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Business Drivers / Canadian Facility Management & Design
By Tom Kelly. Photographs by Elaine Kilburn Photography
Oxford Properties' fully open-plan office aids communication for timely, informed decision making.
"Gutsy" is how interior designer Micheline Bartlett of Intercede Facility Management describes Oxford Properties' choice of an all open office plan. Every employee, from CEO on down, is at an open workstation. "Bold" is the word used by Geoff Broadkorp, Oxford's vice president and chief marketing officer, for the decision of the former president and CEO, John Love, to lead the transition from traditional, wood-panelled offices. This occurred as the company moved from an adjacent building to its current location on Adelaide Street West, in Toronto, prior to its acquisition by OMERS in late 2001.
Although the design has created a sense of equality for all employees, the primary objective, Mr. Broadkorb says, was to speed the exchange of information among employees, especially the key drivers of the business, to enhance their ability to make timely, well-informed decisions.
The new president and CEO, Stuart Smith, previously the COO, has retained the open office plan, which reflects the culture of the organization as it focuses more tightly on property and real-estate management. The premises are used to show existing and prospective clients what can be done with innovative use of space.
The standard workstation is 70 square feet with an L-shaped worksurface; each manager's workstation is 170 square feet with a P-shaped extension. Panels are only 42 inches high. Variations in layout serve individual needs, such as meeting tables among groups of workstations in the marketing department.
"The circulation space between workstations is very generous," says Micheline Bartlett, "creating a degree of privacy."
Open meeting areas have been provided throughout the space, as well as enclosed meeting rooms with frosted glass partitions to give privacy while showing when a room is occupied. Two enclosed training rooms are adjacent to the cafeteria.
Small "enclave" rooms through each of the four floors, for confidential phone calls or intensive individual work, are being used much less than had been anticipated. "Some people are feeling comfortable enough where they are," says Robin Licastro, manager of office services.
This is a positive outcome not foreseen from the pilot project and focus groups that preceded the move under the guidance of a GROW committee - "Gotta Rethink Our Workspace" - of representatives of the departments and the design firm.
Mr. Love shared his vision of the business with this committee, giving it the mandate to "look at our office premises and how we do business and decide whether we should stay in the same building and reconstruct our floor or move to another building with a larger floorplate, and whether to stay with offices or go with open concept," says Ms. Licastro.
In the pilot project, it was the president and senior executives who tested the open offices.
For Robin Licastro, a benefit is that it is now much easier for her to see deficiencies and non-deficiencies than with enclosed offices.
From Geoff Broadkorb's point of view, most people, especially those whose decisions drive the business, believe "this is better and easier, that the aspects that cause dissatisfaction are manageable - for some it's just a matter of learning how to do things a little differently -and that there are genuine upsides to this."
The O of Oxford is a branding motif repeated throughout the premises, starting with the circular reception desk and ceiling element above it. The spaciousness is a foretaste of the wide areas in the open-plan offices. To the right, close to the guest seating, is a kiosk with an Internet terminal available to visitors. The "video wall" shows information on Oxford and the properties it manages. Stone tile flooring was selected for its quality appearance and ease of maintenance.
Executives sit at fully-open workstations (above). VP Geoff Broadkorb says if he needs a quick word with the CEO, he can simply "pop around the corner" to see if he is available. (Right) Beyond an open lounge close to a stairway is a servery (centre of the picture) with microwave ovens, fridges and coffee makers, and beyond that the cafeteria.
Lounges (above) are located close to elevator lobbies. Whiteboards (visible in our cover illustration of a closer view of this lounge) aid informal meetings. (Top right) All workstations have the same low partitions with vertical storage cabinets. The panels match Oxford corporate colours. A small meeting area has been set up in this department, below the copy of the poster used to promote the company's 310-maxx outsourced property and facility management services to clients. To the left is an area defined by the Steelcase Conjunction framework as a flexible meeting or lounge space. (Right) People who need privacy for intensive work or confidential phone calls can use any of several enclosed rooms on each floor. (Far right) Employees can practice their putting skills in this lounge area.
Main Suppliers
Interior design: Intercede Facility Management: Micheline Bartlett, Lesley Melliship, Mattia Guarraggi, Inho Choi, Janet Ho, Judy Lee and Sandra Ho.
Construction management: MTEC Corporate Construction
Move management: Parker Project Management
Workstations, meeting & task seating: Steelcase/POI
Boardroom tables: Steelcase Vecta
Meeting & coffee tables: Krug
Reception seating: Keilhauer
Lounge seating: Metro, Keilhauer
Bar & lunchroom seating: All Seating
Mobile whiteboards: Steelcase
Custom millwork: Diamond Brothers, RHO Inc.
Carpet: Crossley Carpet Mills/ ERM Flooring, Collins & Aikman
Stone flooring: Stone Tile
Linoleum: DWL/Flortech Systems
Ceramic tile: Olympia Tile
Mesh blinds: Sun Project
Operable partition: Lawrence Paine Ltd.
Accent lighting: Eureka, Zumtobel, Lightolier
Paint: Benjamin Moore, ICI Glidden
Wallcovering: Metro
Plastic laminate: Pionite
Door hardware: City-Wide Door & Hardware Inc.
Glass: Lakeshore Glass & Mirror
Glass film: Sea Star Images
Electrical: Campbell & Kennedy
Mechanical: McLeod Mechanical
Drywall: Trans-Ontario
Audio visual: Corporate Visual Products
Sound masking: Environmental Acoustics
Appliances: GE
Signage & display: King Signs
Ceiling mounted video projectors: Corporate Visual
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