Vision Truck

How do you design a space to service transport trucks, warehouse truck parts that can weigh up to 5,000 lbs, and an attractive front of house retail centre that will impress clients as they sign multi-million dollar deals?

It’s not easy, but it was a challenge Martin Simmons Sweers Architects took on for the Vision Truck Group’s Etobicoke location. The company wanted this new facility to not only define their visual brand through architecture, but do so in a way that could be replicated at several new facilities across southern Ontario.

At the side of the facility, drivers are welcomed to the service area as they drive under a canopy with the brand’s bold blue eagle set between emblematic supporting V columns. This canopy provides an early indication of the architectural expression that elevates the facility above a typical truck service centre. The entrance leads to an expansive garage for up to 22 trucks. Providing maintenance and repair for a variety of today’s top truck brands, including VOLVO and MACK, Vision Truck wanted a service area that was unlike any other. Spacious 24-foot ceilings, brightly painted exposed steel structures, and concrete floors create a clean, bright, sophisticated, and very professional service shop.

The street front portion of the facility is dedicated to the showroom and sales area. Unlike a traditional truck sales office, Vision Truck Etobicoke has a luxe ambiance of a high-end car dealership. From the massive two-storey glazing to the sleek, modern application of materials to the deep blue and black accents, the showroom provides a client-focused first impression.

The boardroom is cantilevered to provide second floor views over the showroom on one side and new product in the truck yard outside. This rectangular boardroom juts out from the building, creating an important element of visual interest to the main entrance and is a key element of the prototypical design being applied to their future buildings.