9-15-Deloitte Center for the Edge is nine agile work zones wrapped by plywood shells for a compact office. The idea of the compact office might increasingly become ubiquitous due to the desires to work from home in the post-pandemic world. However, for Deloitte Center for the Edge (Asia-pacific) office in Singapore, a multitude of working spaces was conceived to accommodate a myriad of working styles. The 32 square metre office, located within the National Design Centre in Singapore, is designed with innate agility to transition from enclosures of individual concentration to collaborative spaces.

Different anthropometric work boundaries and patterns were studied to create the nine distinct work zones that include Soft Working, Octopus Bar, Niche to Meet, Dedicated Word Station, Work with View, Privacy Booth and bum seat, Work Platform, Meet and Greet and Think Wall.

The nine work zones have been conceived as a “loop of working spaces” that is further supported with six ancillary spaces which include a Felt Shelving Wall for the client’s research booklets and an Artefact Wall for an interchangeable display of showcase items. The geometry of these spaces was derived by experimenting with the client’s research booklets and this inspired the creation of curvilinear plywood shells to enclose each work zone. The plywood shells vary in height according to sightlines and are orientated at different angles to create the perception of separate zones. The taller plywood shells increase the privacy for the individual and act as health barriers between adjacent zones. Further cut-outs facilitate visual interaction and shells have been staggered to emit daylight and create visual depth.

The new office for Deloitte Center for the Edge remains a hive for collaboration and challenges the new normal of the work environment with a wide range of work zones in a very modest footprint.

Furniture: Vitra, Artek, Affordable Abodes (Kenafcrete lamp), Roger & Sons. Lighting: Glos, 42 Degrees Asia. Finishes: ReMARKable.

Photography: Khoo Guo Jie