PCL Construction is at the forefront of that people-first approach to planning.

Companies want their staff to be able to collaborate often, but with the ability to focus when needed. While that sometimes results in an open office concept — fewer cubicles, more space for collaboration and even soundproof booths for private calls — it can take on vastly different looks, depending on the company culture. 

Flexible, multi-purpose spaces are becoming one of the biggest themes of new office planning.

“Looking back to the latter half of the 20th century, a company’s goal was to build a space that would fit as many people as possible to make it what they considered efficient,” says Rob Mitschke, a project manager at PCL Construction’s Special Projects division. “Nowadays, there’s more creativity, and people are thinking, ‘What else can this space be used for?’”

Workplaces are therefore being designed to be more adaptable, with spaces that can hold networking events, host workshops or serve as a collaborative workspace.

“I think people will continue to reimagine what their office spaces could or should be,” Mitschke says. “Being able to transform a space and have it perform multiple functions is increasingly popular.”

J5 Design wanted its new office space in downtown Calgary to be barrier-free, with an open-concept layout that dedicated more floor space to collaboration than to walled-in offices. That would allow the company to more easily adjust the working space to accommodate various workflows and activities.

PCL Construction worked with designer Holland Licensed Interior Design and Contemporary Office Interiors Ltd. to make it happen.

“We've created agency for our employees,” says John Vardalos, chief executive officer of J5 Design. “In the new space, they can move to different locations throughout the day based on who they need to be near and the work they're doing at that moment.”

Vardalos says traditional business “silos” tend to segregate employees by department. Creating a space where workers feel more connected to the colleagues they’re working with during any particular period of time was important.

J5 also wanted their entrance space to feel less like a reception area and more like a café.

“We don’t have a reception desk, or what we call an ‘intervention,’ when you walk in because it’s very formal and becomes a barrier between our space and the entrance,” Vardalos says. “Instead, there’s a café, which acts like a gathering place. People can walk in, make themselves a coffee and be greeted by our team around the space working.”

In four short months, J5 Design’s new space was complete. Vardalos credits the success of the project to the respectful, collaborative and fun relationship between all the partners, as well as the extensive expertise PCL Calgary’s Special Projects team brought to the table.

“I was so excited to see the space start to appear from the rendering. We knew what the space needed to look like, and it became PCL’s responsibility to actually make it real. We needed the expertise to translate the design into an actual space,” Vardalos says. “I thought there was no way it would look better than the rendering, but it does!” 

ATB Financial wanted to reimagine what a client experiences when they go to the bank. PCL helped them do just that.

ATB’s new advisory hub in Red Deer, Alberta converted the traditional lineup-at-the-teller model to one where clients are greeted by an ambassador and connected to the appropriate person who can help them, says Kristopher Banner, director of construction and design at ATB.

“The number of everyday transactions at banks has certainly gone down, so more people are only coming into branches for advice on mortgages, investments or estate planning,” says Banner.

Understanding what clients and team members need, why they need it and how they want to feel in the space was crucial.

“There’s nothing less private than a traditional bank; it’s echoey and dingy, and you can hear the entire life story of the person in front of you,” Banner says. “Music, biophilia, soft seating and more private spaces are all things we’ve introduced to our advisory hubs to make people feel welcome and calm and give them the spaces they need.”

“If you’re speaking with a wealth advisor, you go to the second floor, so there’s a feeling of elevation, a sense you’ve made it to another level,” he adds.

Now, ATB is building another advisory hub in Fort McMurray, Alberta. With PCL once again leading the construction efforts, they’re confident they’ll get what they’re looking for at the new branch.

“If you approach it from a cost perspective only and have each location built by a different contractor, you’re going to get different outcomes,” Banner says. “We have a sense of understanding that what we’re getting in Fort McMurray will be similar to what we got in Red Deer.

“There’s a sense of certainty and quality control [with PCL]. A contractor that can advise if a vision needs to be changed to meet the schedule or budget is very important.”

As the J5 Design and ATB Financial projects show, each client has a unique vision of what their space is meant to do, and PCL’s Mitschke says that push for spaces with a new feel is happening for a few reasons.

Priorities are changing, especially for younger workers; they want welcoming, social places. The COVID-19 pandemic also temporarily forced people to stay away from the office. Companies had to either adapt to remote work or design places that bring people back into their space.

“‘In Calgary, commercial vacancy rates have been persistently high for 10 years, so we’ve had a longer time to reassess what office spaces mean,” he says. “People in Calgary have really reimagined what an office space could be. We’ve had time to think about it and put things into action, while other cities are just getting into it.”

Mitschke says a young city like Calgary will lead the charge in reimagining office spaces, and PCL is up to the challenges that brings.

“Technology and innovation companies are still new to Calgary, but they’re going to be at the forefront of the spaces and the transformations,” he says. “Everyone’s looking at what’s coming down the pipe, looking to the future — which is what Calgary has always been about.”