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property report

They call it the Digital Garage. Meeting nooks are made from recycled shipping containers. Conference enclosures have names like Fortress of Solitude and Castle Von Doom. And tables are on wheels so work areas can be easily reconfigured to suit the tasks at hand.

It’s hardly what you’d expect on the 49th floor of one of the most corporate towers in Canada. Or from a company in one of the most buttoned-down professions: insurance.

The newly opened digital development centre of Aviva Canada Inc. has an eclectic feel that seems to have evolved over time, even though the office in First Canadian Place at the heart of Toronto’s financial district was created from a vast empty space in just five months.

Working with design firm figure3, Aviva Canada turned a former law office in Toronto's First Canadian Place into a space for its tech specialists, creative designers and commercial teams. (Steve Tsai)

Parent company Aviva PLC is one of several global insurers who are making efforts to put more tech into their businesses, harness big data and update information technology systems. It’s investing heavily to automate what has traditionally been a paper-oriented industry, create more digital products, interact more with customers online and appeal to tech-savvy millennials looking to buy insurance.

It opened its first digital workshop in 2014 in an equally corporate tower in London’s Canary Wharf. In 2015, a second digital garage opened in Singapore.

“As soon as we started talking about opening one in Toronto, I saw the opportunity to be creative with a place in the financial centre,” says Ben Isotta-Riches, Aviva Canada’s chief information officer. “We’d already taken another floor in First Canadian Place, so it seemed logical to be here.”

Surplus shipping containers, refinished in bright blue but still retaining the industrial hardware, were used to create meeting nooks. (Steve Tsai)

Fortunately, a floor formerly leased by a law firm had become available directly above the offices of the company that provides home, auto and business insurance to three million customers across Canada.

“We realized we’re competing for talent with the brick-and-beam offices to the west on King Street, which is becoming Toronto’s Silicon Valley. It became an interesting challenge to turn a corporate environment into a cool workspace for the kind of talent we want to attract,” Mr. Isotta-Riches says.

The renovation schedule was tight. Aviva took possession of the space in February of 2016 and wanted to move its 70 existing digital designers, developers and technicians into the space by August. The layout also had to be flexible enough to accommodate nearly twice that many as the program expands in the future.

Conference rooms bear whimsical names you wouldn't expect at an insurance company, like Castle Von Doom and Fortress of Solitude. (Wallace Immen/The Globe and Mail)

It helped that the space in the 1970s office tower was a blank slate, having been stripped to the walls, says Suzanne Bettencourt, principal of Toronto-based interior design firm figure3, which Aviva hired to do the redesign.

To create the feel of a brick-and-beam space favoured by tech employees, figure3 started by designing brick walls and arches to break up the 14,500 square feet of space. A large central meeting zone with a series of risers was created as a common area and conference space.

With the former drop ceiling removed, the beams and duct work were exposed. It’s always a big challenge to open up former drop ceilings which contain heating and air conditioning systems, Ms. Bettencourt says. It meant putting in a lot of new mechanicals and air ducts, which added to the cost of renovations.

Desks populate the perimeter of the Digital Garage, leaving the interior open for soft seating and lounge areas. (Steve Tsai)

To create meeting nooks, figure3 utilized the walls of surplus shipping containers, refinished in bright blue, but still retaining the industrial hardware. The concrete floors were left bare, or covered with throw rugs.

Glass enclosures and open meeting nooks were created for discussions. “A huge plus was the fact that windows on all sides have some of the best vistas in the city,” Ms. Bettencourt says, so all the enclosures are on the interior of the space. Some interior walls were finished to look like weathered barn board to give more character, while others were covered with white boards to encourage informal meetings.

To keep the work areas as agile as possible, the tables are on wheels so they can be moved and equipment can be plugged in at another location to electrical outlets that are installed flush to the floors.

“Making the electrical connections required drilling from the floor below, which Aviva also leases as corporate offices. That required X-raying the floors to ensure we weren’t cutting any rebar or structural elements,” Ms. Bettencourt explains.

Getting some of the office pieces up the 49 storeys presented some challenges, she adds. The 105-inch televisions used on walls of the meeting areas just barely squeezed into the freight elevators.

“Now that people have moved in, the office has already become more eclectic as teams have moved different styles and colours of chairs from around the office into conference rooms for meetings. It appears built up over time,” Ms. Bettencourt notes.

Despite the open concept, Aviva Canada says the office remains tranquil, even when large meetings are being held. (Steve Tsai)

Despite being open, the office is remarkably quiet, Mr. Isotta-Riches says. “A fear that organizations have when they design spaces like this is that if it’s open, it’s going to be loud.

“We’ve had as many as 120 people in a meeting with video presentation without really disrupting the people who are working around the area.”

Aviva is actively recruiting new hires that may bring the digital team in residence to as many as 135 from 70, he says. Some employees will also move in to work on projects for a few months and then move back to their more traditional work spaces elsewhere.

One of the Aviva Canada's advantages of locating in a Toronto skyscraper is the incredible views of the city. (Wallace Immen/The Globe and Mail)

Last October, Aviva held a “pitch day” in the Digital Garage for startups that foster digital innovation in the insurance industry.

The winner will be considered for an investment from Aviva of up to $10-million. The company also has a partnership with Ryerson University’s Digital Media Zone for digital development projects.

While this is the only space of its type in First Canadian Place, a number of tenants in the 72-storey tower have toured it.

“This is the kind of adaptable space that’s ideal for companies that are growing. It’s a great strategy if you’re unsure of the market need,” Ms. Bettencourt says.