d+a Issue 001/2001 (first issue)

Easy Interface
To Hyla, designing an office is ‘not just about presenting an image to the public – nice reception, nice boardroom, nice furniture… and that’s it. People are the most important resource to any company. It’s about giving the people working in it the right environment, giving them a work space so comfortable or so exciting they will enjoy coming to work, because they spend so many more hours in the office than they do at home. The office is where the melting pot for ideas is; it is where creative people come together to exchange and develop ideas…’ In rationalising its view, HYLA is also attentive to the fact that the design typology too must be appropriate to the working methods of the given company. Thus, in its design of the office for the NASDAQ-listed leading Asian Internet company Asiacontent.com’s Singapore office, Asiacontent.com Media, at Gateway East is an open informal area called the ‘square’ (or ‘plaza’), the concept of which is derived from that of a ‘town square’ where inhabitants cross paths daily or gather in common activity. Here, at the ‘square’ in Asiacontent.com Media, staff and clients hold business meetings or informal team discussions in a free space furnished in the manner of a spacious café-and-lounge complete with a coffee bar. No less in the enhancement of the pleasure of this space is the picturesque seafront view, thanks to the company’s 36th storey location. Besides meetings, serious work too can be done here as there are ready provisions for the laptop-on-the-go savvy personnel. Asiacontent.com’s corporate colours of indigo blue and lime green, highlighted with simple floodlights, add a touch of fun to the generally informal atmosphere of the space. More private or higher level meetings can be conducted in a smaller meeting room and the conference room respectively.

Photographs: CI&A Photography