dkstudio architects designed the offices for financial advising firm, InstarAGF, located in Toronto, Canada.

InstarAGF is the new investment arm of AGF financial advisors. Their new office is located on the 34th floor of the venerable iconic black steel towers designed by Mies Van De Rohe. In this Miesian sea of pristine black steel and glass, the concept was to create a dynamic, bright intervention, a white glowing box unlike any in the surrounding black towers. This was a response to the progressive, energetic, and venturous culture we discovered at InstarAGF.

To create the glowing white box, all the main office surfaces were designed in white, oftentimes highly reflective finishes. Walnut and bronze accents are the only materials that vary from the white palette and offer relief to the otherwise relentless white box concept.

Exiting the lift lobby, the front entrance greets visitors with white Statuario floors and full height feature wall. A polished white Venetian plaster wall leads into the Boardroom where a walnut wide plank 360-degree sleeve-like enclosure creates a contrasting frame for the view of Lake Ontario.

Turning the corner, the space unfolds into an open plan. The glass fronted offices follow the rigorous Miesian module and are held tight to the core. These moves, and the high gloss white epoxy flooring, create an open office that is light and airy by bringing reflections of the outside skies, and skyline, deep into the space. At night, the space gives off a white glow.

Completing the journey is the CEO office, designed with custom furniture. The CEO’s desk, credenza and coffee table, built in bronze with white Calacatta marble tops and accents, were inspired by infrastructure projects and are set off with the Island Airport, one of InstarAGF’s first projects, as a background stage.

The project is unique in that working in the black glass & steel Mies Van De Rohe Towers, we choose a mostly white palette to create the white box effect in an otherwise sea of pristine black. It is also unique to find a highly reflective white gloss epoxy floor covering the extent of a busy office, a unique and unorthodox flooring selection typically relegated to carpet tile.

Design: dkstudio architects
Photography: Michael Muraz

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