DECIEM, a science-first consumer brand, needed new lab facilities for its global headquarters in Liberty Village, a vibrant neighbourhood in downtown Toronto. Our client required a clean-room compliant  laboratory environment where the convergence of research and creativity must respond to constantly emerging consumer demands—all within environmentally controlled spaces that foster innovation through intense team collaborations. SvN created two new lab spaces for DECIEM, roughly totaling 10,000 square feet, that respond to the client's practical needs while respecting the unique character of the existing century-old building. 

With their brightly lit interiors and carefully detailed clinical aesthetic, both lab facilities incorporate large windows that provide views into the other functions of the building. A new Clinical Research Lab embraces the robust qualities of the existing site-cast concrete building with masonry infill and extensive north-facing industrial glazing. Strict requirements for the Clean Room Microbiology Lab resulted in a strategically inserted linear space that functions as an autonomous interior within the historic structure.

The Clean Room Microbiology Labs have stringent requirements for materials and surface finishes that make them incompatible with the existing building. Our approach involved keeping the new intervention away from the existing exterior walls. This approach enabled key heritage features, including the exposed masonry and the original steel-frame glazing system, to remain untouched. A new semi-glazed corridor allows access to the labs and brings natural daylight into some labs. These labs, including all interior finishes and fixtures, are clean-room compliant. Activities within this space include autoclaving activities, dispensing operations, weighing powder materials, and media preparation.

The adjacent Clinical Research Lab contains a general lab area and two sterile bays with custom-design wet benches and shelving. This lab conducts sterile cell culture, autoclaving activities and the testing of finished products using various types of human cell lines, reagents, and product samples.