city lookout offers exceptional views of many of KPMB’s past and present projects.”
A photo of a man working on his computer in an office.
With more square footage to work with, Bridgman and Rocha designed these center tables between 37 rows of desks. “We group teams back to back, not face to face, so they can turn around and talk to each other and share maps and sketches,” says Bridgman.
A photo of people working at a communal table in the center of an office.
The model shop in the former KPMB office was always a “makeshift space,” according to Rocha. But the new office has a dedicated place to build small 3D model renderings of architectural projects using wood, foam, and plastic. The firm’s “materials library,” with countless samples of stone, wood, glass, and paint, is located nearby.
A shot of a glass lined boardroom with white chairs
This boardroom seats up to 24 people, but the glass walls are movable, opening up a space to accommodate the whole team for company talks and town halls.

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