The Brief
Palo Alto Networks chose Toronto for its new Canadian headquarters: one full floor of about 25,000 sq ft in the Financial District. The space was built to a high standard, and the plants had to meet it.
Here's how the company's Global Design & Construction Program Manager described the goal for the space:
We made sure this building is the real deal: top-quality and perfectly aligned with our brand. A welcoming, innovative space where our Canadian team is truly empowered to thrive.
— Global Design & Construction Program Manager, Palo Alto Networks
Benji's was brought in through JLL, the project manager, to work alongside SGH Design Partners (architect) and mform Construction Group (construction manager).
Designed Into the Millwork
Most of the greenery on this floor isn't in pots. It's built into the furniture. There's a banquette with a planter under the company logo, planters wrapped around columns, planters in the pantry and the demo environment, a sofa with a planter built into its back, window-box planters along the open desks, and a planted divider in the collaboration area.
Built-in planters look beautiful, but they sit right against wood, fabric and finishes. So before a single plant went in, we lined each one with a waterproof membrane. That keeps water away from the millwork and finishes around it.
One Floor, 313 Plants
We designed the palette planter by planter. Trailing Pothos (Cebu Blue, Golden and Marble Queen) spill from the café wall planters. Aglaonema 'Spring Snow', Dracaena 'Lemon Lime' and several Sansevieria varieties fill the built-in planters. Philodendron Monstera and Moonlight, Dracaena Warneckii and Yucca canes, Ficus elastica 'Burgundy' and Ficus lyrata standards add height and structure across the floor.
Alongside the built-ins, we supplied freestanding planters for the open areas. In total, we installed 313 live plants across the floor.
The timing mattered as much as the design. Our installation had to fit into the short window between the end of construction and the day the team moved in, working in step with the rest of the project team.
Kept Looking Its Best
The plants were a purchase, so they belong to Palo Alto Networks. Care is optional, and they chose to keep us on for it.
Every week, our technicians water, feed and clean the leaves, prune for shape, and watch for pests. If a plant we installed declines, we replace it. The aim is simple: a floor that keeps looking the way it did on move-in day.
Planning a new office with planters built into the design? See how we handle plant installation from first drawing to finished floor.