Great Offices: Torys’ gallery-like headquarters at Wellington and York
Great Offices: Torys’ gallery-like headquarters at Wellington and York
By Frances McInnis | April 1, 2013
By Frances McInnis | 04/01/2013
By Frances McInnis | Photography by Derek Shapton
What: Famed corporate law firm Torys’ Toronto headquarters
Where: The soaring steel and glass Toronto-Dominion Centre at Wellington and York
How Big: 180,000 square feet over nine floors for a staff of 700
The most ambitious aspect of Torys’ 2007 office revamp was the so-called client floor, which actually spans a storey and a half, on the 32nd and 33rd floors. It contains not a single lawyer’s office. Instead, there is a series of reception areas and interconnected meeting rooms, with eye-popping views of the lake, which the firm uses not just for client meetings and teleconferences but also to celebrate big deal closings and major promotions. The restrained palette showcases a curated selection from the firm’s multi-million-dollar Canadian art collection. KPMB partner Marianne McKenna and her colleague Steven Casey, the designers behind the reno, also widened the hallways from the usual five or six feet to a generous 10, to make sure both employees and visitors linger long enough to take in the art. Lawyers who pass by every day still stop to peer at a perspective-bending image by Alain Paiement, and occasionally, mid-meeting, someone will look up from the table to wonder if the originals on the wall are by A. J. Casson (they are).
201461 The main reception is on the 33rd floor, though Torys also has a 32nd-floor reception for clients who need to be greeted separately (for instance, representatives from opposing sides of a deal) (Image: Derek Shapton) Great Offices: Torys LLP Great Offices: Torys LLP https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-04-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-04.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-04.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/city/great-office-spaces-torys/slide/great-office-spaces-torys-04/ great-office-spaces-torys-04 0 0
(Image: Derek Shapton)
201462 The 33rd-floor reception area (Image: Derek Shapton) Great Offices: Torys LLP Great Offices: Torys LLP https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-05-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-05.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-05.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/city/great-office-spaces-torys/slide/great-office-spaces-torys-05/ great-office-spaces-torys-05 0 0
(Image: Derek Shapton)
201463 Toronto artist Robert Fones won the commission for the folding walls dividing a series of meeting rooms facing Lake Ontario. Six photographs of waves in Toronto Harbour are overlaid with short fragments from Don Quixote (Image: Derek Shapton) Great Offices: Torys LLP Great Offices: Torys LLP https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-06-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-06.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-06.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/city/great-office-spaces-torys/slide/great-office-spaces-torys-06/ great-office-spaces-torys-06 0 0
(Image: Derek Shapton)
201465 With the dividing walls up, the space is used for large functions (Image: Derek Shapton) Great Offices: Torys LLP Great Offices: Torys LLP https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-08-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-08.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-08.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/city/great-office-spaces-torys/slide/great-office-spaces-torys-08/ great-office-spaces-torys-08 0 0
(Image: Derek Shapton)
201369 The corridors, each 10 feet wide, open up into natural light, rather than ending in a solid wall or door, the idea being that you’re always walking toward the city (Image: Derek Shapton) Great Offices: Torys LLP Great Offices: Torys LLP https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-03-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-03.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-03.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/city/great-office-spaces-torys/slide/great-office-spaces-torys-03/ great-office-spaces-torys-03 0 0
(Image: Derek Shapton)
201367 Torys bought Douglas Coupland’s <em>Twelve Slogans for the Early 21st Century</em> for one of the corridors<br />
(Image: Derek Shapton) Great Offices: Torys LLP Great Offices: Torys LLP https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-01-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-01.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-01.jpg 416 624 [] https://torontolife.com/city/great-office-spaces-torys/slide/great-office-spaces-torys-01/ great-office-spaces-torys-01 0 0
(Image: Derek Shapton)
201364 The coloured dots are Renée Van Halm’s <em>Currencies, 1950s and ’60s.</em> Torys chose it because that era was a formative time for the firm (Image: Derek Shapton) Great Offices: Torys LLP Great Offices: Torys LLP https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-intro-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-intro.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-intro.jpg 656 416 [] https://torontolife.com/city/great-office-spaces-torys/slide/great-office-spaces-torys-intro/ great-office-spaces-torys-intro 0 0
(Image: Derek Shapton)
201467 The open wood and glass staircase visually connects the 32nd and 33rd floors (Image: Derek Shapton) Great Offices: Torys LLP Great Offices: Torys LLP https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-10-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-10.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-10.jpg 416 624 [] https://torontolife.com/city/great-office-spaces-torys/slide/great-office-spaces-torys-10/ great-office-spaces-torys-10 0 0
(Image: Derek Shapton)
201469 The staircase, from the 32nd floor (Image: Derek Shapton) Great Offices: Torys LLP Great Offices: Torys LLP https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-12-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-12.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-12.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/city/great-office-spaces-torys/slide/great-office-spaces-torys-12/ great-office-spaces-torys-12 0 0
(Image: Derek Shapton)
201468 The reception area on the 32nd floor (Image: Derek Shapton) Great Offices: Torys LLP Great Offices: Torys LLP https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-11-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-11.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-11.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/city/great-office-spaces-torys/slide/great-office-spaces-torys-11/ great-office-spaces-torys-11 0 0
(Image: Derek Shapton)
201466 The firm commissioned this painting of Torys partners, which was based on a photograph that appeared in <em>Toronto Life</em> 30 years ago (Image: Derek Shapton) Great Offices: Torys LLP Great Offices: Torys LLP https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-09-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-09.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-09.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/city/great-office-spaces-torys/slide/great-office-spaces-torys-09/ great-office-spaces-torys-09 0 0
(Image: Derek Shapton)
201368 Two video works by Jon Sasaki play on loop in a corridor on the 33rd floor (Image: Derek Shapton) Great Offices: Torys LLP Great Offices: Torys LLP https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-02-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-02.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/great-office-spaces-torys-02.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/city/great-office-spaces-torys/slide/great-office-spaces-torys-02/ great-office-spaces-torys-02 0 0
(Image: Derek Shapton)