An inside look at Coca-Cola’s brand new King Street East headquarters
An inside look at Coca-Cola’s brand new King Street East headquarters
By Frances McInnis | April 9, 2013
By Frances McInnis | 04/09/2013
(Image: JJ Thompson)
What: Coca-Cola Canada’s new headquarters
Where: An addition to the top of the Toronto Sun building on King Street East
How Big: 105,000 square feet over three floors for a staff of 400
With its terrazzo floors and 1960s decor, Coca-Cola Canada’ s old building in East York had an undeniable retro appeal. However, the workspaces were short on natural light and meeting space, and were saddled with too many dividing walls—the antithesis of today’s open-concept office culture. After consulting with employees, the company decided to build a new space in a transit-accessible downtown neighbourhood. The result: a three-storey addition to the top of the Toronto Sun building on King East, which employees moved into this week. The airy new office is full of light (as well as Coke-themed art), and has a grand central atrium featuring the kind of massive television screen normally reserved for stadiums. Come summer, Coca-Cola’s 400 employees will also be able to relax on an outdoor patio. As you’d expect from the world’s most famous soda maker, the cafeteria boasts a Freestyle Machine, which instantly makes over 100 different drinks for free—though the vending machines elsewhere in the office still charge a loonie per can.
207092 A tapestry made of 16,000 bottle caps by Toronto artist Raymond Waters adorns the entrance (Image: JJ Thompson) Coca-Cola’s new Toronto office Coca-Cola’s new Toronto office https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-1-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-1.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-1.jpg 416 624 [] https://torontolife.com/city/coca-cola-toronto-office/slide/office-space-coca-cola-1/ office-space-coca-cola-1 0 0
(Image: JJ Thompson)
207093 The sky-lit atrium is used for town hall-style employee meetings. On regular days, the space is furnished with chairs and couches (Image: JJ Thompson) Coca-Cola’s new Toronto office Coca-Cola’s new Toronto office https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-2-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-2.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-2.jpg 416 624 [] https://torontolife.com/city/coca-cola-toronto-office/slide/office-space-coca-cola-2/ office-space-coca-cola-2 0 0
(Image: JJ Thompson)
207558 (Image: JJ Thompson) Coca-Cola’s new Toronto office Coca-Cola’s new Toronto office https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-intro-slider-96x96.jpeg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-intro-slider.jpeg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-intro-slider.jpeg 656 416 [] https://torontolife.com/city/coca-cola-toronto-office/slide/office-space-coca-cola-intro-slider/ office-space-coca-cola-intro-slider 0 0
(Image: JJ Thompson)
207095 The company is gunning for LEED certification, so the chairs in the lunchroom are made from recycled bottles, while most of the chandeliers are recycled cardboard (Image: JJ Thompson) Coca-Cola’s new Toronto office Coca-Cola’s new Toronto office https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-4-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-4.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-4.jpg 416 624 [] https://torontolife.com/city/coca-cola-toronto-office/slide/office-space-coca-cola-4/ office-space-coca-cola-4 0 0
(Image: JJ Thompson)
207096 The old office on Overlea Boulevard was short on meeting spaces. The new workplace has 36 meeting rooms (Image: JJ Thompson) Coca-Cola’s new Toronto office Coca-Cola’s new Toronto office https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-5-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-5.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-5.jpg 416 624 [] https://torontolife.com/city/coca-cola-toronto-office/slide/office-space-coca-cola-5/ office-space-coca-cola-5 0 0
(Image: JJ Thompson)
207098 Coca Cola-inspired art is everywhere, including several pieces commissioned specifically for the office (Image: JJ Thompson) Coca-Cola’s new Toronto office Coca-Cola’s new Toronto office https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-7-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-7.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-7.jpg 416 624 [] https://torontolife.com/city/coca-cola-toronto-office/slide/office-space-coca-cola-7/ office-space-coca-cola-7 0 0
(Image: JJ Thompson)
207100 The hallways are covered in large-scale decals depicting everything from polar bears (in honour of the company’s partnership with the WWF) to Coke delivery trucks (Image: JJ Thompson) Coca-Cola’s new Toronto office Coca-Cola’s new Toronto office https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-9-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-9.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-9.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/city/coca-cola-toronto-office/slide/office-space-coca-cola-9/ office-space-coca-cola-9 0 0
(Image: JJ Thompson)
207101 Another of the hallway graphics (Image: JJ Thompson) Coca-Cola’s new Toronto office Coca-Cola’s new Toronto office https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-10-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-10.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-10.jpg 416 624 [] https://torontolife.com/city/coca-cola-toronto-office/slide/office-space-coca-cola-10/ office-space-coca-cola-10 0 0
(Image: JJ Thompson)
207102 The colour of the wood on the desks is matched to that of Coca-Cola itself. The open-plan workspace has dedicated drop-in cubicles for employees visiting from other offices across Canada (Image: JJ Thompson) Coca-Cola’s new Toronto office Coca-Cola’s new Toronto office https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-11-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-11.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-11.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/city/coca-cola-toronto-office/slide/office-space-coca-cola-11/ office-space-coca-cola-11 0 0
(Image: JJ Thompson)
207103 The open-plan workspaces are bathed in natural light, while the directors’ offices are in the interior section of the building (Image: JJ Thompson) Coca-Cola’s new Toronto office Coca-Cola’s new Toronto office https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-12-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-12.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-12.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/city/coca-cola-toronto-office/slide/office-space-coca-cola-12/ office-space-coca-cola-12 0 0
(Image: JJ Thompson)
207104 Each of the work areas has a bar-style counter with high stools and white boards to encourage collaboration (Image: JJ Thompson) Coca-Cola’s new Toronto office Coca-Cola’s new Toronto office https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-13-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-13.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/office-space-coca-cola-13.jpg 416 624 [] https://torontolife.com/city/coca-cola-toronto-office/slide/office-space-coca-cola-13/ office-space-coca-cola-13 0 0
(Image: JJ Thompson)
great! a new space for all of toronto’s brightest to figure out new ways of capturing mindshare amongst 3 year olds! how can we get canadian children to poison themselves even more? hmmmmm. lets add more sugar? is that the right mouthfeel? what about the blisspoint, did we get it right? are the kids fat enough yet? have we successfully converted 95% of teenagers to a state requiring treatment for “ADHD”? lets be honest coke, your business contributes to the worst issue affecting our society at present, that of our health. every single one of these 400 employees should be thinking about how to change that. if you limit yourself to the tasks of your job description, you won’t ever find your life fulfilled.
Well said CG
It’s just pop.
It’s just heart disease. It’s just death. I don’t know about you Jason, but I’d rather go out doing something than being something (fat and sick).
I am guessing you don’t have any children of your own right? Last time I checked, 3 year olds do buy anything for themselves… There are plenty of sugary treats to be had in the marketplace, how about putting some responsibility on the parents who buy these items for their children? My own son is 5 and has never tasted “pop” nor has any of my friend’s children. Frankly, I don’t know anyone who would give a 3 year old pop? And hey, everyone is trying to making a living….I don’t hear you mention about all the charities like “Breakfast Clubs” which is sponsored by Minute Maid (a Coca-Cola company) and for which many Coca-Cola employees give their time and work tirelessly for? I guess the popular agruement is simply the easier arguement instead of taking the time to do your research you would rather regurgitate statistics. Classic.
You must be awesome at parties…
Where in my post did I suggest 3 year olds buy this trash for themselves?
You think you’re an upright parent and nobody else is, because your child hasn’t had pop? You do realize they are going to soon right? These companies are spending hundreds of millions if not billions to make sure each and every child knows their product exists, and that it tastes great. Sorry to rain on your parade, but your son will be consuming this crap very soon.
I have absolutely no respect for “everyone trying to make a living” if their means in doing so does harm rather than good. So for these companies to have a few write-offs in the names of little known charities means nothing to me.
Sorry to let you down, but I didn’t regurgitate a single statistic.
Here’s a statistic for you Lisa. Your son was born with over 200 toxins in his blood stream. That’s the average for a north american child. Some of which may be endocrine disruptors and cause problems for him later in life. Guess who gave him those? You did, thanks to the environment and the food that you consume. Why? Because agribusiness, etc. “has to make a living”.
Gotta side with CG on this one, and I do so as a VERY modest consumer of pop myself. My parents, many moons ago, tried to instill a CERTAIN AMOUNT of healthy eating habits in me, but they weren’t so stupid as to deny me a taste of junk food now and again because they knew sooner or later, I’d just buy it and eat it when they weren’t looking. That’s what kids do. Mind you, forty-some years later a case of 24 pops lasts me several MONTHS, but I still drink the stuff. Parents like Lisa, though, sicken me with their turned-up noses and “my little angel doesn’t TOUCH pop or sugar or fat or salt or breakfast cereal or cake or anything other than wholesome veggies and grains and soy milk” bullshit. I can’t STAND it when “these people” grandstand with their spawn at other people’s homes, tsk-tsk-ing offers of anything even remotely processed. Like CG says: face it folks, EVERY CHILD will try ALL of this crap sooner of later. It. Is. Inevitable. Even more hilarious for these “my little precious” parents, the longer you deny it to your kids, the more apt they’ll be to try it in secret, like it , and KEEP trying it in secret. You think you can keep them from seeing the ubiquitous MARKETING behind these products. You think you know EVERYTHING they consume at school? After school? At friends’ houses? That’s the way it’s always been; that’s the way it always will be. In the end, the corporations behind “fun” processed foods WILL win the hearts and minds of your kids. It’s what they’ve done for over a century, a century during which ALL of these companies have learned to understand children better than their own over-protective parents. The best you can possibly hope is to instill SOME healthy eating habits and develop appreciates of the good-for-you stuff. But thinking you’re doing them a favour by NEVER letting junk food in the house is just raising them up to be even more effective little liars than they already are. Just roll with it, folks, and remember that your micromanaging will come back to bite you on the ass eventually, NO MATTER WHAT.