Wow what an exciting week this has been 3 of the projects we have been working on have been handed over and people have moved in all in the same week our daughter took her first steps.
Our Daughter seems to align her momentous occasions with the development of our company. Having arrived exactly 1 month after we established our Singapore business, 10 months on she has taken her first steps on the day that we have handed over one of our most exciting projects, the new Collective Works at Capital Tower.
As every parent knows, the day your child starts walking is an exciting one filled with pride but tempered with the anxiety of all the dangers that lie ahead. Handing over a project is very similar the sense of relief that it is complete, the pride in the achievement of seeing your design realised is tempered with the anxiety of whether or not the occupants will like and enjoy the space and the fundamental of will the space work for its occupants.
It was amazing and reassuring that during the handover inspection yesterday we were approached by so many of the members of the Collective Works who have already started work in the space to thank us for creating such a wonderful workplace for them. The members love the new space with one member making the comment that the environment is so fantastic that it makes her want to come to work in the morning and while there she enjoys it so much that she doesn’t want to leave. It is this kind of feedback that is the reward for all the hard work and what is really important about what we do. If we create space that people don’t like and don’t feel comfortable in we have failed. At Contrast it is our primary objective to create space that people enjoy and which effortlessly supports them in what they do. It is also important that we deliver against our clients objectives and in this case it is important that the Collective Works can successfully market the space and attract new members. Therefore it is also incredible to be informed that everyone who has viewed the space has entered negotiations or signed a membership contract. Finally we can sleep at night knowing that we have done a good job.
The Collective Works project has been a very significant project for us as it allowed us to create a design for a space that we feel truly embodies the future of workplaces. We are ardent fans of co working and believe that it is really the future of how people will work. We are very proud to have created an environment that we believe is at the forefront of co working spaces in Singapore. However we cannot take all the credit for this project as it is the result of a collaborative approach between Contrast, our Client – The collective works, the various contractors and suppliers including Tarkus, Update Asia, Contrac Image, Xtra, Steelcase and many others. Achieving a project of this scale and complexity in just 4 months from appointment to completion takes a great effort on everyone’s part and can only be done with a strong collaborative spirit.
Despite the significance of this great project it in no way overshadows our other achievements. We have also successfully handed over 2 other projects this week for both Mediacom and Maxus. Mediacom have embraced a completely new approach to working and the design of their new office gives them so much more variety of space with everything from a bamboo garden for relaxation to standard workstations. I felt very pleased to see one of my firm beliefs in respect of the future of workplace clearly upheld; upon moving into the space all areas were fully occupied with the exception of the conventional “desks.” I have believed for such a long time that desks were and are becoming obsolete in the working environment and that people once given a choice will predominantly choose an alternative environment to work in rather than a conventional bench/cubicle. Mediacom provided visual proof of this to the extent that even Group M’s chief Talent officer Gareth Ling commented on the exodus from the workstation.
I have been working with Mediacom for such a long time to try and create a workplace that fully supports them. During this collaboration we have overcome many obstacles to achieve this great new working space for the staff and I would like to thank everybody in the Mediacom and group M team for helping us to achieve this.
We have also handed over Maxus new space this week which although smaller in scale is no less significant as it creates a totally new environment for the team one that truly reflects their brand and identity.