The Great Room Offices were designed to change the way people felt about going to work. More like a hotel than the usual flexible workplace, The Great Room was proof that co-working had reached a new level of maturity – differentiating itself from hubs of start-ups and freelancers to become a critical component of corporate life. With its sophisticated design and work settings and its prestigious George Street address in Singapore, The Great Room was firmly targeted at those professionals who are increasingly choosing a mobile, flexible work life.

A combination of Hassell’s extensive hospitality design experience and the client’s hotel development and architectural background was the key to creating the ideal work environment. A balance was struck between contemporary luxury and timeless professionalism to design a setting where people would want to work. After all, a place where you might spend 40 hours or more each week should be as welcoming as home.

The Great Room at One George Street interpreted the aesthetic of the first machine age into a workplace of the twenty-first century. The just-industrial but essentially hand-crafted detailing addressed the necessity of speed and economy and the skillset of the workers. Although functions were carefully defined – the balance of rentable and non-billable, private and breakout spaces minutely calculated – the Great Room, as experienced, was dynamic and vital. Sliding doors and walls refreshed the volume. Materials lapped and folded, repeating in different places and formats to give richness and legibility. Details were consistent, evocative and essential. Far off ‘rack and stack,’ the Great Room was an office made to measure and set the standard for all co-work spaces to follow.

In the four years since the Great Room opened, there has been an explosion of co-working offers across the world. Models vary from temporary space-fillers for corporate landlords to rich and comfortable community bases. One George Street was a pioneer in this category and a brand-maker for The Great Room.

Furniture: Custom (Hemisphere Design). Lighting: Custom (Hemisphere Design), Visual Comfort (Hemisphere Design). Finishes: Shaw, Wood&Wood, Forbo (Elca Flooring), Tappeti, Zimmer + Rohde and Lario (Bode). Fittings & Fixtures: Fisher & Paykel, Franke.

Photography: E.K. Yap