Desjardins - Card and Payment Services

An urban hub for 1,600 employees

Sectors

Services

Previously located in four separate buildings, the Desjardins card and electronic banking services wanted to consolidate their employees in one place. The location chosen by the employees, close to the Complexe Desjardins, favours synergy between work teams. The Sommer Building, at the corner of Maisonneuve Boulevard and City Councillors Street, has 11 storeys and 275,000 sq. ft. It promotes interactivity and provides a vibrant atmosphere for 1,600 employees.

Ædifica was hired to rethink and consolidate the workspaces of Desjardins’ card services and electronic banking services in order to offer them a work environment where they will find everything they need in one place. To encourage innovation by users, we designed a range of spaces that support the collaboration and agility of the various Desjardins teams. Contributing to a peaceful and comfortable working atmosphere, an outdoor terrace on the roof of the building and a cafeteria on the 11^th floor, offering an exceptional view of downtown, were made available to them. This expansion project resulted in the creation of two atria showcasing the heritage elements of the Sommer Building, one of the project’s requirements.

The challenge was to design a flexible concept that would integrate a variety of functions and atmospheres while embodying the values and attributes of the Desjardins brand. This stimulating work environment offers rest and entertainment areas, coffee and lounge areas, and multipurpose spaces. Favouring active design, the stairs were conceived as a kind of promenade punctuated by multicoloured painted graphic elements forming a vibrant, dynamic work of art.

One of the factors of success for this project was our participatory process with Desjardins. We worked closely with this client by creating various advisory committees. By doing so, we were able to develop an environment that goes beyond functional spaces by supporting other user-specific considerations that reflect the particular lifestyle of its occupants.

The project demonstrated the full potential of our integrated approach by maximizing the collaboration between designer and engineer to find elegant and effective solutions to manage lighting and building systems in accordance with the aims of the concept and the technical and physical constraints of the building.