Clio Headquarters
Burnaby • 70,000 square feet
Vancouver-based legal tech unicorn Clio – one of Canada’s fastest-growing companies – secured an entire building for their team, after expanding into 17,000 square feet of former IBM space. SSDG has designed a variety of spaces with Clio since 2012, including multiple expansions in Vancouver and their locations in Calgary, Toronto, and Dublin. For their Burnaby office, the goal was to provide a bright and open space to showcase their company culture while remaining true to the Clio brand. They wanted to increase density in the work areas, create a central hub for collaboration and socialization, and breathe new life into the former “big blue” space.
Design Approach
The design concept for this office was: one part parents’ basement, one-part high-tech geek, with a touch of Vancouver thrown in on the side. The transformation to an efficient and inspiring workspace, reinforcing Clio’s playful and energetic culture was key for their talent to grow and flourish in their new space. The budget was a factor but some splurge-worthy items include the booth seating and locally sourced “pieces of Vancouver” furniture. Included in the design were a variety of activity zones while maintaining the open feel including an open kitchen with plenty of storage with a family-style table, vintage arcade games, and a variety of seating types including booths, banquettes, tables, and chairs.
Clio continues to evolve, and with their current hybrid work goals, SSDG worked with their team to complete this most recent phase of 25,000 SF. Although the office was designed to incentivize employees to come in and enjoy their time working in the office and showcase the vibrant culture that it always has had, it was paramount during this build-out to consider a more progressive perspective and apply hybrid workstyle to support a futuristic and flexible workplace strategy.
Project Partners
Design: SSDG Interiors Inc.
//Lead Designer: Jen Chan
//Partner-in-Charge: Lynn Hughes
Photographer: Upper Left Photography
Completed: Multiple Phases (most recent – 2022)
About the Author
SSDG Interiors Inc.
With a team of 20+ including 3 partners, 4 associates, 10+ registered designers and 2 support staff, SSDG is one of the largest interior design firms in British Columbia, Canada. The team has a diverse skill set – dedicated and committed to excellence. With a belief in building and developing individuals’ strengths allows SSDG to tap into natural talents and specific expertise throughout the studio. They are known within the industry to have a strong technical team that delivers very comprehensive and coordinated drawing packages. Their standards, systems and endless resources including templates and checklists have been developed with decades of knowledge and experience resulting in a strong quality control system.
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