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Our three studios across Canada, complement of over 30 talented designers, are ideally sized to respond to projects of all scales and complexities. We are well versed and trained in international trends and incorporate that knowledge into our design development. Our commercial and office interior design studio is based on innovative thinking, collaborative approaches supported by an open environment allowing creativity to reach its highest levels.

With each sector comes a new client with unique design feature requirements. Over our 35 years of experience, we have fine-tuned our expertise in each business sector. After carefully listening to our clients, we create a solution-based approach based on our Envision Strategy. A hallmark of SGH’s work is the level of personal attention and involvement of the leadership team in all projects. Our clients value the agility of the SGH team and our ability to respond to schedule and budget challenges with fresh and innovative solutions.

At SGH our methodology is simple, and we break it down into three keywords. Culture. Care. Create.

Culture. We are here to understand who you are and how your workplace functions best.

Care.  At SGH Design Partners we listen to your needs and help guide you towards a design solution custom to you.

Create. SGH is proud to design transformative environments for our clients across Canada and we are grateful to work alongside our partners in this industry to continue building the workplaces of the future.

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Vibrant colours and natural materials were essential in the design of this 9,000 sq.ft. office to create a cohesive yet eclectic design representing the sustainable, organic, “be scrappy and own it” nature of the company. A journey is created through the space with bold graphics, feature lighting and reclaimed elements.

Providing a cost-effective solution for a unique and dynamic space that represents their “be scrappy and own it” philosophy. A space designed to meet the Client expectations and celebrate their culture through creative design elements.

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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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Global Contract furniture group is a proudly Canadian owned and manufactured furniture company with headquarters in North Toronto, Ontario. With offices across Canada, it was time for Global’s location in Halifax to transition into a new space. As a proudly Canadian owned business as well, SGH Design Partners was happy to be retained by Global to help design and construct a furniture showroom to service the Atlantic Region.

The centralized location in Halifax, Nova Scotia was important for the showroom as they have many customers who they service within the city, but also were looking at providing a space for events, training, and gatherings for the design community. This new space is located on the ocean front with views into the Halifax harbour. A beautiful space full of natural light, the new office location of 5,000 sq.ft. was designed with flexibility and an open concept design in mind. As a showroom, Global required a space that could adapt as their products evolved over time. The new space is bright and vibrant, with an open and flexible floor plan which allows the Global team to respond to changing design trends and customer needs.

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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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