Intact Insurance’s first Service Centre in Ontario was envisioned as part of a new business model that focused on streamlining vehicle insurance claims. With a welcoming and modern office at the front, and a garage for inspections at the back, the repurposed building, adjacent to the Gardiner Expressway, increased the company’s visibility and provided intuitive access from the street.
Using the industrial bones of a former ice cream factory, the one-storey, 7,500 square foot building was renovated, revealed and enhanced. This included re-cladding the exterior envelope, and increasing the glazing – enlarging existing windows, adding new glazed overhead doors – in order to improve daylight throughout the interior workspaces. The site was also re-designed to enhance the street presence and accommodate the flow of vehicles.
