An ode to Whitney Block
Welcome to Whitney Block, the physical home of the Digital Government Office, and a building older than anyone currently working in the Ontario public service.
In our efforts to make better digital experiences for the people of Ontario, we’ve learned that space matters: where we work is an integral part of how we work. Creating a work environment that connects us with the people we serve makes our work in digital government more relevant and more effective for Ontarians and our partners inside and outside government.
Of course, we all work with constraints. We don’t have the luxury of creating a floor plan from scratch — very few organizations do — so we’ve learned to adapt to the spaces we do have. For now, that space is in Whitney Block.
Sitting on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation, Whitney Block is named after Premier James Whitney. Completed in 1926, it was meant to house the entire public service at the time — including veterinary workers and their livestock. Today, it houses the Premier, the Secretary of Cabinet (who came to our last office hours!), and our dev, UX, strategy, content and digital government teams, among many others.
As you could guess, this isn’t a typical tech office. Being in a 90-year-old building makes it necessary to come up with creative solutions to some of the nuances of the structure: we don’t have a lot of empty space, there are doors and floors between teams, we’re encouraged not to drink the tap water, and we don’t have stereotypical “startup” elements like slides, fire poles, or flat screen TVs.
But: the building has history. Its stature, proximity to the legislature and rest of the public service, and the importance of the decisions made in these walls every day is humbling and inspiring. Since we’re here to help kickstart digital transformation, we’ve adapted the space to make it tech-accessible, friendly, creative and fun.
Included in our hacks:
- our standing desks, which are made of cardboard;
- our telepresence rig, made up of an ASUS Chromebox hooked up to a monitor on wheels;
- our whiteboard-covered walls, for rapid diagramming;
- everyone works on a laptop, so we’ve sourced a couple couches, where you can work with your legs up.
I didn’t notice it at first, but the top of Whitney Block’s tower has eight sculptures surrounding it. They represent the key government departments in the early 20th century: farming, forestry, health, finance, law, education, labour and mining. They are a reminder that while the way we do our work has changed, at its core, our work remains the same: to make life better for Ontarians.
It’s nice to be reminded of that every time we walk into this building.
Check out some more gorgeous photos of Whitney Block by fellow OPSer LouAnn Buhrows on her blog.
