THE STORY

CIBC wanted to bring two of their satellite offices back to their New York headquarters while creating new spaces with very specific business purposes. Those goals resulted in an inspiring new environment that beautifully serves the needs of CIBC employees and clients.

This multi-phase, multi-year project has 3 distinct pieces to the puzzle: employee office spaces, a full trading floor, and an extremely well-appointed Client Experience Center with purposeful spaces.

The crown jewel of the CIBC New York headquarters project is the opulent, multi-function Client Experience Center. This beautifully appointed environment was developed to meet the varied need of CIBC’s high-net-worth clients and welcomes them in with warm colors and inviting textures.

As visitors enter the Client Experience Center beyond reception, they are met with an expansive, yet inviting, space anchored by an elegant custom wine bar. The space meets many needs with modern partitions that can be positioned to accommodate a variety of events. Subtle—but purposeful—features accentuate the space, including unique lighting and flooring installed at calculated angles; the most notable one pointing to Toronto, CIBC’s global headquarters.

Much of the business conducted with CIBC’s high-net-worth clients is of a confidential nature. To accommodate these confidential business matters, comfortable meeting rooms were furnished with rich woodgrains, warm brass, and welcoming textiles. The rooms not only provide privacy but the perfect setting for relaxed and open communication.

In contrast to the warm deep tones and lighting throughout the Client Experience Center, light and airy was the approach to the employee work areas. To invoke the energy and openness needed by CIBC’s team, Office Revolution employed light colors, sleek materials, and glass walls to create a combination of open workspaces, private offices, relaxed lounge spaces, and casual collaboration zones. Task and visitor seating, workstations, lounge furniture, and ancillary items from Teknion and Studio TK came together to support the functional and aesthetic needs of employees.

The 3^rd piece of the puzzle was the trading floor; a high-paced, all-business environment that demanded functional trading stations with multiple monitors and height adjustable surface to optimize the space.

As with many largescale projects, the scope, timing, and design details of the CIBC headquarters project evolved throughout. What began as a project limited to 2 or 3 floors, grew to encompass a total of 4 floors. The initial timeline also evolved as CIBC put a temporary halt on the buildout to reevaluate needs. Adding to the complexity was the phased nature of the project, which required furniture be installed amid active construction. These challenges are nothing new to the Office Revolution team, who remained flexible, anticipated obstacles, and adjusted to meet the changing needs of CIBC.

“CIBC has been a long-term client of Office Revolution and Teknion,” said Ken Ayers, director of corporate account management for Office Revolution. “Because of this relationship, CIBC knew they would hit the ground running with Office Revolution and that our team would optimize their aggressive phased timeline and adjust to their evolving needs.”