KEY MARKETING
Real Estate Marketing and Sales Brokerage Specializing
in Large Scale Residential and Mixed Use Projects.
Key Marketing is a real estate marketing and sales brokerage located in Vancouver’s historic Gastown district. Their office resides on the top floor of Alexander Place, a landmark building constructed in 1910.
We worked alongside Cutler Design to create an office space that embellishes the heritage building textures and materials and provides the day-to-day convenience of a modern 21st-century office space.
Creating the Ideal Modern Work Environment
Out of Century Old Architecture
One of the first things you feel when you walk into the head office of Key Marketing is a specific mood. The space is opulent and refined, yet rustic and aged.
The office lighting system was the secret ingredient to bring the interior design features together with the early 20th century textures and materials.
While modern buildings often keep electrical connections hidden underneath drywall, it would be a real tragedy to cover up the beautiful brick and timber, so all the wires for electrical appliances and lighting had to be kept exposed. This turned into a design feature as the matte black conduit blends in seamlessly with the complex canvas of textures and materials.
A significant challenge of executing this project of this scale was that the elevator didn't provide us with much access to move oversized items up and down. As a result, we had to coordinate a series of traffic/road closures and crane lifts to get large elements up to the building's fifth floor.
The office features a bar-style countertop where people can socialize and enjoy beverages from the nearby fridge. The design included a large stone slab countertop which was too big to fit in the elevator. The single piece of stone had to be lifted by a crane through one of the windows. To do this, we removed the entire window to create enough space to get the countertop through and into the unit.
It was vital for us to have clear and efficient communication with the city and the building’s other occupants to allow for this process to be completed with minimal disturbance to the other businesses in the building.
The finishing requirements for this office space were similar to those of a high-end luxury home. When entering the president’s office, it is clear that the design and craftsmanship far exceed that of an average office.
From the private wet bar to the office bookshelves, the custom cabinetry and millwork were some of the finest we have ever installed in a commercial office project.
One cool feature of this room that we have to mention is the secret door—hidden in plain sight when closed—that, when opened, allows for quick access to the bathrooms without having to enter the main office hallway.
When standing in front of the receptionist’s counter, one of the office’s most subtle yet elegant details can be spotted—a brass Key Marketing logo inlaid into the marble.
This is a perfect example of the detail-oriented, no-expense-spared design philosophy that Cutler Design used when creating this office space.
To facilitate this, we had to coordinate with multiple highly-skilled tradespeople to CNC the marble slabs to fit the custom-molded brass logo. The use of marble in the design was particularly challenging as any miscommunication between the tradesmen would likely result in the slab breaking and require high additional costs to replace.
In the end, we are thrilled with how this part of the project turned out, as the logo adds to the stunning first impression Key’s clients have when first entering the office.
Although Mercury has built dozens of high-end office spaces throughout the Greater Vancouver area, Key Marketing stands out among the rest. While working in a century-old building came with its unique challenges, we created one of the most unique, memorable, and high-quality office spaces in Vancouver.
