Image Credit : Daniel Koh Photography
Project Overview
We were tasked to design a sophisticated and inviting headquarters for our client organisation, renowned for their expertise in skincare and wellness brands. Through a design narrative inspired by the shapes and colours of nature, we aimed to promote a renewed company culture and facilitate effortless collaboration among colleagues.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Lorène Faure
Kenny Kinugasa-Tsui
Christina Standaloft
Jamie Yue
Florence Chardonnal
Shefield Ng
Michael Wong
Patrick Wiejoyo
Project Brief
We were tasked with the opportunity to design a sophisticated and inviting headquarters for our esteemed client organisation, renowned for their expertise in skincare and wellness brands. Nestled within a premium 22,000 sqft Grade A office space, the large office offers panoramic window views and plenty of natural light.
Our vision was to design a welcoming reception area showcasing the client's products, along with a professional boardroom, well-equipped meeting rooms, a cosy pantry, and a modern open-plan workspace centred around employee wellbeing. The workspace features a mix of traditional and flexible desks, as well as dedicated lockers for personal belongings.
Our main goal was to create an enticing work environment that encourages employees to return to the office after the extended work-from-home experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. We assessed the specific needs of our client’s organisation to devise a layout strategy that fosters social interaction and productivity. The new workplace promotes a renewed company culture and facilitate effortless collaboration among team members.
Project Innovation/Need
The design solution establishes a smooth transition from a welcoming reception area, featuring a blue sculptural, wavy reception desk, paired with a product display section and library shelves. From this point, visitors can seamlessly move into an open, spacious, café-style pantry, showcasing an oval-shaped central seating island decorated with plants and surrounded by adaptable, movable furniture arrangements. Boardrooms, meeting rooms, and a multi-purpose lounge space with a digital screen for company presentations and karaoke sessions are located along the side of this café-like area.
The overall open-concept workspace comprises multiple neighbourhoods complemented by an array of break-out spaces, such as built-in phone booths, semi-enclosed collaborative diner booths, and window bay seating. Additionally, private offices are positioned in the background to prevent any obstruction of views or natural daylight for the general workforce in the open-plan neighbourhoods.
The materials palette features light tones, textured surfaces, and natural neutrals, with blue accents such as the reception desk and door portals to reflect the company's identity. The garden café ceiling showcases a soft coral hue, accompanied by a light grey woven textured. This durable woven flooring is suitable for high traffic use in the multi-function space which also includes a wet pantry. The meeting rooms' interiors display different colour schemes achieved through pink and blue acoustic wall panels. Carpets are used in the general work neighbourhoods, with a light grey carpet earmarking the main circulation routes and a beige carpet designating the work neighbourhoods.
Design Challenge
The challenge entailed establishing a functional workplace in all respects, imbued with a refined and subtle aesthetic that fosters a distinct identity for this skincare and wellness-oriented firm. This has successfully instigated a chain reaction, enhancing forthcoming franchise operations – including retail shops, showrooms, and offices – across the company's multiple locations in various countries.
To ensure productivity, acoustic considerations are vital for open-plan spaces. Overhead acoustic ceiling panels have been incorporated in open ceilings to dampen noise reverberation, and meeting room walls have been adorned with acoustic absorption finishes.
Sustainability
Sustainability plays a major role in this project. The layout maximises natural daylight, which not only benefits the wellbeing of the task force, but also decreases the need for artificial lighting in the day, thereby reducing energy consumption. Ample natural daylight also minimises the need for artificial cooling or heating by controlling solar heat gain. The furniture specified are high-quality and durable to avoid frequent replacements, reducing waste and resource consumption.
Environmentally friendly materials are used wherever possible. For example, we specified terrazzo for its recycled content, durability and longevity, and recyclability. A distinct cork finish—an eco-friendly and sustainable material—was utilised for seating upholstery in various spaces, providing a soft, playful, and delicate feel. Local sourcing was also a factor that ensured a lower carbon footprint.
Interior Design - Corporate & Commercial
This award celebrates innovative and creative building interiors, with consideration given to space creation and planning, furnishings, finishes, aesthetic presentation and functionality. Consideration also given to space allocation, traffic flow, building services, lighting, fixtures, flooring, colours, furnishings and surface finishes.
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