Commercial

Commercial architecture and tenant fit-ups

Retail stores, salons, spas, offices and specialised buildings. Commercial clients usually have an opening date or lease to meet, so we plan approvals and construction around it.

What we design

Spaces built around how a business runs.

  • Fit-ups on a deadline. Glamour by Krystal Beauty reused an existing layout and fast-tracked approvals to open a 4,200 ft² salon and spa in under six months.
  • Experience-led interiors. Float Spa is planned as a gradual removal of stimuli, with a perforated screen wall that DAO designed and built.
  • Brand standards in existing space. The Pandora store in Sudbury adapts an international brand's standards to an existing mall storefront.
  • Additions over existing buildings. Headquarters studied an office cantilevered over a working warehouse.
  • Specialised buildings in mass timber. Our helicopter hangar proposal overlapped approvals and timber fabrication to meet a 10-month deadline.
Questions

Common questions

How early should a tenant contact an architect?

As soon as you are considering a space, ideally before you sign. A short review of the existing layout, services and code requirements can show what the fit-up involves and how long approvals may take.

Can you work to a fixed opening date?

Often, yes. Reusing existing partitions and structure, phasing work and running approvals in parallel with design can shorten the schedule. Krystal Beauty was planned this way to meet a grand opening less than six months out.

Do you do interior design?

Yes, as part of the architectural scope on commercial projects, as at Krystal Beauty and Float Spa.

Start a conversation

Have a site, a building or an idea? Tell us about it.

Email connect@p-dao.com. We work from Sudbury and Ottawa across Ontario.