WeWork unveils 21-storey flagship centre at 21 Collyer Quay
By Timothy Tay
/ EdgeProp Singapore |
Tol of WeWork: This (pandemic experience) has allowed us to elevate our design philosophy to include spaces and amenities that highlight how flexibility, functionality, and well-being of employees (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/The Edge Singapore)
SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Highly anticipated and the culmination of nearly two years of planning, design, and fit-out, 21 Collyer Quay — the 14th location in Singapore by international workspace provider WeWork — was officially opened on Sept 6.
One of the company’s flagship assets, 21 Collyer Quay is the single largest co-working location in the WeWork portfolio in the Asia Pacific region. The co-working operator occupies the entire 21-storey Grade-A office building located in the heart of the CBD.
The official opening was graced by Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, and Second Minister For Finance And National Development.
From left: Balder Tol, general manager, Australia and Southeast Asia, WeWork; Casey Mace, deputy chief of mission, US Embassy in Singapore; Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office; and Samit Chopra, president & COO, International, WeWork. (Picture: Samuel Isaac Chua/The Edge Singapore)
She notes that the hybrid work model offered by workspace providers like WeWork is an important part of the future workscape and an element in Singapore’s long-term plan to transform the city centre into a more vibrant place to work, live, and play.
“Nowadays, workspaces are not just places for work, but also for play, collaborative creation and socialising,” she says. “WeWork brings an outsized contribution to Singapore’s efforts to meet the evolving needs of globally competitive businesses here.”
Designed for productivity and collaboration
The design and fit-out of 21 Collyer Quay occurred amid a significant transformational shift in office workplace attitudes as the Covid-19 pandemic forced many companies to adopt work-from-home arrangements for nearly two years.
21 Collyer Quay, which spans 220,665 sq ft, is WeWork’s largest location in the Asia Pacific region. (Picture: Samuel Isaac Chua/The Edge Singapore)
Balder Tol, general manager, Australia and Southeast Asia, at WeWork, says: “This (pandemic experience) has allowed us to elevate our design philosophy to include spaces and amenities that highlight how flexibility, functionality, and well-being can converge to enhance employee experience and productivity.”
The office experience in a post-pandemic environment is led by three key thrusts, adds Tol. First is the increasing desire by employees to reconnect with their social groups at work to drive ideation; next, this socialisation helps to accumulate shared experiences in the workplace and subsequently generate trust among colleagues, he says.
Finally, the next generation of office workers who are entering the corporate world for the first time want a working environment where they can benefit from on-the-job learning and mentorship, adds Tol.
About 60% of the available office space at 21 Collyer Quay has already been leased out. (Picture: Samuel Isaac Chua/The Edge Singapore)
Each floor at 21 Collyer Quay has been designed to provide various workspace options for WeWork members to utilise throughout the day for a variety of working and social activities. For example, the first floor features the main reception, a café managed by The Living Café, cosy social spaces, and a 62-person auditorium.
The second floor comprises more collaboration spaces including two presentation rooms, phone booths, multi-media rooms, and shared-desk work areas. About half of the third floor is taken up by more shared-desk work areas, a pantry, parents’ rooms, and a well-being studio space managed by lifestyle brand Just Jym.
The remaining floors at 21 Collyer Quay are dedicated to office suites of various sizes as well as full-floor office occupancies to cater to the larger pool of enterprise clients, which WeWork defines as firms with more than 500 employees. Close to 80% of the members working out of 21 Collyer Quay are enterprise clients.
A reception desk and some of the social and collaborations spaces on the 2nd flloor.
WeWork is launching 21 Collyer Quay in three phases that started in July this year. The building is currently open across nine fully fitted-out floors and a further eight floors, which have a warm-shell fit-out consisting of minimal fittings like lighting and plumbing.
The last four floors that constitute the third phase are still under construction and are set to be completed and launched by May 2023.
Full-spectrum office solutions
WeWork’s strong position as a workspace provider in Singapore stems from its global network of locations and 12-year expertise in designing and facilitating office solutions for companies around the world, says Tol.
One of the 10,200 sq ft full-floor office spaces at 21 Collyer Quay. This fitted-out space is located on the 13th floor.
For example, at 21 Collyer Quay, WeWork is offering four different office layouts for members who take up a full-floor occupancy. This comprises a high-density seating option, a low-density seating plan, a collaborative-focused layout, and a hybrid layout comprising a mix of options. Tenants can still opt to customise their space according to their needs.
This modular design approach is in response to the growing demand for a variety of collaborative spaces that clients want in their office layout, and it is a more cost-effective approach in terms of fit-out costs and timeline, says Tol.
“WeWork is the only provider in the local market that can offer a full spectrum [of workspace solutions], from a pay-as-you go model, to customised enterprise solutions for a full floor or an entire building,” he says.
Membership options offered by WeWork include All Access, a monthly subscription which allows these members to work in any WeWork location around the world; and On Demand, a pay-as-you-go solution to access WeWork meeting rooms and workspaces as needed.
Each floor at 21 Collyer Quay has been designed to provide various workspace options for WeWork members to utilise throughout the day for a variety of working and social activities.
Another aspect that sets the company apart is its ability to offer portfolio transferability, which Tol says is something that no other workspace provider in the market currently offers. This refers to WeWork’s ability to accommodate new satellite offices for companies that are looking to expand outside their home country.
WeWork Workplace
These days, demand for prime Grade-A office space in the CBD comes from the traditional finance and banking companies, as well as a new wave of technology firms who are driving up the demand for office space, says Tol.
“These technology firms are utilising the hub-and-spoke model to plan their corporate real estate needs. These large tech organisations generally build their regional headquarters in key markets such as Singapore or Manila, while having satellite offices in other nearby countries where they can grow or shrink according to their prevailing business needs,” he says.
He adds that this type of decentralised model incorporates many of the important office trends that are redefining the workplace experience, such as flexibility in terms of corporate real estate commitments and giving employees more choice on where they want to work.
Touches of local design styles are peppered throughout the common areas, such as these Peranakan-inspired design tiles that highlight the staircase. (Picture: Samuel Isaac Chua/The Edge Singapore)
This is the main reason why WeWork is rolling out a space management solution called WeWork Workplace, in partnership with real estate software company Yardi. The proptech platform was launched in July this year and will gradually be incorporated into WeWork’s services over the next few months.
WeWork Workplace provides companies with a universal platform to manage and monitor their office spaces, enhance employee experiences and optimise space through usage analytics. WeWork says the platform will help employers reduce real estate costs while boosting employee engagement in the workplace.
“As companies juggle the headquarter office and their satellite offices, the end-user experience — in this case, the employees — needs to be incredibly smooth for it to work seamlessly. Thus, we see increased demand for technology solutions in terms of workplace management,” says Tol.
Recessionary concerns
In Singapore, WeWork has emerged from the pandemic in a relatively healthy position. The company reported an average occupancy of about 87% across its 14 locations in Singapore in 2Q2022. At 21 Collyer Quay, 60% of the office space it has released to date has been leased out, it says.
According to WeWork, about 45% of its total memberships in Singapore come from enterprises, and most WeWork members take up an average lease period of about 20 months. The company observes that close to 80% of its new members take about two months to move into their WeWork space after signing the lease.
In the Asia Pacific region, recessionary concerns appear to have tempered some aggressive expansion plans for some companies, and more firms are now focused on being agile in terms of their corporate real estate portfolio, says Tol.
In Singapore, recessionary concerns and a tighter supply of new prime space in the CBD are some of the challenges the market is expected to face over the next few years.
However, Tol says that the rise of the hybrid workforce is expected to trump concerns over the pipeline supply of new office space in Singapore. “We see landlords starting to offer shorter-term leases as they are faced with the harsh realisation that it’s no longer about the commercial leases they can offer, but rather it is about the workspace experience they can offer to potential tenants,” he says.
In fact, Tol reckons that as recessionary factors start to outweigh growth opportunities, tenants are likely to increase their demand for flexible workspaces as corporate real estate decision-makers bank on a more flexible approach to managing their workspace needs in the future.
As for WeWork’s expansionary plans in Singapore, Tol says that the company will likely stick to its strength serving “high-traffic” CBD locations, banking on the ability of its various WeWork locations as a nexus space for MNCs, SMEs, and start-ups to meet and connect in the CBD.
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