A black geometric volume evocative of a ship defines these spacious offices for Sidewalk Labs in Toronto, where the Google-owned company is planning an ambitious "future city" neighbourhood.
Designed by local studio Lebel & Bouliane, the Sidewalks Labs Toronto offices are based within a former fish processing plant in Toronto's Port Lands, an industrial area beside Lake Ontario.

The 15,000-square-foot (1,393-square-metre) workspace provides New York City-based Sidewalk Labs ? operated by Google parent company Alphabet ? a base from which to research and experiment with urban innovations for the high-tech neighbourhood it hopes to build nearby.
First proposed in October 2017, the smart district is set to include entirely timber buildings and a reconfigurable paving system if approved.
The two-storey office is named 307, after its address at 307 Lake Shore Boulevard East. The building's exteriors are painted blue with colourful illustrations by Montreal-based artist Cecile Gariepy, while the interiors have a pared-back and industrial feel.
During the warehouse renovation, Lebel & Bouliane peeled back layers of modern updates over the decades, to reveal the original character of the fish-processing plant.
Photograph by David Pike
Overall, the offices offer a combination of spacious and intimate areas for working, with exposed structural elements and new plywood forms.
The open-plan spaces feature high ceilings, concrete floors, white walls, and black and na...