figure3 has designed the new offices of digital insurance company Aviva Digital Garage, located in Toronto, Canada.
With insurance being the last financial services market to be disrupted by the rise of fin-tech, Aviva issued a global directive to move its business from a traditional insurer to a purveyor of digital insurance offerings. Central to this challenge was designing a space that would facilitate a complete disruption of how the business thinks, acts and develops solutions for customers.
Everything about Aviva’s Digital Garage space reads as a radical departure from a traditional risk-averse insurance company.
Designed to support the Agile methodology, working groups are now able to come together in a variety of different settings to collaborate on projects that can be brought to market in record time.
Not only does the space form the experience of the teams that come together, it also acts a powerful talent attraction tool.
Open plenum ceilings, graphic branding, an unexpected selection of furniture and seating and the provision of a bright and vibrant town hall space all act to position Aviva squarely against every global player in the technology space for the city’s top talent.
And, as Aviva looks to invest CAD$180million through its Aviva Ventures division, the Digital Garage now plays host to pitch days, mentorship and innovation exchanges with its start-up incubator partners across the city.
The activity, behaviour and energy are all different in the Digital Garage. Such was the pent-up demand to work differently that teams have embraced the Garage where they feel liberated to try risky things and make mistakes. That in itself is significantly countercultural and has been a huge driver for the ongoing reshaping of Aviva’s internal culture.
Design: figure3
Photography: Steve Tsai
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