By Mike Sayre - 27th January, 2021

Curious about the new lululemon Store Support Center in Vancouver? We got to hear all about it, straight from the source! Members of the design team dropped by to introduce themselves, take questions, and share more about their plans to create one of the healthiest buildings in the world.

The event began with a brief presentation by Greg Brumley, VP of Asset Protection & Facilities at lululemon. He explained the careful, rigorous selection process that the Steering Committee used to assemble this team of architects, designers, and consultants. We heard a bit more about each of the firms and their past work before diving into the details of the new SSC. After the presentation, Amber Wernick of Clive Wilkinson Architects, Melissa Marsh of PLASTARC, and Arne Emerson from Morphosis Architects were on-hand to take questions.

Planning and design are already underway, guided by four design principles: PERFORM, INSPIRE, ELEVATE and ENGAGE. A cross-functional team from departments across the business is providing input into the design process through visioning sessions, surveys, and other research. We’ll be sharing more about each of these research steps, as well as a few choice findings, in upcoming Youlu posts, so stay tuned! In addition to painting a complete picture of what we need from top to bottom, these groups are providing continuous feedback to the design team.

In a few months, we plan to share more details about the design. The Q&A at the end of the event brought focus to some key issues that are being worked out now. Easy access by pedestrians, bicycles, and public transit is an important concern. There is also a lot of interest in providing support to members of the collective who have children.

Creating a space that supports a diverse set of needs is always a balancing act. In addition to the survey responses and in-depth interviews with members of the collective, the research compiled by the design team includes a wide variety of demographic data from HR. This will help to set priorities and establish goals for the new Vancouver SSC.

Flexibility is key. If a team decides to re-organize, they shouldn’t be hampered by their environment. The space should respond to our needs as seamlessly as possible, so the design team is working to create a variety of spaces that are adaptable.

The session was an exciting opportunity to share more of what we mean when we say this will be the healthiest workplace in the world. Melissa Marsh of PLASTARC explained, “There are some technical measures of building health: what’s in the air or water, for example. There’s also the way people use the space,” She continued, “Originally, we talked about building the healthiest building in the world. But we shifted to the healthiest workplace because we want to focus on the people.“