Playster by ACDF Architecture: 2017 Best of Year Winner for Midsize Tech Office

Quandaries abounded as associate architect Joan Renaud began plotting out the new headquarters of young and fast-growing subscription-based entertainment streaming service, Playster. The previous tenant’s floor plan was tired, certainly not befitting such a hip enterprise. “Far from sexy” is how Renaud puts it. Even worse than the humdrum aesthetics was the fact that the 18,000-square-foot layout managed to isolate the private offices and to disconnect the departments, crying out for a sense of unity. Last but certainly not least, the pressure was on to be gentle on the environment—and the budget—by retaining as much existing structure as possible.

His solution? Every designer’s secret weapon. “Color became core to our approach,” he reveals. And he doesn’t mean just a few pops here and some accents there.

Aside from the central circulation corridor, paneled in glossy white vinyl, other connectors and common spaces are vivid statements in mustard, teal, or rose, with the walls and carpet coordinating for maximum saturation. Each team got assigned a different identifying color that also nods to the company’s logo. “It’s a simple game of contrasting and balancing,” he says. “But it creates a sense of belonging for the employees.”

Project Team: Maxime-Alexis Frappier; Veronica Lallt; Martin St-Georges- Alain Larivée; Valérie Soucy.

> See more from the December 2017 issue of Interior Design

> See all 2017 Best of Year winners and honorees