Your Office is Your Identity – Gaming HQ in Canada

M Moser takes us through supporting an expansion through dynamic planning and design for a confidential gaming company in Victoria, BC.

This confidential client, located on Canada’s West Coast, develops games that prioritise a balance of responsiveness, humour and competitiveness as part of its rich multiplayer experiences. Expanding its workforce due to robust growth following a merger, the company enlisted the M Moser team to lead the interior design of its new workplace in Victoria, British Columbia. 

The Goal

The goal was to support employee performance and collaboration through the expansion. Additionally, it was aimed to help establish the client’s footprint in the market as a larger-scale company. Through careful design and strategic planning, the design team fused the distinct cultures of the merging companies, creating a cohesive, unified workspace. The design interventions resulted in a human-centric, inspiring work environment that integrates flexibility, amenities and state-of-the-art tech.

Key Highlights

• Merging two company cultures into a unified workspace while maintaining a connection to its start-up roots. 
• Offering greater flexibility, state-of-the-art technology and workspace variety tailored to employee needs and evolving workstyles. 
• Balancing the company’s fun-loving spirit as a larger entity in the gaming industry while ensuring the workspace remains functional and inspiring for years to come.

Project Planning

Aligning with the client’s vision to move away from a traditional office setup, designers and technologists created modern, flexible spaces. These spaces are complemented by hubs designed to support team culture. They tailored a mix of open, semi-closed and enclosed collaboration spaces to help smooth transitions towards a more collaborative environment. Furthermore, private workstations and focus areas meet a variety of employee preferences and high-quality acoustic interventions support daily needs. 

Rational design principles were employed for the minimalist aesthetic, using a limited number of finishes. This strategy ensured materials were utilised efficiently, minimising waste.

Project Details

Dynamic planning principles were applied as well as agile design to ensure the workspace adapts to the company’s evolving working styles. Technical solutions and modular designs empower employees to reconfigure their working areas to meet their needs. This adaptable environment is designed to support the client’s expanding team and shifting workflows both now and in the future.

Original branding, slogans and values throughout the space reference the company’s start-up years, back in the early 2000s. The client wanted to carry over the inviting atmosphere from its previous office – a heritage building with warm brick walls. The design team decided to install brick walls to feature some of the branded artwork. Innovative design facets, lighting, cold colour palettes, graphics and an eclectic mix of materials create a motivating, inspiring space.

An earnest reminder of its humble beginnings as a smaller venture, the overarching design adopts a minimalistic aesthetic based on a function. The space is infused with branded graphics, interpreting the company’s past to align with its new position in the industry. 

This unified workplace fuses the client’s passion-driven and fun-loving spirit into a new culture that merges seamlessly with its parent company’s comfortable, flexible nature.

This project features:

• 60+ agile work solutions
• a fully branded front-of-house
• a ‘snack & slash’ kitchen
• event and amenity space
• a pool room
• multiple boardrooms and collaboration zones
• a video and studio room
• a wellness and a mother’s room

Products 

Overall Project Results

Designed to serve as a home away from home, this new office space provides a heightened employee experience. Inspired by its gaming narratives that immerse users in brand storytelling, employees are fully immersed in inspiring surroundings where they can develop new experiences and grow their love of games for a worldwide audience.

Contributors:

AOR – Igel Architecture 

Mechanical – Chorus Consulting

Electrical – Archos 

GC – Turner Construction 

Furniture – Teknion 

Design

M Moser

Photography

Tony Colangelo Photography