DIRTT Environmental Solutions, Geoff Gosling, VP, Product Development

SAIT POLYTECHNIC/ASTECH OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN APPLIED TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION
Designing Spaces for Today

 

Office renovations can turn your workplace into a construction zone for months on end. And then don't you find yourself wishing it was designed differently?

Welcome to the end of renovations that make the office a construction zone for months on end. And then you wish you would have designed the space differently.

“Traditionally, office renovations are a series of concessions,” says Geoff Gosling,  a founding partner and responsible for product development at DIRTT. “Everyone has to have a say and you are making decisions that you have to live with for years. This is an inferior way to design a work space.”

Calgary-based DIRTT (Doing It Right This Time) Environmental Solutions builds pre-engineered and pre-manufactured moveable walls. They can be configured to support existing office furniture and offer storage options.

They also eliminate construction waste and future renovation waste – no demolition, procuring and re-building. That’s because once the DIRTT system is installed, it’s easy to change the configuration of the offices without major renovations.

“Even a lay person can do it with a small amount of training,” Mr. Gosling insists. “This technology is sustainable from a behavioral perspective. It can change, evolve and adapt to small or large needs. It provides the opportunity to individualize a space. This is critical in giving people ownership of their environment.”

The fundamental assumption DIRTT operates on is that the future is unpredictable and that requires agility in designing spaces to accommodate the unforeseen.

“Generally people wait to make major reconfigurations to the office,” Mr. Gosling says. “But if you make changes in smaller chunks your space stops being a barrier and becomes an extension of the culture and addresses the needs of the individual at that particular time. This allows self-expression and individual function.”