Architecture Firm Uses ACRYLITE® Satinice To Revitalize Office Décor
Canadian office of leading global architecture and engineering firm uses printed ACRYLITE® Satinice panels to create dramatic conference room paying tribute to city’s nautical history.
HDR’s Kingston, Ontario office celebrates the city’s heritage and inspires clients, colleagues to navigate the future together.
At the point where the Cataraqui and St. Lawrence rivers flow into Lake Ontario, you’ll find the city of Kingston, Ontario—North America’s fresh-water capital. In the heart of Kingston, you’ll find the newly-redesigned offices of HDR, highlighted by a conference room that serves as a map for getting the job done—literally and figuratively—through an inspired use of ACRYLITE®.
HDR’s Vice President and Design Principal Jason- Emery Groën recently worked with the HDR team to create the firm’s 4,000 square-foot new space. Central to their design was the company conference room—a series of interconnected ACRYLITE® Satinice panels forming the oval shape of ship’s hull and printed with historical navigation maps of Kingston’s surrounding waterways.
“Simplicity and translucence was our primary goal,” says Groën, “and ACRYLITE® Satinice gave us the effect we wanted within budget. We have extended meetings, both internally and with clients, so we felt it was important to inspire everyone with a beautiful space that also represents the creativity and intellectual capital of the firm. The conference room has a dynamic feel at all times of day—lit from outside windows in daytime, and at night, the room glows like a lantern outward toward our production space and main entrance.”
HDR is a multi-national company with over 200 offices in over 60 countries. But the Kingston office is passionately connected to the area, and the team was determined to honor the city’s nautical past. With that inspiration guiding them, they came up with idea of of adding historical waterway navigation maps of Kingston to the ACRYLITE® Satinice panels—and then turned to local Gilmore Reproductions for help. “They had a printer that could print directly on 8’x4’ sheets of ACRYLITE® Satinice,” says Groen, “and they fell in love with how easy it is to work with.” Gilmore’s Jason Polen agrees, saying, “Normally, you would dry mount a graphic to the material or apply cut vinyl after the fact. But ACRYLITE® Satinice was both thin enough and durable enough for our printer to image directly onto. With the use of UV cured inks this process will also help extend the lifespan and protect from fading.”
The result is a centerpiece that has people taking notice in Kingston — and beyond. Says Ingrid Felso, Vice-President and Managing Principal for the HDR Eastern Ontario offices “We’ve developed additional ACRYLITE® panels for both our Toronto and Ottawa offices. It’s definitely a unique identity statement for the firm.”
Location: Kingston, Ontario
Fabricator: Gilmore Reproductions
