Project Description
As one of the foremost media and creative companies, and the largest advertising company in the world, WPP sought to consolidate its portfolio of operating companies by creating a state-of-the-art Media Campus at Toronto’s Waterfront Innovation Centre.
The goal of this project was to unify as many as 40+ different WPP operating companies, which were previously located in no less than eight different office facilities across downtown Toronto.
Constructed over seven floors in a pressurized raised floor building, the new 295,000 square foot campus is equipped to house approximately 2,000 WPP staff. The project includes: state of the art technology infrastructure, LEED Gold Certification, cutting-edge A/V infrastructure, soundproof production and media studios, complete with a flexible and fully connected office environment with amenities and collaboration spaces.
The concept for the lighting design was directly aligned with the interior design – when nature meets urban. This commercial campus is uniquely positioned adjacent to a natural shoreline and an industrial dock, with the added dynamic backdrop of redevelopment happening in the city.
This contrast of nature vs. urban was replicated in the architectural palette; the perimeter of the space represented the “urban” while the interior core represented “nature”. Every aspect of the lighting design embraced and built upon this concept.
Lighting fixtures with geometric shapes in black and metallic finishes were selected and arranged in a linear style along the “urban” perimeter. A more organic integrated design strategy was chosen to light the “natural” interior core, with round and softer-shaped lighting fixtures positioned in a free-flowing manner. The base building lighting layout was also redesigned to complement the new geometry of the space.
Image Credit: Justin Maconochie