Firm： SDI Design

Type： Commercial › Office

STATUS： Built

YEAR： 2018

SIZE： 25,000 sqft - 100,000 sqft

Nulogy is a Toronto-founded global company developing, supporting, and selling logistics & quality control software for businesses operating in the supply chain management field. The client desired a unique identity with an emphasis on transparency & openness; a design challenge was how to develop an appropriate narrative for a client with a somewhat intangible suite of products & services.

The building is undergoing a major expansion, with a 37 story tower being erected atop the existing 18 story office building. To accommodate this a new structural exoskeleton was wrapped around the lower floors. This has presented two challenges to designing within the office building: infill slabs between the existing floors and the new curtain wall are designed to settle over time, resulting (for now) in a continuous two foot wide raised lip around the perimeter. Secondly, where the exoskeleton is exposed its presence is very dominant.

A narrative was developed playing on the concept of conveyor lines, with counters in reception and canteen areas rendered in ribbons of black-stained concrete. Linear movement is emphasized with the use of suspended open wood ceiling slats and angled glass partitions along linear corridors. Manufacturing plant aesthetics are referenced via concrete floors, open ceilings and celebrating the building’s exoskeleton, some of which are treated in “Nulogy Blue”. “Bleachers” line the zone of differing perimeter floor slab height in the Townhall.

The client’s wish for transparency and dedicated team spaces is met by opening the sightlines into all adjacent spaces along the ring corridors. As teams are all highly creative (and have names), it was decided to encourage each group to “brand” their own spaces by applying team-created imagery on the studio glazing. Their self-description as packaging people (AKA Pac Men) led to referencing that iconic game. Place-making is enhanced by treating breakout space windows along the corridors with transparent coloured film, and repainting the existing interconnecting staircase in primary yellow.