Epstein Cole LLP

Bringing Serenity to a Family Law Practice’s Dispute Resolution Centre

A Dispute Resolution Centre at a family law practice – no matter how beautiful the space, it’s not a place you want to visit. Instilling comfort and calm in such a high-stress environment is the ultimate design challenge and with this expansion of Epstein Cole’s existing offices, B|A has triumphed.

Taking cues from residential design, our team furnished a small reception area with soft seating that reads much like a cozy living room setting. Around the corner, a hospitality area emulates a roomy residential kitchen, with a massive L-shaped island featuring white oak–fronted cabinets and a waterfall edge of marbled Caesarstone. Banquette seating is framed in coordinating wood and backed by a full-height upholstered wall in soft grey. The space opens to an adjacent boardroom that can quickly be enclosed with a folding wall system of frosted glass panels.

Our approach meets the hard situations encountered here with softness and serenity – a feeling of support. The colour palette comprises muted blues, greys and browns. Even the occasional pops of red – found in the reception’s area rug and many of the art works pulled from a senior partner’s personal collection – are mellower tones. With features like the mediation rooms’ custom ceiling panels and the banquette’s upholstered wall, we also softened acoustics – essential in a space where confidentiality is of the utmost importance.