Ambitious and welcoming, the Endress+Hauser Customer Experience Centre in Burlington was designed as a gift for its employees . An extension of this commitment, Endress+Hauser unanimously endorsed plans for it to become the first privately-owned project in Canada concurrently aiming for LEED Gold certification, and net zero carbon and net zero energy designation. The 47,000 SF, $32 million environment is a sunlit, open concept space, uniquely tailored for the employees and engaging for visitors who have come to experience its process training unit and calibration labs, now an international showcase of sustainable design excellence for the company.

Our integrated, multi-disciplinary design team was committed to fulfilling Endress + Hauser’s vision of creating an inspiring, flexible and beautiful place for its employees. The twin goals of advanced sustainability and engaging employee experiences worked in unison throughout the highly collaborative design process.

The glass enclosed process training unit (PTU) is prominently positioned at the southeast corner, acting as the building’s public face and offering educational engagement with Endress + Hauser’s equipment and systems. The ground floor is home to a program of training spaces, calibration lab, and private employee wellness areas.

The second level, connected by a central stair, is organized into neighbourhoods, open working environments each slightly different based on different work functions. The facility is punctuated with coffee nooks and seating areas to promote impromptu exchanges and casual meetings.

An important design objective was to provide access to the outdoors. A large exterior patio extends along the southern façade of the second storey, with direct connections to the employee kitchen, office workstations and breakout space. With metal screening for sun shading and privacy, the expansive patio provides opportunities for outdoor meetings, large events and informal gatherings. The winding path along the property encourages outdoor walking meetings to benefit physical and mental health. Over 40% of the formerly vacant property has been dedicated to open space and landscaping. These areas have been planted with native, non-invasive and drought tolerant plant species that absorb and hold rainfall to reduce the amount of surface water runoff.