The Challenge:
The renovation of the elevator lobby inside the 1010 Sherbrooke West office building in downtown Montreal was long overdue. The dimly lit lobby had a cavernous feel and included outdated features such as the half-barrel shaped ceiling that dominated the 700 square-foot space.
“Our goal was to add pattern and shape to the ceiling with the necessary lighting for it to become a beautiful focal point,” said GMAD senior interior designer Andre Dimitrovas.
The vision GMAD had for the ceiling was that of a three dimensional, geodesic dome with different size triangular-shaped panels arranged asymmetrically at various angles throughout the ceiling. “We wanted some of the panels to be wood slats and some of them to be flat and white,” said Dimitrovas.
To make the ceiling concept a reality, GMAD turned to the You Inspire Solutions Center at Armstrong to come up with a model that would enable the ceiling to be built.
The Solution:
While the original concept called for each panel to be unique in size and shape, the You Inspire Solutions Center developed a 3-D model that achieved the design intent using a combination of commonized and one-off panels from the Armstrong family of custom WOODWORKS ceiling systems.
The 72 triangular-shaped panels, which include an array of wood grille and white solid wood panels, are attached at varying angles to a custom Armstrong Drywall Grid System, using angle brackets to create the different angles in the grid. “The grid pattern was the key to everything,” explained You Inspire Solutions Center design engineer Michael Tongel. “The layout of the grid dictates the angles of the panels, and the angles of the panels create the undulating visual in the ceiling.”
Included in the grid pattern are spaces for the linear lighting that sits in the two-inch reveal between the panels and a space for the light cove that surrounds the perimeter of the pillow-shaped ceiling where it meets the gypsum bulkhead.
By making the 12' x 30' ceiling more symmetrical and finding ways to repeat panel patterns wherever possible, the design team at the You Inspire Solutions Center effectively recreated the same high-impact visual with fewer custom panels, reducing the cost and making the ceiling easier to manufacture and install.
“With all the acute angles, we were able to create the same dynamic shape with between 12-to-15 different panel sizes,” said Dimitrovas. “We didn’t want to venture into something that was totally customized, so having Armstrong’s engineers on board gave us the confidence that we could build the ceiling and do it in a budget-friendly way.”
Project: 1010 Sherbrooke West Lobby
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Products: WOODWORKS Custom Ceiling System