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Creating CultureBT insTills a sTronger corporaTe culTure wiTh iTs consolidaTed office designed By M Moser associaTes.

T e x t » R a c h e l L e e - L e o n g

P h o t o g r a p h y » O w e n R a g g e t t

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Case study | OffiCe

a striking entrance defined by dynamic lines provides an impressive welcome

“iT’s aBouT reducing real-esTaTe fooTprinT, BuT also Building a sense of TeaM [spiriT] in The office”

» N i c h o l a s S c h i f f e r l e

A c o h e s i v e a n d i d e n t i f i a b l e workcultureisperhapsoneofthemostimportantpillarsofagreatorganisation.Itiswhatanchorsemployeestoacompany,instillsconfidenceandfostersasenseofownership.Withoutit,workbecomesanemptyendinitself.Forthisreason,BT(BritishTelecom)embarkedonamajorexerciseincreating“OneBT”,anditwasanendeavourthathingedlargelyonthedesignofitsnewpremisesatChangiBusinessPark.

PreviouslyintwodifferentbuildingsinChaiCheehousingtwobusinessunitsrespectively,BTwassufferingfromacaseofsplitpersonality.“Themainbusinesswasverymobile,usedtotouchingdownandflexibleworkingarrangements.Theotherengineeringbusinesswas[moretraditional]andhadright-angleddesksandreallyhighpanels.Soitwasalmostliketwodifferentcompanies,”saysNicholasSchifferle,AssociateDirectoratMMoserAssociates.

UnitingthetwobusinessunitsononeflooratUEBizhubEastbuildingprovidedachancetonotonlycreateamoreefficientandengagingworkenvironment,butalsoofferedanopportunitytopresentthecompanyasaworld-classglobaltechnologycompany.“Withachallengingprogrammeinplace,anintegrateddeliverysolutionwaskeyinensuringtheprojectwascompletedontimeandtoaqualitythatexceededtheclient’sexpectations,”addsRichardWarburton,AreaLeader(SouthEastAsia)ofECHarris,theprojectmanagementfirminvolvedintheproject.

“Whenwedecidedtomove,wedidastudyofworkpatterns:howmanypeoplearetypicallyintheofficeonanygivenday?Wecametoanumberofbetween60to70percentofthestaff,”saysZaMoctar,SeniorFacilitiesandServiceAssuranceManager.

Itwasclearthattheone-to-onedesk-to-workerratiowashighlyinefficient,andanagileworkspacemodelseemedtobethewaytogo.

“Ithinktherearetwoimportantdefiningfactorsthatareencouragingagileworkspaces–theeconomyandsocio-culturalaspects.It’saboutreducingreal-estatefootprint,butalsobuildingasenseofteam[spirit]intheoffice,”notesSchifferle.

Thenewpremisesboastsonly470desks,wheretheoriginalofficeshadover600desks.Apartfromthreeofficesforseniormanagers,allotherphysicalevidenceofhierarchyhasbeenabolished.Theofficeislooselydividedupamongdifferentdepartments(or“communities”astheyarecalled),whilestaffhavethelibertyofchoosingwheretheywouldliketositonaday-to-daybasis.Thisflexibilityencouragesinteraction,notjustwithin,butalsobetweendepartments.

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Case study | OffiCe

above: colour, manifested in different ways, helps staff with wayfinding

Top: pristine white surfaces provide the reception area with the impression of clarity

Bottom: a variety of furniture encourage different discussion methods

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design firm M Moser associatesBuilder ngai chin construction pte ltdPrOjeCt manager ec harrisQuantity surveyOr ec harrism&e engineer Jrp

time tO COmPlete 6 monthstOtal flOOr area 4,396sqm

m mOser assOCiates (65) 6438 4088 mmoser.com

finishesin reception, ‘cs 6020’ white gloss Tiles from hup Kiong, interface flor red carpet from contrac image Trading, instyle ‘sense paradise’ upholstery from infinity group asia. generally Throughout, Tandus carpet Tiles from Ba furnishing. paint from dulux. in pantry, fast Track woodworx Timber flooring from weily carpet.

fixed and fittedironmongery from link and dorma. phifer Blinds from sunscreen.

lightingin Breakout areas, ‘prolicht’ suspended lights from flair illume.

furniturein work areas, ‘T59’ workchairs from vanguard interiors, workstations from interimage and datumstruct. in Breakout areas, custom armchairs by sofa + others, custom coffee Tables by lifestorey. in pantry, dining chairs reused, custom armchairs and dining Tables by sofa & others.

BA Furnishings Pte Ltd (65) 6853 3918 Contrac Image Trading Pte Ltd (65) 6332 3055 interfaceflor.com Datumstruct (S) Pte Ltd (65) 6749 0206 datumstruct.com Dorma Far East Pte Ltd (65) 6268 7633 dorma.com/sg/ Flair Illume Pte Ltd (65) 6458 9903 flairillume.com.sg Hup Kiong Pte Ltd (65) 6382 2626 hupkiong.com Infinity Group Asia (65) 6738 4482 infinitygroup-asia.com Lifestorey (65) 6732 7362 lifestorey.com Sofa + Others (65) 6584 9529 sofaandothers.com Sunscreen (Singapore) Pte Ltd (65) 6284 0033 sunscreen.com.sg Vanguard Interiors Pte Ltd (65) 6732 7362 vanguard.com.sg Weily Carpet (65) 6261 3383 weily.com.sg

BT office“Peoplestartinteractingmore,”observesMoctar.“Forexample,today,ifIfeelIneedtoworkwithHR(HumanResource),I’llsitclosertothem.Tomorrow,ifIneedtoworkwithprocurement,Isitclosertothem.Soyougettoknowmorepeopleanditfostersbetterrelationships.”

Furtheringthecauseforinteraction,collaborationspaceshavebeeninsertedbetweenthecommunityclusters.“Wewantedtoensuretheseaofworkstationswasbrokenup.Wedidn’twantittolooklikeacall-centre,”saysMoctar.Sharedamongdifferentcommunities,thesecollaborationspacesarehubsforinformalmeetings.Andshouldthecompanyexpandinthefutureandrequiremoredesks,thesefreestandingcollaborationspacescanbeeasilyremovedtomakespace.

Withoutclearlydemarcateddepartments,wayfindingprovedtobeacrucialconsiderationgiventhelarge,4,396sqmfloorplate.Assuch,highlevelmarkersintheformofcolourful,organicbandshelpstafflocatethemselvesintheoffice.Underfoot,subtleshiftsincolouralsohelpaidwayfinding.

Theofficeisprivytodaylight–apreciouscommoditythatwaspreviouslymissinginthe

oldoffices–withthemajorityofthewindowsleftunobstructed.Supportingspacesalsoplayalargeroleinengenderingasenseofprideintheemployees.Thereceptionareaisdesignedaroundadynamicconfluenceofsharpangles,sleekfinishesandcontrolledlines.Thegenerouspantryprovidesampleroomforstafftorelax,havemeetings,orevenworkindependently.Supportedbyprojectorscreens,itwasalsodesignedtoaccommodate600people(standingroom)fortheoccasionaltownhallmeeting.

Despitethereducedfootprintofthenewoffice,Schifferleemphasisesthatitwasimportantthat“peopleneededtofeelliketheyweregoingtoabetterplace,notthattheyweregoingtoareducedfootprint.”

“Therewerealotofskepticsbeforewemoved,”saysMoctar.“Butthemarketingdepartmentdidalotofbriefingsessionswithseniormanagersandlinemanagers,toletthemknowwhattoexpect.”Allupdateswerethensystematicallyandregularlycascadeddowntotherestofthestaff.Andwhenthemovefinallyhappened,theresponsewasundeniablyencouraging.Moctarsays,“Thedesignreallymadethemfeelliketheyaregoingintoaworldclassofficeenvironment.” «

“The design really Made TheM feel liKe They are going inTo a world class office environMenT.”

» Z a M o c t a r

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floor plan

_legend

1 reception area | 2 Meeting room | 3 vcr room | 4 Telepresence suite | 5 Boardroom | 6 showcase room | 7 The hub | 8 collaboration area | 9 phone room | 10 greenside comms room | 11 redside comms room | 12 lift lobby | 13 ahu | 14 Toilets | 15 document room | 16 pKl staff room and storage | 17 store and staging room

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Case study | OffiCe

Bottom: hot-desking frees up tables as well as encourages dynamic collaboration between departments

Top: interesting flooring patterns create relief in usually sterile office environments