The National Payroll Institute had just completed a major rebrand and operational transformation, redefining its identity as Canada’s authority on payroll. As a not-for-profit serving thousands of professionals across the country, the organisation needed a workplace that could express this shift with credibility and care. The new headquarters had to feel professional, warm and community-minded, while honouring the responsibility that comes with being funded by its members.
To bring this vision to life, the Institute selected M Moser to support its real estate selection, workplace strategy and full design journey. We were to create a workplace that reflects who the company had become, a trusted, contemporary leader, while remaining functional and human.
The Institute’s previous office was split across two disconnected wings, which unintentionally shaped its culture. Teams felt isolated. Movement was limited. Collaboration required effort.
Noise anxiety also ran high. Many worried that new layouts, reduced workstation sizes and different adjacencies might compromise focus. To ensure a solution for this concern, our workplace strategy prioritised functionality, predictability and quiet confidence.
During interviews, surveys and workshops, one theme kept rising: community. People wanted a workplace that worked like a small neighbourhood, connected, intuitive and easy to navigate. Teams needed:
The insight we gained became the anchor for our design concept, ‘heartbeat in the community.’
The workplace was to be a living neighbourhood, connected by pathways of movement and shared purpose. Payroll is the ‘heartbeat’ of every organisation. The National Payroll Institute is the heartbeat of payroll in Canada. The space needed to reflect this pulse as steady, trusted and essential. This narrative inspired four design chapters visible across both floors.
The chosen site was a two-floor, triangular space a short walk from their former office. The area is familiar, accessible and well-loved by the team. The site’s geometry inspired a layout organised like a compact urban district, complete with plazas, residences, libraries and communication pathways.
Each design chapter echoes a civic idea:
Residences represented team ‘neighbourhoods’ and inspired workstation planning. Organised like detached houses, condos and townhomes, these clusters create subtle variations while supporting predictable, heads-down focus. The layout mirrors the familiar order of a quiet residential street.
Plazas inspired shared gathering spaces, including the vibrant café and lounge. Like civic plazas, they offer space to meet, rest and recharge with distinct ‘seating landscapes,’ a sculptural stair and greenery that anchors the social heart of the office.
Libraries shaped the training floor, where learning ‘stacks.’ The space borrows cues from modern libraries. Long tables encourage structured education and a square ceiling feature is inspired by the geometry of bookshelves, reflecting order, knowledge and the quiet exploration associated with library spaces.
Bridges and tunnels informed a transportation-inspired interior narrative, where each key space represents a different element of movement and connection, such as bridges, tunnels and highways.
As a not-for-profit, the Institute is deeply conscious of how it uses member funds. Every design decision needed to be responsible and functional. The organisation is also highly focused and detail-driven, with teams that spend long hours solving complex payroll challenges. This meant the workplace couldn’t be trendy for trendiness’ sake. It had to reflect real needs.
Key decisions supported this:
Progress here didn’t mean radical change. It meant the right change.
Our goal was not to push toward something they didn’t need. It was to design a space that felt true to them – functional, grounded and quietly transformative.
Patrick Rechtorik, Associate - Design, M Moser AssociatesOne of the most meaningful shifts happened on the upper floor. The company’s old training rooms and pantry sat in the middle of the office and disrupted work. Few people used them.
The new headquarters flips that story. The training centre and café now occupy a dedicated floor, creating space for large gatherings, events and member programming. It is functional, flexible and easily separated from daily operations.
The design of this floor gives our client and its employees something they have never had, a space they can offer back to members without affecting daily operations. For the first time, the Institute can confidently host its community on site.
Following move-in, staff shared overwhelmingly positive feedback. The workplace feels cohesive. Noise concerns were resolved. Teams feel connected across both floors. The environment expresses professionalism without rigidity and warmth without excess.
Most importantly, this headquarters feels like the company itself, rooted in responsibility, community and trust. The space is a physical expression of an organisation stepping confidently into its next chapter, with a workplace that finally matches its heartbeat.
Completed
2,323 sq m / 25,000 sq ft
Ben Rahn/A-Frame
