Cirque du Soleil Headquarters

I had a 9am welcome meeting and was given a tour of most of the building. They set up a few other meetings for me and then back to my room. I haven't seen any of the music yet. I'm supposed to learn about 50 pieces of music by April 7th but don't know when they'll get that to me.

This place is totally cool! First off, everyone I meet seems to really just love their job. The building looks like it's a 1/4 mile long. There are up to 1,600 people working there at a time. Right now, it's between 1,200-1,600. Cirque employs about 2,500 people worlwide!

The building itself is incredible. It's mostly a steel/glass/concrete structure, but has a very warm and inviting feel to it inside...not cold at all...lots of windows. I was really impressed how they used the pressed wood inside (you'll see it in the pics below). It has a sort of bronze effect with the lighting scheme. There are two places to eat inside: a cafeteria where you can get lamb, portobello stuffed crepes, delicious soups, etc., and a smaller hamburger/hot dog joint. People don't really leave the building to eat. "Let's have lunch together" means they'll be meeting in the cafeteria...spouses and children sometimes show up to eat with their family. It's a very pleasant atmosphere...they really take care of their people at this company.

Here are some pics of about 1/4th of the entire building (click to enlarge in a pop up window):

At the main entrance

Part of the lobby area

Partial Lobby view from above

Every company should have a rock-climbing wall! (elevator shaft/rock wall)

Cool lighting fixture upstairs - 3rd floor

Spiral Staircase - 2nd floor

I love the way they used the pressed wood planks here.

Glass wall

View outside from one of the 3rd floor windows...must look beautiful when then grass is green

This is where they set up and test the shows before they go out into the rest of the world for all to enjoy. If you look close, high above, you'll see the grates...like a catwalk where they hang all the cables. You really get a good idea of the scale of this room if you take a look at the rigger who's wearing a hard hat, standing just left of center.

"The Arch" - a structure put up by artist Andy Goldsworthy to express risk and balance. It is free standing, nothing is supporting it other than it's own weight under gravity. Cirque du soleil founder and CEO Guy Laliberté has a smaller version in his backyard. Click his name to read his message.