Canada’s Eleanor Brydone named Designer of Distinction

First Canadian ever to receive highest honour for innovative workplace design

It’s a first for Canada and a world-class accomplishment for Eleanor Brydone, founder and CEO of Rice Brydone Ltd., the Toronto-based design collaboration responsible for many of Canada’s most innovative workplace environments. On Saturday, March 6, Ms. Brydone was named Designer of Distinction 2003 at the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Annual Conference on Design in Savannah, Georgia.

Design for tomorrow - today

Driven by the mantra Design to Inspire, Eleanor Brydone and her team create fresh, flexible and technologically-integrated interiors. Her forward-thinking is clearly showcased in memorable projects including Toronto’s brand new University Health Network’s (UHN) Clinical Services Building; corporate headquarters for PetroCanada, Clarica Westmount Place, and Teknion; and offices for law firm, Blake, Cassels and Graydon LLP, to name a few of her  assignments.

Eleanor Brydone’s distinctive designs anticipate and accommodate the ever-changing needs of progressive work environments, and yield measurable improvements to employee productivity and the corporate bottom-line.

Rice Brydone’s numerous client advocates are delighted. “It’s long overdue,” says Susan Connor, Vice President, Real Estate Solutions at UHN. “We considered many designers to create our new Clinical Services Building at Toronto General Hospital.  Eleanor was the hands-down winner because of her unique ability to grasp the real-world needs of our hospital staff and patients,” she says. “Thanks to our collaboration, UHN is the world’s new benchmark for efficient, safe and patient friendly design.”

Ms. Brydone credits her expert team with its versatile, needs-driven approach, for her success. “Design to Inspire is our guiding philosophy. It propels everything we do,” she explains. “Effective workplace design often costs less than traditional office space, and can result in long-term benefits including increased productivity, creativity, job satisfaction and employee retention.”

Five fundamental amenities

State-of-the-art, client-driven environments, are Eleanor Brydone’s trademark.

“Five fundamental amenities ensure a healthy, vibrant workplace,” she says. They are:

• Air

Access to fresh air is key to employee health and productivity

• Light

Natural light increases employee happiness and concentration

• Mobility

Article originally published in Volume 6-3 of Your Workplace magazine