Inside Vice Canada’s new Liberty Village office, with a well-stocked bar and free movies
What: Vice Canada HQ Where: A warehouse on Mowat Street in Liberty Village How big: 25,000 square feet (plus a rooftop patio) for 150 employees
Until you enter the building, the only way to know you’ve arrived at Vice is by the bearded, cigarette-puffing crew out front. The rapidly growing media company has just expanded from its 40-person offices on Dufferin Street to a sprawling industrial space inspired by Vice’s flagship Brooklyn office. The outside may look like an abandoned warehouse, but the inside (if you ignore the security desk and massive neon VICE sign above it), resembles a trendy members-only club—complete with vintage oriental rugs, luxe brown leather sofas and a restaurant-worthy bar stocked with more than a few kinds of whiskey.
To encourage collaboration, the company takes open-concept work culture seriously: even the executives sit at a centralized long table (the only staff with offices are those who deal with sensitive content, such as members of the legal team).
However, there are plenty of doored editing suites for when employees need to log some serious hours in silence, plus a soundproofed audio booth for sound mixing and recording.
Every Thursday after work, the office holds a screening night, where staff can munch on popcorn and watch a film in a 30-seat screening room that looks like a swanky home theatre (a recent evening was devoted to the documentary Hole, which was edited by Vice staffer Bryan Atkinson).
Unless it’s a Thursday or Friday afternoon, it’s rare to spot employees taking full advantage of the open bar.
The space was designed by local firm DesignAgency.
The video studio is brand-new, and has barely been used (when we visit, employees are testing out interactive video games).
The desks—from Toronto office furniture retailer Teknion—are made of walnut with a steel base and dividers for posting inspirations and notes.
Much of the office’s furniture was custom-designed by DesignAgency in Toronto, then manufactured in Ireland by a company called Orior, while additional pieces were sourced from Restoration Hardware and Herman Miller.
The oriental rugs are from Toronto’s Smash Salvage and Turco Persian Rug Company.
The “Bear Room” is a cozy, sectioned-off living room area, filled with bookshelves and comfortable seating, that was modelled from Vice’s Brooklyn office room of the same name. It earned its moniker a bear that charged the Vice crew while they were filming on location—the bear was shot, taxidermied, and is now on display in Vice’s New York City HQ.
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