Wealth Management Ottawa

A Major Financial Institution’s Ottawa Office Animates Classic Features with Carefully Curated Art

This Ottawa project is one of almost 20 interiors Bartlett & Associates has designed for a major banking institution. Design in the financial world tends to follow a more traditional aesthetic, sticking to the classic simplicity that instills a sense of trust in clients and wealth-management executives. These parameters informed a language that we have carried throughout our many collaborations with the client. While each location may use the same architectural vocabulary, we also developed individual character in every project with a unique selection of art that speaks to place.

For this particular space, we chose a selection of abstract paintings and also commissioned a series of panoramic photographs. These images depict some of Ottawa’s most iconic scenes, including the streets of the ByWard Market, and ice skating on the canal; we blew up the shots to four-foot-wide prints that complement the office’s own views of the city.

Our plan encloses a boardroom between two vertically retractable walls – custom clad in the same rich walnut used on the millwork walls in the reception area – and a bespoke sliding wall of wood-framed frosted glass. This trio of moveable partitions opens the room up to a wide corridor to create a generous events space that overlooks the Château Laurier, offering yet another iconic view.