Metropolis: Expedia CruiseShipCenters, Vancouver, B.C.

Published in Metropolis, March 2018

Deftly balancing the needs of its clients with insights from its own workplace studies, Gensler boasts a reputation for designing cutting-edge offices—and its Dallas office’s redesign for the Vancouver, British Columbia, office of travel giant Expedia is no exception. The two-floor, 28,497-square-foot workplace accommodates approximately 160 employees from Expedia’s lodging, engineering, and CruiseShipCenters divisions, the latter of which is headquartered there. In response, the design team conceived an overarching nautical theme that relates to cruise vacations as well as Vancouver’s coastal geography.

Gensler turned to paints and coatings brand Sherwin-Williams to help select and implement a palette that would evoke a maritime feel while meeting environmental and performance requirements. “The client wanted to make a splash and inspire creativity,” states Sherwin-Williams business development representative Lisa Wong. “So our designer recommended a mix of white walls and several bold accent walls.” Specified in Opulence Interior Acrylic Latex paint, the accent colors, much like the ocean, are blue-green variants. Georgian Bay SW 6509, the most prominent of these hues, forms the backdrop to a dynamic pattern made from dock cleats and nautical rope spelling the word “marketplace,” the name given to the office’s social hub and kitchen area. Within that space, Sherwin-Williams’s ArmorSeal 8100 not only protects the bright-blue floor but also produces a handsome shine that recalls sunlight dappling the water’s surface.

The seafaring theme is further reinforced through other references such as canopies and pendants made of dock ropes and bathymetry-contour focal walls and graphics. And a reception desk shaped like a ship’s hull reminds staff and visitors—as if there were any remaining doubt—that the work done there helps travelers embark on their own voyage.