ARIDO Award: RioCan Head Office
The client wanted their new head office to physically reflect their evolution as a people-first, future-focused organization.
Category: WORK
Interior Designers: Suzanne Wilkinson, ARIDO; Tamara Poyato-Rooks, ARIDO; Alivia D’Acchille, ARIDO
Design Firm: Figure3
Design Team: Anna-Lisa Frank, ARIDO
Photographer: Steve Tsai
The existing, fragmented, dark workplace no longer aligned with the client’s brand or culture, and was dominated by enclosed offices that created hierarchy and silos.
The design strategy was rooted in aligning physical space with corporate identity by grounding in the client’s values – boldness, adaptability, responsibility, and trust in a tangible, day-to-day experience for employees and visitors alike.
Our design approach emphasized transparency, connection, and employee well-being as primary drivers while the research focused on stakeholder workshops, interviews, and feasibility studies to uncover operational challenges, cultural aspirations, and spatial inefficiencies.
The outcome is an office space that removed physical and cultural barriers by eliminating partitions, integrating leadership into open-plan neighborhoods, and fostering a more accessible, egalitarian workplace. Employee wellness and workplace experience was improved by maximizing natural light, offering better views, and elevating the sense of pride and connection.
