How to fit 250 firms in 22,000 sq ft of office space? CapitaLand and Collective Works have the answer

SINGAPORE - It could be the future of office space in Singapore.

CapitaLand will partner Collective Works in a 50:50 venture to take the 20,000 sq ft that make up the 12th storey of Capital Tower and transform it into sleek office space that can house up to 250 small firms.

If each firm has about five staff, that will be 1,250 employees being able to fit on a floor the size of about 15 HDB executive flats.

The magic is in innovative spatial design and efficient layout plans, said CapitaLand when it announced the pilot venture on Wednesday (March 23).

Said CapitaLand's president & group CEO Lim Ming Yan: "A real estate developer of tomorrow must be able to anticipate and meet the future expectations of its customers. It is therefore incumbent on CapitaLand to constantly assess opportunities that will allow us to stay ahead of the curve and seize first-mover advantages.

"Using our headquarters building as the test bed for the 'office of the future' is a strong testament of CapitaLand's commitment to offer unprecedented levels of flexibility and convenience to our office tenants. Through these workplace innovation and services, CapitaLand is set to change the way people are going to use office spaces."

The coworking phenomenon began in the United States and spread quickly to cities like London, Berlin and Paris followed by South-east Asian countries such as Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, where it is at an early stage.

Capital Tower will be the first, Grade A building in Singapore's prime Central Business District to test it out.

Mr Wen Khai Meng, CEO of CapitaLand Singapore, said he expects the coworking design to appeal to fast-growing businesses, entrepreneurs and freelancers seeking to rent fully functional, outfitted, customisable office space under flexible lease terms.

"We foresee demand coming from sectors such as fin-tech, social media, technology, insurance, corporate training and venture capital investment," he said.

Said Mr Jonathan O'Byrne, founder of Collective Works: "I'm excited not only to officially launch Collective Works Capital Tower but to announce a relationship that has the potential to redefine the coworking landscape in Singapore and Asia."

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