IBI implemented unique features into major Vancouver law firm Fasken Martineau du Moulin’s new office, such as a universal office size for both partner and associate lawyers.

Premier Business Partners:

Govan Brown Gillanders Knoll North America Corp. C&A/Crossley Svend Nielsen Ltd.

When Fasken Martineau du Moulin (FMD), the largest legal firm in Vancouver, prepared to move offices in 2006, it turned to Toronto-based interior design company IBI Group Interiors to get the look it wanted.

“[FMD] hadn’t moved in 20 years,” says Ellen Roland, senior associate at IBI. “They were looking for a new location. They wanted to identify the fact that they’re a young, very important legal practice.” Two years later, the final product is sophisticated, contemporary and “very successful,” Roland adds.

“We’re strategic planners,” she explains. “We get to know the organization and we talk a lot about future forecasts and positioning, but, also, we give our clients solutions that take them forward. We push our clients to look a little further ahead, and we listen.” Roland says the company shows clients “more innovative solutions” than other companies, which explains its motto: “Rework, rethink, reinvent.”

This motto was put to use when designing Fasken Martineau’s 85,000-square-foot office. IBI implemented unique features, such as a universal office size for both partner and associate lawyers. Each 10 foot by 15 foot office has a customized Unifor workwall and meeting table. “It’s easy for FMD to adjust to changes,” Roland says.  

IBI designed a client center for the office where “all the meeting rooms, reception area, servery, lawyers lounge and entertaining area are on one floor,” Roland says. “The library is also adjacent to the client area and can be used for client functions.” IBI also implemented unique features on the client floor such as moveable walls so the boardrooms can be morphed into different shapes and configurations.

Sophisticated Demands
Roland says clients are increasingly sophisticated in their demands. The FMD project includes refined touches such as special lighting, colored glass panels, starfire glass, wood veneers, specialty finishes and furniture from the Italian company Unifor. “Certainly we’re known for innovative design,” she says. “[Our designs are] not cookie-cutter. We spend a lot of time exploring the client’s culture and developing the aesthetic that expresses their unique brand. Our design solutions are individually tailored.”

For instance, Roland says IBI recognizes the difference in the light from Canada’s east coast to the west coast. “The light in Vancouver can be both bright and grey,” Roland asserts. “So in FMD’s new offices, woods are lighter [and] there is lots of glass and colored glass for translucency. The views in Vancouver are magnificent with the ocean [and] the mountains and we wanted to capitalize on all of that.” The 2010 Winter Olympic games will be in Vancouver, which is causing regional construction costs to rise, Roland says.

“We hired a construction manager early on who was able to bid and secure the best trades to make sure that we wouldn’t be saddled with the rising construction costs,” she notes. Roland says this helped the company save money, and IBI was able to pass that savings on to its client.
    
Always Mentoring
IBI tackles projects in teams, with its team sizes varying with the scope of each project. “I lead a team of seniors, intermediates and juniors, [that are] both designers, architects, architectural technologists and project managers,” Roland explains. “We mentor our designers – junior up to senior [level], where juniors are teamed with a senior to make sure the juniors are progressing and growing and have client contact.

“Our projects can range from 5,000 square feet to half a million square feet and more,” she continues. “It depends on what the project requires. However, there’s always a senior associate assigned to a project.

“We have architects on staff, interior designers, graphic artists and technologists,” Roland adds. “We hire them for their skills, but we also make sure that they get trained on LEED, on building codes, and also encourage other training pertaining to professional development.” This training includes courses offered by professional associations or furniture manufacturers.

IBI Group
IBI Interiors is a subsidiary of IBI Group, which provides architectural design, transportation systems solutions and consulting and software development.

Its employees’ academic backgrounds and experience range from urban design and planning, architecture, civil engineering and systems engineering to urban geography, real estate analysis and software development.