Singapore – Gensler, a world leading architecture and design firm, has shifted its Singapore office to 21 Merchant Road at the city fringe of the Central Business District. Spanning 8,880 square feet, the new space offers of flexible office area to allow collaboration to take place across all levels of the organisation. A curated programme of area types and amenities in the workplace enables staff to conduct business efficiency and promote company culture.
The new office, which is part of the expansion plans in the Asia Pacific region has reimagined the future of workplaces, and one thing is certain – the desire for reconnection is shaping the future.
“Our new office reflects our rapid growth and continued success as a regional architecture and design powerhouse,” said Angela Spathonis, Gensler Singapore’s Managing Director. “The pandemic has changed our way of working and as a result, we have been rethinking what our workplace can offer employees in a way that provides collaborative experiences and in-person interactions in spaces that feel inclusive, healthy, purposeful and are designed for human connection,” she added.
The Gensler Research Institute (a part of Gensler’s firm) has conducted several global surveys over the past 20 months, leveraging the insights to uncover strategic design solutions for clients and several central themes have been discovered.
Increased efficiency
Based on the data collected from Gensler’s Work from Home Survey, employees want a flexible arrangement that allows them to work from home for a portion of the week. As a result, the new office is leveraging space through space reservation systems and housing certain roles in more efficient open plan areas – shifting the balance between shared and individual spaces to maximise density. Over time, this will help accommodate growth through booking systems that help to allocate desks as needed and office sharing for employees with different work schedules from each other.
Enhancing connectivity
Since being thrust into working from home, the firm has learnt that remote working can be successful. As a result, it has incorporated a hybrid work model that embraces mobility, increases amenities and delivers a great workplace experience for a multigenerational workforce.
Digitalisation
While providing people with greater choice in where and when they can be productive, the new office supports a fully tech-enabled environment that facilitates seamless connectivity as employees move between spaces and locations. To ensure the critical need for employees to be connected all the time, technology continues to play a key role in necessitating higher-end capability on digital hearing rooms and investment in advanced audio for office interiors, enabling the teams to meet with clients virtually in advanced audio for office interiors, enabling the teams to meet with clients virtually and in an equitable presence as in-person attendees.
Gensler’s mission on climate change
Gensler has a unique obligation and opportunity to focus on sustainability in the built environment and the impacts of climate change are especially urgent now. In partnership with the institutions, the firm is heavily invested in research around sustainability and resilience. Brand design is a key tool with which to tell this story and drive engagement. For the new office, subtle and attention-grabbing touchpoints have been created throughout the space, using environmental graphics to serve as a catalyst for conversation around climate action within the industry. The touchpoints are a daily call to action for how they, as designers, have a major role to play in reducing the carbon footprint of the built environment. In line with its Cities Climate Challenge, they are committed to achieving carbon neutrality in their project’s portfolio and are on track to receive the LEED Gold certification for the new office.
