Driven by the goal of reimagining the future of work, Gensler’s new Singapore office is designed to embrace the firm’s global perspective while balancing its uniquely local connection to Singapore culture.
Gensler Singapore’s new office demonstrates the firm’s approach to workplace design for the post-pandemic world. Spanning 8,880 feet, the new workspace is designed to foster authentic human connection and collaborative experiences among employees returning to the office.
The design process was informed by findings from the Gensler Research Institute’s global workplace surveys conducted during the pandemic and guided by a series of team surveys. This strategic approach resulted in an “office wish list,” which prioritized the need to create a collaborative, flexible space that welcomes different working styles in a hybrid environment where workers can socialize.
“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.
Utilizing the firm’s extensive workplace research and tools like Enscape and gFloors, the team made informed and data-driven design decisions to shape these spaces and provide for the ever-fluctuating workplace requirements. Leveraging on the key values and design requirements, here are some of the key features of Gensler Singapore’s new office.
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. In order to meet the demand for constant connectivity among employees, the office has made significant investments in technology, including state-of-the-art digital conference rooms and advanced audio systems for virtual meetings. This ensures that teams can communicate with clients in real-time, with the same level of presence as if they were physically present in the same room. 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.
Gensler’s new Singapore office demonstrates how a project may favourably affect ESG objectives by focusing on health, wellness, and sustainability. Gensler’s data-driven design approach shaped a warm, contemporary workspace that maximizes density, accommodates future growth, and fosters creativity and innovation. The company did this by fully utilizing the most recent design technologies for modelling, visualizations, simulation, as well as space reservation systems.
Project: Gensler Singapore
Location: Singapore
Design Studio: Gensler
Photo Credit: Gensler / Finbarr Fallon
Website: gensler.com
