Best Offices Ottawa 2021

2021 Best Offices Ottawa SPRING 2021

A celebration of aesthetically beautiful, functional and healthy workspaces in the National Capital Region.

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Downtown Algonquin College learning centre merges tech with nature PROVENCHER_ROY REINVENTS LANDMARK LOCATION INTO A DYNAMIC, COLLABORATIVE HUB PHOTO BY DAVID BOYER

SPRING 2021 Best Offices Ottawa

PHOTO BY DAVID BOYER

PROVENCHER_ROY

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or decades, the Algonquin College Learning Centre has been a leader in continuing education, providing resources for those looking to up their skills after entering the workforce.

Ready to expand their offerings as well as their space, the school left its former home on Albert Street for 700 Sussex Dr., hiring architecture and design firm Provencher_Roy to

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bring its vision to life.

When the firm began its work, 700 Sussex Dr. was still home to a gym and hair salon.

Underneath the matted flooring and heavy plumbing, Anna Westlund – a partner and interior designer at Provencher_Roy – could see a “beautiful architectural shell,” with limestone columns and natural light flooding the space.

To zero-in on its client’s wishes, Provencher_Roy

PHOTO BY DAVID BOYER

WEAVING IN HISTORY

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says Leroux. “It’s just perfect.”

As a nod to the centre’s neighbourhood, Provencher_ Roy created custom lighting: white, suspended globes that gently illuminate the space.

“They’re inspired by the lamp posts that are all over the ByWard Market,” Westlund explains. “They’re dimmable, to be flexible during different events.”

Parallel to the atrium are state-of-the-art classrooms, which can hold up to 100 people. Investing in its learners, the centre offers ergonomic setups with large, highdefinition screens and leading-edge connectivity.

The classrooms are split with seafoam-green, flexible floor-to-ceiling walls. In one seamless movement, the space can switch from three intimate learning spaces into one large networking venue.

“The wall separators are actually whiteboards,” Leroux adds. “As classes unfold over the course of a few days, they get filled with ideas.”

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The Algonquin College Learning Centre sits on the second floor of 700 Sussex Dr., on the edge of the ByWard Market. When entering the facility, the first thing learners see is the main reception – a sleek, contemporary area with rocky grey hues and a subtle feature wall.

One section of the ceiling is covered with a wood veneer, lined with a row of spotlights. Wrapping behind the reception desk, the rhythm of the veneer bulkhead represents a canoe, honouring the history of the Algonquin Anishnaabeg People. Additionally, all graphic signage in the centre is written first in Anishinaabemowin, and then in English.

Walking down the bright corridor, learners are met with the centre’s defining feature: the atrium. Inviting couches and booths line the glass, creating opportunities for solo work or collaborative sessions.

“I will take calls out there, cozying up in the corner,”

Best Offices Ottawa SPRING 2021

held two workshops, asking the Algonquin team to imagine their new space. Words such as “memorable,” “nature,” “community” and “inspiring” arose.

“They really wanted to reinvent what the centre was,” Westlund says.

After a one-year renovation project, the centre opened its doors in January 2020. The 8,800-square foot training facility holds several dynamic classrooms and collaborative spaces, with a palette of greens hinting at Algonquin’s brand colours.

Custom features are brightened by a huge glass atrium, overlooking Rideau Street. With refinished wood flooring, carefully curated furniture and air-purifying plants, the whole space invites exploration and curiosity.

“Learning environments are critically important,” says Kathyrn Leroux, the Algonquin College Learning Centre’s acting executive director for business development. “To be able to transform the space into a collaborative, living space was really quite exciting.”

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SPRING 2021 Best Offices Ottawa

PHOTO BY DAVID BOYER

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“People want to be in spaces that encourage them, that give them the inspiration to do their best work. The Algonquin Learning Centre is definitely that kind of space.”

PHOTO BY DAVID BOYER

— ANNA WESTLUND, PARTNER AND INTERIOR DESIGNER, PROVENCHER_ROY

CELEBRATING SUSTAINABILITY

RISING TO THE CHALLENGE

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Reimagining the space at 700 Sussex Dr. was no small feat

– Provencher_Roy had just a few months to complete their design work so construction could finish before the centre’s former lease ran out.

“There was tons of demolition and lots of reworking the interior space,” Westlund says. But thanks to a detailed pre-lease planning exercise and the two client workshops, the firm was crystal-clear on its client’s vision, and hit the ground running.

“Anytime you’re renovating an existing space, you have to be fluid,” Leroux says. “Working with Provencher_Roy was wonderful. They were constantly bringing new ideas to the table.”

The facility was only open for three months before the pandemic hit – but for each of those months, it was fully booked. Moving forward, the centre will be offering a mix of in-person and virtual programming.

“People want to be in spaces that encourage them, that give them the inspiration to do their best work,” Westlund says. “The Algonquin Learning Centre is definitely that kind of space.”

Best Offices Ottawa SPRING 2021

Back in the atrium, one end of the space boasts a chic hospitality and kitchenette area. Leroux recalls that, at the centre’s previous location, learners would file out of the building for lunch.

“Now, classes break, and there’s clusters of people everywhere,” she says. “They’re staying in the facility – that speaks volumes to how comfortable it is.”

To be more climate-conscious, the centre uses china cups and reusable dishes.

“The plant life in the space is all real, too, and that lends itself to a much more calming environment,” Leroux says.

Westlund is a big believer in this phenomena too, calling it “biophilic design.”

“People feel and perform better when they’re in environments that either mimic aspects of nature, or have natural features,” she says.

SPRING 2021 Best Offices Ottawa

BDA LIGHTING GROUP

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Taking on its own remodeling, BDA Lighting Group matches professionalism with playfulness LIGHTING ‘LAB’ SHOWCASES NEW PRODUCTS AND TECHNOLOGIES, WHILE CREATING SPACE FOR COLLABORATION

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leader in its industry, Nepean-based BDA Lighting Group has more than 30 years of experience creating innovative lighting solutions.

With many years of construction experience, combined with a passion for design and architecture, it is no surprise the company took matters into its own hands

when it came to remodeling its own office.

The agency took over its offices from an existing company in the ’90s, inheriting 3,200 square feet of pink and green walls.

“It was really dated,” recalls Jean-Simon Danis, one of BDA’s principals and co-owners.

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By 2017, the team – now triple its original size – was ready for a change.

“We started doing renovations,” Danis says. “A couple of years later, a space became available next door, so we added another 2,000 square feet.”

Today, BDA’s office features sophisticated white palettes with bursts of yellow wood-covered beams and bespoke art – all encapsulated in glass walls, keeping the space bright and airy.

Befitting the home of one of the region’s leading lighting design assist solutions firms, BDA’s office is also creatively illuminated, showcasing the possibilities that come from combining the latest lighting and controls technology with expert design insights.

OUT WITH THE OLD The renovations were carried out in two phases.

“The initial construction had a lot of walls, so we had to break everything down to open it back up,” says

LIGHTING INSIGHTS

“Everybody wants to come back to the office.”

— FRANÇOIS BERTRAND, PRINCIPAL AND CO-OWNER, BDA

Best Offices Ottawa SPRING 2021

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Lighting is one of the most important aspects to any office. A well-lit space contributes to employee well-being by creating a comforting and stimulating atmosphere that increases productivity while reducing fatigue.

Plus, the latest lighting technology saves energy – and money.

Despite the growing appreciation for the benefits of good lighting, it’s something that’s easily overlooked during the design process.

BDA works with space users and their designers, providing lighting calculations, specifications, controls strategies and design guidelines, building up a reputation for adopting a client-centric approach.

BDA’s mission is to accompany customers in the search for global, innovative and environmentally friendly solutions.

“BDA really helps us in providing design assistance, providing specifications for different lighting solutions,” says industry partner Chantal Boyer-Casey, principal of design firm 4té Inc. “They have the technical knowledge to help advance our design solutions.”

Others in the sector highlight the vastness of BDA’s product selection.

“We have yet to encounter a project that they can’t come up with a solution for – be it a residential project, commercial, industrial or healthcare,” says Andre Drouin, principal of design firm Smith + Andersen.

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François Bertrand, a principal and co-owner at BDA. That was part of the first phase.

The next phase focused on the newly acquired second storey, which BDA turned into a learning centre where they could showcase lighting products and new technologies.

“We wanted to create a lab/collaborative space where we can bring clients in, host events, and also use as a large boardroom,” he says.

Overall, BDA’s interior design matches contemporary styles with its teams’ playful personality. When clients enter the new space, they’re first met with a bright lobby, where colour-changing light fixtures illuminate different art canvases, each one depicting a technical drawing.

Bertrand spontaneously commissioned the art after seeing an industrial designer sketching by hand.

“I wanted something really rough, so it’s showing the thinking process behind some crazy new idea,” he explains.

Beneath the lobby’s wood-covered atrium is a waiting area, decorated with potted trees and dark leather furniture. Embracing the eccentric, the firm added a red

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retro motorbike in one corner of the room.

“It’s different – people don’t usually have that in interior spaces,” Bertrand says.

DYNAMIC WORKSPACE In the main workspace, clusters of ergonomic desks give BDA’s team the chance to stretch their legs while reviewing design plans. To the left is BDA’s quotation department, and to the right, the project managers’ offices, separated by glass to maximize workflow in both departments.

Custom lighting adds a textured look throughout, with wall washing and grazing – a technique that positions lighting closely to the wall, so the optics create different shadows. Offices for Bertrand and Danis are on the second floor, next to the learning centre.

“It’s much easier (when) we’re sitting down with an architect or contractor or engineer, and we can bring out samples,” Bertrand says.

A large, wooden barn door allows BDA to seclude the centre during events.

“It’s a two-section panel on industrial tracks,” Bertrand

says. “That was a tough challenge because we were thinking about different roll-up doors and how to separate (the space).”

But the design paid off – the door adds a rustic feel, complementing the reclaimed wood floor, as well as creating privacy when needed.

RISING TO THE CHALLENGE For BDA, taking on their own renovations – including the addition of top-tier smart technology, letting the team control everything from light to sound – was no small feat.

“It was quite a bit of coordination,” Bertrand says.

“Doing all that while growing a business was a great learning curve for us.”

The new space had been long anticipated by BDA’s team, but with COVID-19 safety measures, many were working from home.

“Everybody wants to come back to the office, the team is motivated and has that social camaraderie,” Bertrand says.

And if that’s not a sign of a great office, then what is?

Best Offices Ottawa SPRING 2021

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ERGO-SAFETY

“People working on their dining room tables, on a dining room chair, gazing downward at their laptops are kidding themselves if they think it won’t lead to problems.”

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— SUE HANEL, FOUNDER, ERGO-SAFETY

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ZOOM FATIGUE

Virtual meetings can add physical (and mental) strain

Our work-from-home trend has developed ergonomic growing pains ERGO-SAFETY SHARES PRACTICAL ADVICE FOR KEEPING EMPLOYEES HEALTHY AND PRODUCTIVE

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MAKING TEMPORARY SETUPS PERMANENT

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Give your eyes a break with the 20-20-20 technique. Every 20 minutes, look away from the screen and focus on something that’s 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

Don’t continuously Zoom. Taking breaks between meetings to rise from your chair is critical for readjusting the body, the eyes, and the mind.

Consider alternative meeting types. “Does it have to be Zoom?

Could it be a phone call or something else instead?” Hanel asks.

Create a virtual background to aid privacy.

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Hanel likes to call Ergo-Safety “a small company doing big things” because office ergonomics affects well being for such a wide swath of both the public and the business communities. Not surprisingly, virtual home office assessments have become an in-demand service for the company.

Hanel feels many of the flawed pandemic home office setups can be attributed to how hastily they were fashioned and how most people assumed that the setups would be quite temporary.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, when nobody really knew how long we’d need to work from home,” says Hanel, “most people just grabbed their laptops and ran.

If they were smart, they also grabbed their chair, monitor, keyboard and mouse.”

What remedies does Hanel suggest?

Best Offices Ottawa SPRING 2021

egardless of how quickly COVID-19 vaccines are rolled out, the new prevalence of the home office is largely here to stay.

That’s the emerging view shared by Sue Hanel of Ergo-Safety, the Ottawa-based workspace ergonomics consultancy that Hanel founded in 1992.

“When office buildings open again,” Hanel muses, “I suspect that about a quarter of employees will be happy to return, another quarter will want to continue working from home, and the remaining 50 per cent will prefer some kind of hybrid approach.”

Of course any sustained shift to more home offices will include benefits and drawbacks. Because Hanel is a Canadian certified professional ergonomist and registered kinesiologist who can delve into 30 years experience in the workplace environment, she can also see how all those people working from home – now and in the future – are exposing themselves to ergonomic risks.

“People working on their dining room tables, on a dining room chair, gazing downward at their laptops are kidding themselves if they think it won’t lead to

problems,” warns Hanel.

“There’s a segment of home office workers that is well set up and comfortable, but a large percentage is neither set up properly nor comfortable,” she adds.

Those misaligned home office setups can lead to a host of physical and psychological ailments, including repetitive strain and other musculoskeletal issues and in some cases the recently appearing ailment commonly known as Zoom fatigue (see sidebar).

Connecting with colleagues via Zoom and other videoconference platforms has greatly expanded our work-from-home possibilities, but a key drawback related to home office ergonomics has arisen: gazing directly at a computer screen for long hours can lead to what’s known as “Zoom fatigue.”

“We are getting a lot of reports of headaches and vision problems,” notes Hanel, but Zoom fatigue can include other symptoms such as poor circulation and “foggy brain” cognitive impairment.

Avoid these top five home office hazards Work smarter with Sue Hanel’s expert ergonomic tips.

LAPTOP USE “Raise the laptop height to avoid a downward gaze. Even better, connect it to a larger flatscreen monitor.”

CHAIR CHALLENGES

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“Your chair really needs to be heightadjustable and offer lumbar support.

Ideally the armrests should match the desk height.”

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KEYBOARD AND MOUSE STRAIN “Use an external keyboard and mouse instead of the ones built into a laptop – and keep them close so that you don’t have to reach.”

ANCHORED IN PLACE

NOISE AND LIGHT OVERLOAD

“Stand up, stretch, walk, and otherwise change your posture several times each work hour.”

Alyssa Ashton, an Ergo-Safety associate, often says “Your best posture, is your next posture.”

“Don’t work in the dark or near a source of direct sunlight. Minimize distracting sounds, possibly with noise-cancelling headphones.”

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While some workers did take advantage of opportunities to go back for their office workstation equipment or have it shipped to them, many did not and are still working exclusively on a laptop, which Hanel points to as the second-most problematic home office risk next to sitting on an ill-fitting and rigid chair.

Because most people consistently gaze downward at their laptop screens, neck pain is a frequent result.

The downward flexion of the neck puts a lot of stress on the cervical spine, causing tension that can also radiate down to the hands if there’s a pinched nerve, says Hanel.

If that happens, “You can feel the tingling in the fingers and possibly a numb sensation,” she explains.

Related ailments may include wrist and elbow issues stemming from poor positioning of the keyboard and mouse, says Hanel.

Good ergonomics is about much more than a sleeklooking adjustable chair, but Hanel points out how working in an appropriate chair is the most important element in a home office setup.

“The No. 1 issue we’re finding is that people are working in chairs without height adjustment and poor lumbar support,” says Hanel.

“If you don’t have an adjustable chair and you’re working on a kitchen or dining room table, you’re at the mercy of the height of the table,” says Hanel, noting that the inability to raise your chair so that the armrests match the height of the desk is a big risk and a common problem with home setups. “As a result, most people are working with arms raised at an unnatural height and angle.”

WHY SHOULD EMPLOYERS CARE?

Visit ergo-safety.ca for details or to schedule an assessment.

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Ergo-Safety offers detailed evaluations of home office setups by registered kinesiologists without the need for a physical visit.

Through an efficient process that involves a questionnaire, photograph analysis and a 30-minute video call, virtual assessments result in a detailed report (in either official language) that includes suggestions for improved setup and examples of recommended equipment.

It’s also important to note that some employee health benefits plans cover the cost of home office ergonomic assessments that are performed by a registered kinesiologist.

Best Offices Ottawa SPRING 2021

Fortunately, employees working from home are not always left to their own devices. Chief among the reasons why employers should and do help improve home office ergonomics for employees, says Hanel, “is that it’s simply good for business.

“A good ergonomic home setup will enable employees to be more productive, more comfortable, feel more cared about, and less at risk of injury and resulting absenteeism,” she points out.

Hanel has noticed that an increasing number of advertised employment opportunities now include assurances that remote workers will be furnished with ergonomic setups.

“It’s now a selling feature from an employer to look after your home office ergonomics,” explains Hanel.

On another front, maintaining healthy ergonomics may in fact be a legal requirement for employers. Both the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Canada Labour Code mention that employers are responsible for the physical comfort of their employees.

Terms such as “ergonomics” and “musculoskeletal” are included in the legislation.

“So, in addition to it simply being the right thing to do, there is some legal onus on employers to look after these kinds of employee needs, even for employees working from home,” Hanel points out.

Home office assessments have gone virtual