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Inside McCann Canada’s new office, where hundreds of tiny, 3-D printed models of staff members are on display

By Jean Grant| Photography by Tom Arban
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McCann Toronto SLIDE 4
Photograph courtesy of McCann

What: Global marketing communications agency McCann Canada’s headquarters Where: Two and a half floors of an office building at John and Wellington How big: 60,000 square feet for approximately 300 employees

McCann, the marketing agency responsible for Molson’s iconic “I am Canadian” campaign, traded in its longtime office at Queens Quay and Bay this summer for a slick downtown space. The expansive new office swaps old-fashioned cubicles for an open floor plan with 32 communal workspaces and curvaceous finishes courtesy of Bartlett and Associates Ltd. The office also doubles as an art gallery, where visiting clients can purchase paintings, installations and photographs from Queen West’s Twist Gallery and some especially artsy employees.

The company also invented Hockey Night in Canada in 1931, and has named the main kitchen and bar the “Hotstove Lounge” in tribute. If there’s a sports game on, staff gather here (and the beer starts to flow). The tap contents change, but right now it’s from Muskoka Brewery:

Inside McCann Canada's new office, where hundreds of tiny, 3-D printed models of staff members are on display

Most of the office’s artwork is rotated every six months. This steel sculpture of McCann founder Harrison King that was conceptualized by Nick Noh and built by Rina McGrath, however, is permanent:

Inside McCann Canada's new office, where hundreds of tiny, 3-D printed models of staff members are on display

Each of the office’s four corners is a differently decorated lounge area equipped with walls staff can write on, plus state-of-the art video screening capabilities:

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Inside McCann Canada's new office, where hundreds of tiny, 3-D printed models of staff members are on display

Staff sit by departments, and each area has a different nickname. For example, account services is known as “suit central,” and this desk where strategy and creative teams meet is called the “fight club”:

Inside McCann Canada's new office, where hundreds of tiny, 3-D printed models of staff members are on display

The move coincided with a McCann’s company rebrand, which involved dropping the MacLaren from its name (many people probably know of the company as MacLaren McCann). Recently appointed Canadian CEO David Leonard instigated the change and was heavily involved in the new office’s redesign. This is his not-so-shabby office (the sousaphone in the corner is purely ornamental):

Inside McCann Canada's new office, where hundreds of tiny, 3-D printed models of staff members are on display

The spacious main lobby is used to host town halls and staff parties. Most of the furniture was custom-designed to suit the space:

McCann Toronto SLIDE 4
Photograph courtesy of McCann

Instead of a staff photo wall, this space features a 3-D printed model of each McCann employee from Sculptraits:

Inside McCann Canada's new office, where hundreds of tiny, 3-D printed models of staff members are on display

Here’s a closer look:

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Inside McCann Canada's new office, where hundreds of tiny, 3-D printed models of staff members are on display

There’s also a “dog wall,” where employees can post pictures of their adorable pooches for everyone else to swoon over:

Inside McCann Canada's new office, where hundreds of tiny, 3-D printed models of staff members are on display

The company’s motto is “Truth Well Told,” and it appears again and again in the space, including as an engraving in the floor near the entrance:

Inside McCann Canada's new office, where hundreds of tiny, 3-D printed models of staff members are on display

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