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Case Study: Shinto Shrines, Gastown Ghosts, and A Dog-Friendly Office

One of the most well-known Shinto shrines in Japan is Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto: dating as early as 711 AD, the seemingly never-ending wave of orange is an iconic sight to behold. About 7,864.18 kilometers away from Kyoto, Collab Management completed a tenant improvement project for one of our clients in Vancouver, Longpre Architecture

 

The location? Gastown, an iconic landmark in its own right.

 

 

How Japanese culture inspired this Vancouver office space

We first met David Longpre, Founder of Longpre Architecture, at a networking event: coincidentally enough, also in Gastown. With over a decade of design and architecture experience under his belt, he spent ovr six months living and working in Tokyo, Japan. It was during his time in the “Land of the Rising Sun”, he grew to appreciate how their culture understood, lived and worked in spaces. 

 

“In any home or project we design, when you enter into a space you always enter into a genken, or a place to take off your shoes”, he shares. “It’s a cleansing of the outside world, you’re leaving the outside world before you’re entering into the sacredness of your home. So that’s what we’re simulating in the front – you leave your troubles and you get into a different psychological head space.”

 

In bringing their vision for their front entrance space to life, our team took the time to listen not only to their needs, but WHY their needs were important – that’s the difference between a good tenant improvement contractor and a GREAT tenant improvement contractor.

 

 

Gastown’s Past, Blended with Vancouver’s future

Longpre’s office lease began in November 2024, after looking at over ten different spaces in the pursuit of the right office space. So what makes an office space the “right” space for someone?

 

“A lot of it is intuition and feeling – that’s what you get out of all these buildings in Gastown. We love brick – we love real buildings, real materials, real things.”

 

As a member of the North Vancouver Heritage Committee himself, Longpre appreciates things that feel more tangible in nature.

 

That sentiment – passion for work that feels both real and beautiful – is shared with the team at Collab. Having experience with Vancouver heritage renovations previously, we understood Longpre’s desire to maintain the history of the space while also meeting the very real needs of running a modern-day business.

 

 

 

As a spiritually minded person, as reflected in the Japanese influences within the office, Longpre was naturally well aware of the neighbourhood’s storied history with ghosts and spirits.

 

“Gastown is a very haunted place”, he acknowledges. “The energy is still here. Especially in heritage buildings, there is so much human energy embedded in that spot. Why not take advantage of that energy?”

 

Fortunately, the ghosts didn’t disrupt our construction management team during renovations.

 

Office spaces don’t need to be sterile spaces

In his ultimate vision for the office space, Longpre wanted to create an environment that was cozy and welcoming.

 

Different elements were incorporated into the office interior design to embody the vision of “coziness”: from the colour of the kitchen cabinets, to carefully selecting antique furniture, to adding rugs for warmth, to even renting art from the Vancouver Art Gallery.

 

 

 

Longpre believes in the power of natural features on one’s mental health – more relevant than ever when it comes to designing modern office spaces.

 

“I love exposed wood”, he adds. “Human beings, when they see exposed wood, reduce stress by about 50%.”

 

With this intention in mind, our team treated the space with care, allowing the exposed brick and wood’s beauty to shine through naturally alongside the Japanese-inspired influences in the space.

 

 

We can proudly say that the Longpre office met both David – and Niko, his beloved Shiba Inu’s – seal of approval. We wish them many more years of continued success, creativity, and growth in their new space! 

 

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