46 BCBusiness october 2014 paul Joseph
A New
Blueprint
A
mid a busy summer of
expanding its business into
Alberta and collaborating on
the three-day Squamish Valley
Music Festival, event/lifestyle/
entertainment company Blueprint
also managed to consolidate its B.C.
team from two separate offi ces in
downtown Vancouver into 3,600
square feet of newly renovated space
in a historic Gastown building. In a
50/50 split with a longtime friend
and business partner (who is also the
landlord at one of Blueprint's many
venues), Blueprint purchased the entire
building at 364 Water Street, which
includes its Shine Nightclub (closed
September 27 for a complete renova-
tion and rebrand) on the lower level.
Blueprint co-founder Alvaro Prol
says that over the past year, the team
scoured downtown and East Vancou-
ver for a new space, but Gastown's
centrality and vibrant, New York-
esque atmosphere fi t the company's
needs and gelled with its culture.
Prol expects that putting the
head-offi ce team of 35—"a very mixed
bag of people"—together for the fi rst
time will result in the kind of collabo-
ration and mentorship that wasn't
possible in the former fragmented
setup. Departments are now grouped
together, and the airy layout, replete
with glass walls, gives the offi ce an
open-concept feel, while still off ering
privacy. "It's going to become a lot
more exciting," says Prol.
•
Blueprint relocates its B.C.
staff to Gastown, and under
the same roof, for the fi rst
time
by Kristen Hilderman
O F F i C E s P A C E
open Energy
There are few private of ces in the space—one
belongs to Prol, and features a complete glass
front. "I was in the of ce at 8 a.m. today and I don't
want to leave," says Prol. "I really enjoy it—there's
just a lot of energy around here."
Non-Corporate Culture
Both the large and small
boardrooms (large boardroom
pictured at left) look out onto
West Cordova Street and rely
on abundant light from the large
windows and original exposed
brick walls to give them their
laid-back ambience.
