Microsoft Office Canada - a vaporous and airy ambience!

Compiled by TeamIAnD

Information: Courtesy LumiGroup

Photography: Courtesy V2com

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Microsoft’s first Conference Centre in Montreal is a vaporous and aerial signature, with dynamic light punctuations that inspire innovation…

Designed by corporate interior design expert, Metaphore Design in collaboration with lighting design experts, LumiGroup, the DNA of the office revolves around the lighting of the space - subtle at times, bright, diffuse or alive at others. The lighting accompanies, punctuates and accentuates every detail; sometimes becoming a shape, volume, or graphic/architectural element.

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A structurally organic and aerodynamic reception desk with undefined limits complemented by seemingly floating company logo is illuminated by soft lighting with undefined contouring. This dreamy effect is achieved with a special lens, Dasal’s Wall-Wash, which evenly distributes the light using a wider and higher light beam than is used in standard recessed lights.

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A dropped ceiling, present in three conference rooms, reveals a blue sky occupied by delicate clouds, referring to Windows system’s famous wallpaper, an iconic Microsoft image. The minimalist profile lighting fixture, through its bidirectional lighting, highlights both the azure ceiling and the conference table, providing a functional workspace. A gradient frost on the glass walls adds to the vaporous and airy ambience. Then, in an unexpected way, the dropped ceiling pierces the conference room wall to finish its course in the waiting room, as if to remind us of the absence of limits in this digital and virtual world.

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The light then energetically unfolds in the main corridor, where a rhythmic game of recessed light bands of varying lengths adorns the ceiling. This light pattern continues in the adjacent inner conference room, crossing through the completely transparent glass wall, again challenging physical boundaries.

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Another dynamic movement is observed at the entrance of the training room where, contrasting with the padded and floating atmosphere of the reception and conference rooms, a large backlit mural displays photographed silhouettes in motion. A long strip of vivid white light overlooks the mural, accentuating velocity, guiding the visitor towards the entrance of the room. These notions of speed and linear movement, also noticeable in the pattern on the floor, graphically illustrate technology and its rapid development.

LumiGroup and Métaphore Design transport us into a world between floating and movement, between serenity and dynamism; where material and digital seem to merge; where technology becomes intelligible, and facilitates interaction and learning.