The redesigned Canadian headquarters of Saatchi & Saatchi, one of the biggest icons of the ad agency world, took six awards for renowned designer Bartlett & Associates. The Toronto-based firm created a brilliant loft-style space in a conventional office tower that has reenergized Saatchi Canada’s culture and driven them to new heights of success while remaining a budget-driven project.
The awards are the Design Exchange, the Lester Dundes Award from IIDA New York, “Best of Competition 2008” from the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), an Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario (ARIDO) award and two Best of Canada awards.
“Our pitch wins improved to about 75 per cent,” enthuses Brett Channer, chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi Canada, about the stunning record of successes enjoyed by the storied agency in 2008 in its newly redesigned headquarters. Saatchi Canada won five major clients including Wendy’s, Kroger and Buckley’s since the design was completed.
Since Bartlett is noted for innovative, clean-lined and classically modern work, it was no surprise that the open-plan redesign helped drive the transformation of the forward-thinking Saatchi culture at their Canadian headquarters. In effect it created a “community of Saatchi,” reinforced the power of the advertising agency’s unique brand, and greatly improved morale.
“Our best clients understand the power of design to achieve their goals,” says Inger Bartlett, president and founder of Bartlett & Associates. “A well-designed project helps establish a culture of excellence.”
The project also showcases how various design icons and symbols, including the notably visual Saatchi Lovemark, can be interwoven into a powerful design statement. Not bad for a design project with narrow budgetary parameters, which in turn encouraged an exceptionally creative design solution.
Giving the space a “Canadian” feel was important to Saatchi and key to the Bartlett redesign. A sculptured metal deer head mounted on a forest motif wall of rough wooden slats and dogwood branches in window planters grounded the “Made in Canada” nature theme. The prominent beer tap in the corridor to the Pitch Room adds another distinctly Canadian statement.
The exhibition space is defined by low cost scaffolding that plays a dual role as the backbone of custom-designed workstations. The geometry of the scaffolding provides an architectural rhythm to the space, reflecting Saatchi’s dynamic flow of creative ad concepts for clients. The layout encourages collaboration and teamwork, allows for impromptu meetings, and imparts a hip sense of energy to the open work space.
“Design should be practical, but at the end of the day everything comes back to trust. People trust us and that’s what we’re responsible for delivering,” says Bartlett.
