Upon entering the International Development Research Centre’s office in downtown Ottawa, one is greeted by a display of artifacts, from a three-foot-tall fertility statue of a woman to ornate vases and framed photographs. These artifacts, gifted by clients from around the world, set the mood and tone for the IDRC’s head office. Then one might notice the soothing blues and greens and then an assortment of interwoven patterns proliferating the space that bring to mind textiles.
All of these details were selected to represent the global nature of IDRC’s work, as well as one of the elements that unifies humanity – textiles.
“IDRC is in multiple locations around the world, and when we started thinking about that, one of the very essentials in life is to clothe yourself, and every culture around the world weaves textiles to create this bare necessity. So this idea of overlapping lines that we find in woven cloth, that really was a jumping-off point for us esthetically,” says Bryan Wiens, principal of Ottawa interior design firm LWG Architectural Interiors.
The philosophy behind the office space, Mawanzo, or “new beginnings” in Swahili, guided its creation, says Wiens. This was also used as the name of a focus group that was created, and consultations were held with a firm called Vision2Voice, headed by Andrea Greenhous. 
The origin story of the new space at the World Exchange Plaza begins pre-pandemic, when it was clear that IDRC had outgrown its old office several blocks away.
“They wanted to create a new vision for the organization and think about new ways to work. And so looking forward, the president had a vision for the new space to create a more open, collaborative space focused on bringing people together and fostering the work that they do internationally with developing countries,” Wiens says.
That process began in 2019, with IDRC’s Richard Danis coming on board. In the old, dark space, everyone had their own office, and there were few windows and even fewer meeting rooms. It became clear that a space at World Exchange was ideal, and the planning continued in earnest. This included a downsizing from 108,000 square feet to 66,000 square feet, reducing the organization’s original footprint by more than 40 per cent. 
Despite the reduction, the key was to keep an open concept that focused on the user experience, Danis says. “How would the user perceive and feel going into the space? How would they use it?” Incorporating technology in a user-friendly way was also a priority, he adds. “It’s the technology that goes into the physical space and how you use a technology that is extremely important,” he says. This was done so efficiently and effectively that the IDRC’s office space has been recognized by Gartner for enhancing inclusion through technology and workplace design.
There are 270 employees spread out over three floors, which contain a multitude of flexible spaces for any scenario that people want to work in, whether it is by themselves or in large or small groups.
The space is suited for multi-purpose use, with a prime example of that being the Rafiki Lounge, a central social area that can accommodate 15 to 20 people who want to meet or even eat lunch. In the design phase, a cross-functional group was created to collaborate and determine necessities for the new office. In the initial stages, a central meeting area was deleted from the plans, but team members objected. “They said, ‘This is part of our cultural identity, we have to have this space,’ so we designed it back into the space, and it’s wonderful now to see when you have 15 to 20 people gathering in there to have lunch and whatnot. It’s a great space. So, having that influence of the staff, and being the ambassadors for the rest of their teams to really help with the design was key to this whole experience,” Danis says.
The contribution from team members was sometimes fraught with dissent, Wiens adds, but that added to the overall outcome, since every decision was justified in the end. “So we workshopped everything, like colours and finishes, the concept, the philosophy of the esthetics, the workstations, how high are the panels going to be,” he says. “We had some people that challenged us on everything, which I think is good, because design should be defendable. We should be able to say, ‘There’s a reason for everything we put into this design.’”
Danis says the configuration is working ideally for the current workflow. Employees are asked to be in office three days a week over two weeks, and they have their own “landing” space, which encourages a sense of permanency.
The final product certainly lives up to the standards of functionality, from the soothing blues, greens and reds that are reflective of the tones in the IDRC logo, to the textile patterns throughout, to the 40:1 ratio of meeting space to staff members.
“Speaking to that welcoming side, because the IDRC hosts people from all over the world, when delegates and communities come into their office space, we wanted to create a blank slate that wasn’t overly ostentatious but did represent their brand so the blues, the reds are all representative of their core branding colours,” says Olivia Carmichael, an interior designer with LWG.
In addition to the soothing atmosphere, there is also a display wall for all publications circulated by the IDRC, which highlights work that is sometimes not necessarily somebody sees all the way through, says Carmichael. “It is adjacent to the communal area where those finished products are accessible, and somebody can close the loop on their work and go and see what the final product looked like. They can bring it into the Rafiki Lounge and review the product and see where their work ended. And then it is also on display in the public area where other guests can view that information,” she adds.
This exemplifies the mindfulness that was incorporated into the design process.
“We’re trying to be less corporate in our look and focus more on the idea of experience-based design,” says Wiens. “What is the experience of the people coming into the space? They should be having a good experience, so the colours and finishes and how the spaces are articulated has a huge impact on that. We understand that design can only do so much, that the culture of the organization and the relationships between the people are the most important thing, but we would like to see how the design can enhance and support that.”
This article first appeared in the September 2024 special “Best Offices Ottawa” issue of the Ottawa Business Journal. That publication is available in its digital edition below.
