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WEWORK

TORONTO, ON

THE DESIGN PLAN

WeWork revolutionized how we spend the majority of our days – working. As a pioneer in coworking spaces – in 2017, the company operated over 4 million square meters – WeWork transformed the everyday office into an aspirational environment welcoming to all kinds of workers: self-employed and freelance creatives, small start-up teams, hubs for remote workforces or convenient (and impressive) meeting spaces for new business relationships. WeWork spaces are as much about an atmosphere of creativity and inspiration as they are about stimulating productivity and output.

For WeWork’s operations in Toronto, Canada, RFP was brought on board to be a key partner in its success. RFP’s inhouse design team, together with WeWork, established brand standards for design aesthetics and comfort from the earliest stages of construction. And through a productive and collaborative relationship, RFP successfully furnished four locations in Toronto to make WeWork a citywide tastemaker as competitors arrived on the scene.

SCOPE OF WORK

RFP was responsible with working with WeWork head office in Manhattan to complete the following in Toronto:

  • Establish brand standards for comfort and aesthetics in furniture design
  • Design, manufacture, test and install all built-in units, stadium seating, upholstered wooden benches and banquettes
  • Design, manufacture, test and install movable pieces such as custom coffee tables and planters
  • A finished product on time and on budget across locations

PROCESS

RFP and our inhouse design team worked closely with WeWork head office in Manhattan from brainstorming initial design visions to final installation in Toronto, including:

  • Several inspiration and vision sessions to establish brand standards and guidelines to be applied across locations
  • A multi-step design process including samples, renderings, mock-ups and prototypes with client approval along the way
  • Multiple WeWork location and facility site visits
  • Testing furniture designs for comfort and functionality
  • Formalizing quality standard upon final furniture approvals

RESULT

  • Collaborative, mutually beneficial client relationship
  • A trendsetting design in aesthetics and customer appeal
  • Key functional and visual pieces that establish the WeWork setting as a status marker
  • Successful surfaces and seating to facilitate coworking, solo working, collaborative meetings, large gatherings or casual lounging
  • Delivery on full custom furniture process, from initial brainstorming sessions to final installation
  • Pieces delivered on budget and on time

LOCATION

Toronto, On
Client – WeWork, Toronto