Favourite Spaces
he trading world works in unique, unconventional ways, so it makes sense that Calgary-based energy trading firm GBE Energy’s office goes against the grain. When architects Anita Gunther and Dalton Kaun took on the design project in 2019, they explored the history of trading and what that history means for the place where trading happens. “GBE creates value and generates value. We thought this interior needed to do the same,” says Gunther. Inside the 8th Avenue S.W. office, Gunther and Kaun created multiple spaces, including a board room, an executive office and even a nap room. But the pièce de resistance is the “machine for trading” space, where GBE’s traders perform the tricky business of facilitating ever-changing deals. The machine for trading, designed to amplify the energy of the trading floor, is built within a single wooden framework that can be completely disassembled and reassembled should the company ever expand or relocate. GBE Energy president Cory Paddock describes the office as “unafraid and honest. We’re unafraid to be contrarian and go against what is conventional.” Because of the work-hard, play-hard nature of trading, Paddock wanted a healthy separation between work and play. The result is this dedicated space for trading to happen — the machine for trading is a purpose-built space made with integrated lighting and 12 trading modules. As you enter the machine through the portal, there’s a distinct change in pace from the casual spaces in the office. You walk up a slight ramp to the machine’s elevated platform. Inside, the work modules border the space with a central counter for optimal communication and collaboration. This clearly signals that the machine is where GBE’s traders get ’er done.
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GBE Energy’s downtown office features an innovative take on a trading floor. BY OLIVIA PICHÉ
INSIDE THE MACHINE september/october 2025