We have discussed in some previous blogs our 3 tier model when it comes to our Envision Strategy.

Tier One: Planning for Now
Tier Two: Planning for Transition
Tier Three: Planning for the Future

So, what exactly goes into each of these tiers and how do we work with you to help guide you to the best outcome for your individual needs? Let’s break it down a bit more starting with Tier One: Planning for NOW.

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This 90,000 sq.ft. project required complete programming and client engagement workshop for all stakeholder groups. SGH utilized all of Technology Client’s design guidelines while providing a design that reflects the local and programmatic requirements of this Halifax office.

The result is a beautifully bright and welcoming space with large graphic walls, and an open workplace setting full of natural light.

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We are so proud to continue providing exceptional quality design services for our clients and how far we have come over the years as a team. SGH has grown tremendously since we started 35 years ago; to celebrate, we are looking back at some of SGH’s milestones and transitional events that took place over the years.

We are honored to have spent the past 35 years building a community of wonderful clients and friends and we are looking forward to a bright future ahead.

1987: SGB was Founded

After working together for many years, Carol Smith, Peter Grimley, David Berg and Don Harris came together and became the founding Partners of what was at the time called Smith Grimley Berg, a corporate interior design firm in downtown Toronto. The original office, located at 411 Richmond Street, was home to the original SGB team who worked on SGB’s first big clients like Canada Life, the Sky Dome (now known as The Rogers Center in Toronto) and William Mercer.

These were the days where contracts were typed out on typewriters and everything was completely hand drawn. Shortly thereafter, SGB decided to invest in a software called AutoCAD which revolutionized the way designers could work. A huge learning curve, from all hand drawn to using computers and technology, edits could be made in minutes not hours, this new software transformed design as we knew it.

1996: Monika Joined SGB

In 1996 a new team member joined the SGB team, her name was Monika Sarkisian. She was an intermediate designer who had graduated from Ontario College of Art and Design a few years prior. Monika, a highly creative team member, joined SGB ambitious and excited for what the firm had to offer.

2000: SGB became SGH

 After much deliberation, it was clear it was time for a rebrand of SGB, after a few years in business, SGB had solidified its place in the design community and was confident in who they were as a brand. It was time for a shift and Smith Grimley Harris Design Partners was born. Moving from a silent partner, Don Harris became an acting Partner with the retirement of David Berg. This new name came with a new fresh logo and new branding for SGH.

After much deliberation, it was clear it was time for a rebrand at SGB. After a few years in business, SGB had solidified its place in the design community and was confident in who they were as a brand.

2001: The September 11 Attacks

The 9/11 attacks changed the lives of many forever. This devastating tragedy triggered a change in many sectors, including a large impact for the design and architectural community. There was a need to increase security measures to be integrated into buildings, new building code regulations were set in place and a focus on careful selection of building materials were implemented. A greater focus on technology came into play, which increased audio visual and communications technology.

2005: SGH moves to 366 Adelaide

After nearly 10 years at 411 Richmond, SGH had outgrown the space and needed a larger footprint to call home. Through careful consideration, SGH made the move down the road to 366 Adelaide Street West. This larger space allowed for SGH to continue to grow and expand as the years went on and is where we are still located today.

2008: Financial Crisis

In 2008 the Financial Crisis of (2007-2009) also known as the Global Financial Crisis commenced and was the worst recession seen since the great depression. Millions lost their jobs, lost their homes, and businesses went bankrupt. It was a challenging time for many, and SGH Design Partners worked to continue to stay strong through this time by helping clients to reduce their space and supporting those who required real estate densification.

2009: Monika became Partner at SGH

After working with SGH Design Partners for 13 years, Monika Sarkisian became an official Partner at SGH in 2009! During these 13 years, design had shifted quite a bit, a new focus on health and wellness had come into play. LEED and WELL AP certifications become to increase in popularity and workplaces were shifting to a more open and collaborative workplace.

Perimeter offices were being moved internally so more staff had access to natural light, office plans were implementing more shared and communal spaces like lounges and cafes for the staff to enjoy, and office culture and branding became important key features in the design of new spaces.

2013: John Joined SGH as Partner

John Tanfield started his career in 1992 with an architectural technologist diploma and continued his education by completing his Master’s in Architecture. Before SGH, John worked with Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) as a Senior Vice President of Project Development Services and is now proudly one of SGH’s two partners.

2014: SGH Opened the Halifax Office

As SGH continued to grow the Partners felt it was time to expand our national presence and opened a new office in Halifax, Nova Scotia. After building connections and working with teams from across the country, the timing felt right to make this leap and enter a new market.

SGH has now been working in Atlantic Canada for the last seven (7) years, and we have grown our Atlantic studio tremendously. We have worked on a multitude of projects ranging from 2,000 sq. ft. to 100,000 sq. ft. and provide a full scope of services to our east coast clients.

2015: SGH Opened the Vancouver Office

With the success of our Atlantic office in the first year of business, SGH continued our expansion to the West Coast of Canada opening our office in Vancouver, British Columbia. We continue to service our clients nationally and our new design studio showcases our well-versed and collaborative team.

2016: SGH Rebrands

After a few small rebrands throughout the years, it was time for a new face of SGH. With the new Partners, Monika Sarkisian and John Tanfield, it was time to put their stamp on the SGH brand. The rebrand started with the design of a new logo. We outsourced incredible graphic designers to come up with a new logo and after a few months of deliberation the new logo as you see it today was born.

This new logo, inspired by the light reflection and shadows, became the kick start of a complete rebrand of SGH Design Partners. New standards, a social media presence and workplace culture emerged. This rebrand triggered the redesign of the SGH website, which was completed in 2019.

2019: Two New Director of Operations and SGH Gets a New Website

Krysia Gorgolewska became the Director of Operations for our Halifax office in 2019. After working at our Toronto office for many years and doing incredible world travels between 2018-2019, Krysia moved to Halifax and became our Director of Operations for our East Coast Office

Alexis Mrowietz became our Director of Operations for our Vancouver office also in 2019. Alexis had worked with SGH for a few years before transitioning into Director of Operations for Vancouver. Alexis is an incredibly talented designer who loves the West Coast and is the perfect fit to lead our Vancouver Team.

2020: COVID-19

 As we all know, in 2020 everything seemed to stop when COVID-19 took the world by storm and forced us all to slow down. While a lot of us transitioned to working from home, essential workers stood at the forefront, carrying the weight of this very unprecedented time. This impacted design dramatically. Design went very quickly from collaborative workspaces and open floorplans to implementing 6 ft distancing, screen dividers, and protectors between workers. Construction came to a halt and all projects were temporarily put on hold. After months of planning our approach and strategy it was clear to SGH that we believed the future includes people. We would continue to build spaces that promote human connection, even during a time where the world went virtual, it was evident that human connection would be a key factor in coming out of this pandemic.

2021: SGH Turns 35

 35 years in business!

Through many ups and downs around the world, SGH Design Partners is honoured and proud to hold its place in the interior design industry, where we continue to build connections with an incredible community. So much has changed over the last 35 years, yet many things have stayed the same at the core. We are still incredibly grateful for our team of uniquely talented individuals. We appreciate the countless connections we have made over the years, and we are humbled by just how far we have come.

When looking back at this timeline, it is just incredible to reflect on some of SGH’s milestones over the years. Today, SGH Design Partners is employing our highest number of staff to date. We have completed projects with clients across Canada and internationally and we continue to grow and develop new skills as the times change. We are incredibly thankful for the past 35 years in business and are looking forward to what the future holds.

We create environments where people do their best work

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SGH Design Partners worked closely with the steering committee to obtain the sign off required by Eckler’s partners. The project relocated Eckler’s existing offices to a new location, that provided an opportunity for a full transition of their offices.

One of the key design objectives was to ensure natural light was available for all staff. This required all offices and enclosed spaces to be located around the building core, leaving the perimeter open. New workstations were provided for all staff with low panels allowing natural light and uninterrupted sightlines throughout the office. An interconnected stair attached the two floors for this space, which hosted a unique lighting feature.

The finished space is bright and reflects the Eckler brand. Natural light engulfs this North York location and unique features throughout the space, like this Eckler logo made from calculators, provide the office with a fun and welcoming space for their team.

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It was critical that SGH design a space that was a functional and efficient office space for Ivanhoe Cambridge that would reflect their company values and goals. Inspired by their new 7245 sq.ft. office in this modern industrial building, concrete, wood and dark metals were used throughout the space in combination with transparent glass which optimized the natural light and gave sightlines to the beautiful mountain and city views to the north.

Pops of blue, green, and orange are featured strategically throughout the office creating bold and fun accents that give the space a sophisticated, yet comforting feel. The space has elegant contrast with bright white counters and walls and dark metals, and lighting features throughout. These elements all work towards Ivanhoe Cambridge’s goal of a sophisticated atmosphere and leave you feeling inspired and ready to thrive in the workplace.

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After extensive evaluation with the Client considering various locations it was determined this Financial Client would move to a rural/suburban environment in the Nanaimo North Town Center Mall. This existing shopping mall is in the process of “de-malling” to revitalize and bring together both commercial and retail space in a hybrid environment.  This client selected two of the new commercial retail units (CRU) being constructed in a setting surrounded by water, forest and beautiful natural landscapes. The sacrifice, a less accessible space to the variety of social amenities offered by their existing downtown location.

The space needed to accommodate two very different user groups. The first being a louder and more energized call centre, the second a quieter, heads down, focused finance and accounting group.  Both needed lots of collaborative space with a variety of closed and open options, easily accessible and flexible.

The two user groups are buffered from each other through the creation of “collaboration avenues” which are defined by a change in flooring and a dropped wood slat ceiling feature to create refuge and visual breaks in between the open spaces. Fresh accent colours of spring green and ocean blues infuse a calming atmosphere in this open, bright and modern space. Adding three new skylights and coordinating carefully with mechanical requirements bring in additional natural light and air that fills the whole space. Large walls provide the introduction of art and graphics selected specifically to represent Nanaimo, BC.

The overall floor layout is free-flowing and organic with centralized collaboration avenues which house focus and meeting spaces. Amenities include phone booths, perch points, pause areas, training and coaching rooms set up for privacy, focus or spontaneous interactions depending on the need. These inviting spaces are open, engaging and transparent allowing light to filter through panes of glass. The curved and soft edges of the 140 workstations create an approachable friendliness that contrasts nicely against the rectangular rigid architecture allowing for a variety of ways to circulate through the space. This casual approach encourages people to interact and socialize through spontaneous happy encounters that aspire to make the workday a welcoming experience which, in the long run, helps to attract and retain great talent.

What made this space location really sing is the introduction of the employee café. It is a bright and inviting destination spot where people can gather, dine, meet and socialize. This makes up for the lack of access to eating areas close by and fosters a real community feeling. Beautiful artwork created by local artists celebrate this unique and rich indigenous community. Implementing graphics and common meeting areas such as the employee café were critical for this project’s success. Soft furniture settings and booth like seating provide a variety of uses that entice people to drop in throughout the day yet lightweight enough to allow flexibility in accommodating large town hall gatherings. Skylights were integrated to help with access to natural light, this kept the windows open and did not block light that was able to engulf the space throughout.

Through active listening the designer was able to really understand the workplace strategy, goals and significant changes required for this future office to be highly successful now and into the future. The proportion of flexible work areas to shared meeting and focused areas was clearly defined as part of the discovery process early on. In the end the open, expansive industrial space achieved this most successfully as was vetted out in the search for the right location.

The open organic workspaces are agile, flexible and spacious. Flanked by focus rooms, meeting areas, and closed areas there is a break from loud space to quiet refuge space. The approach to colours and texture are soft, natural and timeless utilizing the clean modern lines of the building space. Furniture has rounded edges and breaks from the tradition grid pattern that allow the space to have a spontaneous energy. High, large walls proudly display local artwork that define spaces, provides orientation and infuse local humour and culture.

 Client Statement

The new offices were a huge success and well received by our staff. SGH Design Partner approach to programming, data-gathering and workplace strategies allowed the SGH team to understand our goals and objectives for both short and long term.

SGH did an excellent job at integrating our standards for workplace while utilizing their creative skills to integrate a workplace that reflected the local Nanaimo culture, look and feel. The results were realized immediately. Design elements such as access to natural light for all staff, open and generous circulation space, multiple collaboration spaces, etc., have all contributed to the new design of our work environment to help improve staff morale and staff retention.

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Using a holistic approach, early partnership with furniture vendor, SGH gained a greater understanding of the team’s daily functions. Forward focused solutions were designed to support their specific needs.

Transparency. Offices are inboard with full glass fronts allowing for maximum access to natural daylight. Visibility across the workspaces helps break down barriers between departments and encourages more cross-disciplinary interaction.

Focus. Circulation paths and placement of social zones were carefully planned to minimize interruptions and maintain required focus in personal workspaces. Attention to detailing and material selections maximized acoustic performance.

Design for Movement. All primary work surfaces are sit/stand. The three interconnected floors, connected with an existing staircase,unique features were provided to encourage vertical movement.

Spatial Manipulation.“Less for me, more for my team.” In depth programming analysis focused on the attributes and requirements of each department, allowing the design team to develop progressive neighbourhoods that cater to the specific needs of the department for focus, collaboration and socialization.

By aligning the workplace more closely to the Global brand we achieved strategic objectives for innovation and talent attraction. Previously, the office was set up as individual workspaces and segregated departments which forced people to work independently. The new space encourages sharing of knowledge and information between teams. Work areas visually connect employees and are well balanced with a variety of collaboration and social zones.

Carefully selected ambassadors from each team were a part of in-depth visioning sessions throughout the project. This unique connection betweenClient and Design Team provided for clear understanding of each team’s objectives and needs.

Employees are encouraged to explore the three floors. Unique spaces on each floor include:21st floor, a multi-purpose training space; 22nd floor, boardroom complex; and 23rd floor, Games/Social lounge. All spaces were designed with the ambassadors input and inspiration.

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With space hard to come by in Vancouver they were excited to find a1950’s timber-built location in an up-and-coming neighbourhood complete with 12’ high ceilings and skylights that provided the volume and natural light needed to build out vertical displays to showcase their solutions. SGH’s focus was to work directly with the construction savvy client on transforming this uninspired quirky space into a working office, factory and marketing facility that clearly demonstrates the flexibility and design excellence in an energized, urban and vibrant space.

Innovior worked with SGH in the front-end discovery phase to share processes and knowledge of their methods to ensure a clear understanding of their goals and vision. The client wanted the space to reflect their own personal brand and commitment to design excellence. Summery colours, unexpected angles, smooth raw surfaces, fun pattern and texture all work to support an energized, professional, urban and innovative style.

The space could not be just beautiful, it had to be highly functional with working vertical displays, integrated technology, a virtual reality area and a series of vignettes highlighting healthcare, workplace and home environment scenarios. All of these have been incorporated in a unified and minimal way that feels straightforward, approachable and easily achieved. It was also important to display their commitment to sustainability and infuse a sense of health and wellbeing. This has been done using raw materials, a green wall, plants, large glass walls and open spaces allowing lots of natural light in.

The architectural envelope is clean, modern and neutral with a palette of materials, colour, and pattern unify. Bright white walls and angular timber frames are refined and minimal. Each space creates a new user experience, connected but are similar and cohesive. The construction of walls, doors, frames, millwork and features all work to demonstrate how effective off-site manufactured products can work together. Showcasing their raised floor system in reception, the inner workings of the raised floor are exposed in a defined rectangular space where you would typically expect a coffee table to sit. The mix of laminates and wood surfaces on walls show how their standard materials can be used. The space is also infused with an eclectic, youthful style giving it a casual and relaxed and homelike feel. Raw wood, crisp white walls, delicious fresh colours and lighting all play a part an integral role in building the story and culture. Accessories and artwork have been selected to really finish the space right through to the last detail.

The design approach is understated, timeless and classic. The overall needs to appeal to a culture that is approachable, warm, inviting and interactive. SGH wanted to embrace the quirky nature of the 1950s building yet transform it into a modern, fun, studio like space. It celebrates all that is great about this building, natural light, exposed wood ceilings, a good solid structure and unique changes in heights and depths that create subtle transitions and sightlines.

Culture was a big driver, so the design solution needs to foster a sense of community through a mix of warm materials, pattern, casual furniture, interesting light fixtures and summery accent colours.  The space needs to seamlessly demonstrate their capabilities and function as an office, showroom and workspace. The space is really relaxing so that customers do not feel overwhelmed by choice but rather inspired by potential and creativity. The integration of technology is subtle and does not overpower the spaces, it is a seamless part of the experience. The benefit of this design is the well-integrated mix of all the activities required to make their business successful and how the design solution maximized this potential. It includes office and workspace in proximity yet buffered from the busy showroom and workshops space. The space itself has been used to demonstrate the diversity of what their construction company can do for their clients, it supports leading edge technology that sets this company apart and it provides a fun, happy space where they can celebrate and meet to truly create amazing solutions for client, in partnership with architects and designers.

Client Statement

After 23 years in prefabricated construction this was my first opportunity to do something from scratch and purpose build for what we needed. It needed to serve the culture and people of our company. Areas to work, areas to educate, cultivate and socialize. It had to do these things in a similar way with the community that we work with and serve. It has become an epicenter for discovery for what could be and our message of Build better. It continues to foster collaboration and true sharing of ideas and all that come together continue to compliment us on this achievement. We are so proud of what we’ve accomplished, and we can’t wait to do it all over again.

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