Great Offices: Sid Lee’s lofty space inside a Distillery District landmark
Great Offices: Sid Lee’s lofty space inside a Distillery District landmark
By Frances McInnis | April 3, 2013
By Frances McInnis | 04/03/2013
By Frances McInnis | Photography by Derek Shapton
What: Sid Lee, a multidisciplinary creative shop that specializes in architecture, design, advertising and marketing
Where: The 150-year-old Stone Distillery building in the Distillery District
How Big: 10,400 square feet over two floors for a staff of 43
The Montreal-based agency first opened its Toronto office two years ago with a team of eight employees. To give the firm room to expand, management chose a cavernous space on the top floor of the Stone Distillery building. The first major purchase for their new digs: a top-of-the-line sound system, the size of which impressed even the technician who installed it. Playing indie music from employees’ iPods throughout the day—or, for those working late, blasting whatever they liked—helped to fill the space. The staff complement has since expanded to 43, enough to fill the original office, plus additions across the hall and on the second floor, but both the informal vibe and the music remain. Communal refectory tables and giant bean bag chairs form the office’s central spine and are constantly in use for brainstorms, meetings and weekly pizza lunches.
202274 Sid Lee has no official reception area; instead, visitors and clients move straight into the bustle of the open-plan workroom Great Offices: Sid Lee Great Offices: Sid Lee https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-intro-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-intro.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-intro.jpg 656 416 [] https://torontolife.com/city/great-office-spaces-sid-lee/slide/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-intro/ great-office-spaces-sid-lee-intro 0 0
202323 Graffiti art by Toronto artists Zender, Chaz and Mr K. competes with photos and drawings that staff pin on the 150-year-old wood beams (Image: Derek Shapton) Great Offices: Sid Lee Great Offices: Sid Lee https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-07-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-07.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-07.jpg 656 416 [] https://torontolife.com/city/great-office-spaces-sid-lee/slide/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-07/ great-office-spaces-sid-lee-07 0 0
(Image: Derek Shapton)
202321 Refectory tables and wood canopies form the central spine of the workroom (Image: Derek Shapton) Great Offices: Sid Lee Great Offices: Sid Lee https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-05-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-05.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-05.jpg 656 416 [] https://torontolife.com/city/great-office-spaces-sid-lee/slide/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-05/ great-office-spaces-sid-lee-05 0 0
(Image: Derek Shapton)
202320 Interior walls are all either black or white to allow staff to doodle and sketch out ideas whenever the mood strikes (Image: Derek Shapton) Great Offices: Sid Lee Great Offices: Sid Lee https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-04-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-04.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-04.jpg 656 416 [] https://torontolife.com/city/great-office-spaces-sid-lee/slide/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-04/ great-office-spaces-sid-lee-04 0 0
(Image: Derek Shapton)
202319 Sleek, modern furniture contrasts with the warmth of the building’s aging wood (Image: Derek Shapton) Great Offices: Sid Lee Great Offices: Sid Lee https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-03-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-03.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-03.jpg 416 656 [] https://torontolife.com/city/great-office-spaces-sid-lee/slide/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-03/ great-office-spaces-sid-lee-03 0 0
(Image: Derek Shapton)
202322 Because the historic building has deeply recessed windows, a significant chunk of the design budget was spent on lighting (Image: Derek Shapton) Great Offices: Sid Lee Great Offices: Sid Lee https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-06-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-06.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-06.jpg 416 656 [] https://torontolife.com/city/great-office-spaces-sid-lee/slide/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-06/ great-office-spaces-sid-lee-06 0 0
(Image: Derek Shapton)
202344 The account people occupy the second floor, where the mood is decidedly calmer, with painted wood floors in place of polished concrete (Image: Derek Shapton) Great Offices: Sid Lee Great Offices: Sid Lee https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-08-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-08.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-08.jpg 416 656 [] https://torontolife.com/city/great-office-spaces-sid-lee/slide/great-office-spaces-sid-lee-08/ great-office-spaces-sid-lee-08 0 0
(Image: Derek Shapton)