project

IMS

LOCATION  Waterloo, ON

PROJECT TYPE   Office

COMPLETION DATE  2009

The IMS building is the first phase of a Master‐Planned Development on lands formerly and notably occupied by Conestoga College. The IMS building represents a significant exercise in re-urbanization and acts as an imaginative beacon for the creative re‐use of outdated, derelict or abandoned structures. Formerly a post‐secondary school building, IMS re-envisioned the property as their corporate and world headquarters. The Project required the stripping of the former school back to its essential structure, leaving only the floor slab, steel columns and the steel roof deck. The end product re‐packages the deep floor plate, allowing daylight to penetrate deep into the work spaces. A former daycare was renovated and in again operational, providing a

welcome service/amenity space for the employees as well as the children of other local families. Internal pedestrian connections establish an efficient route from the parking lot to the offices within. The front entrance of the building facing Weber Street extends a welcoming hand into the public realm via a steel and concrete colonnade framing a broad entry sidewalk; an architectural device used to mark all other major building entrances as well. The ABA Project Team, in collaboration with the client, developed the building signage which is integrated within the glazed curtain wall system, glowing similar to the screen of a smartphone.

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2008-172 435 King St N_E (14)
2008-172 435 King St N_E (9)