Menu
A dynamic and collaborative environment envisioned to celebrate the return to work and in-person interaction
“I know we need space to have larger meetings, but I can’t stand boardrooms. They kill creativity and aren’t inspiring. We need a boardroom that doesn’t look or feel anything like one”
Justin Taylor, CEO Kaer Pte Ltd
Kaer has provided cooling to commercial and industrial real estate for over 70 years, and recently revolutionised the industry though the conception of ‘Cooling as a Service’.
As the depth of the Covid crisis began to become clear, the forward-thinking leadership team at Kaer came to understand that Office life beyond the lockdown era would require a different working environment to the one that existed previously. With the likelihood of flexible working arrangements here to stay, an opportunity presented itself to re-imagine the workspace from head to toe. Some key questions helped to clarify the mission and set the framework for subsequent decision making:
Suffering from Zoom fatigue, and feelings of disconnection after periods of isolation, the biggest issue to address was the need to re-create a warm sense of community and belonging. The need to feel part of something bigger, and celebrate the wider team.
Different roles within the team, and different tasks within each role necessitated a variety of spaces. These spaces were crafted to create a range of intimacy and capacity, from very larger public spaces such as the pantry, to more private, quieter enclosed areas such as the booths.
With the roadmap for decision making clear, the design evolved to deliver the following key qualities and components:
– Less Seats, More Space
With flexible working here to stay (to include some staff working from home each day), the seating density has been able to be reduced substantially from the previous office space, to make way for a focus on quality of space and social interaction (eventually!).
– Variety of Seating and Standing Options
Regular and high seating options are provided through the specification of an adjustable height table cluster. Further flexibility in workspace is achieved through the use of adjustable/removable partitions between fixed desks, and the option of open ‘touchdown’ space for spontaneous tasks or the need for open space to layout larger materials.
– Multiple Collaboration Spaces
With the ongoing need to ‘bring’ external conference call participants ‘into the space’, a variety of collaboration spaces have been created with both small and large screens, oriented such as to achieve the most seamless integration between physical and virtual meeting participants as possible.
– Pantry as multi-purpose Social Hub
Tasked with housing Town Halls, daily coffee and lunch breaks and special events, the pantry space has to wear a few different hats. As such the amphitheater seating functions both as lunching bench and a larger stadium-style tiered seating for larger capacity gatherings. The island counter in the center also works as a meeting bench, a dining table and the front row seating for any presentations and Town Hall gatherings.
– Boredom-free Boardroom
While a signature component of the office and one with a significant exposure to guests/clients of Kaer, the Boardoom is also be tasked with hosting internal meetings and creative brain-storming style workshops, and as such required the ability to be reconfigured. The unique oval-shaped table was custom-fabricated into 3 separable pieces, so as to allow the room to be broken up into meeting clusters during workshops etc. The color scheme of blue and orange delivers a radical departure from the typical black, brown, grey boardroom approach of most office environments, conveying energy and differentiation in line with Kaer’s brand values.
– Invisible Reception Desk
While the function of meeting and greeting remains a necessary component of the guest entry experience, the need for dedicated reception desks and clearly defined waiting areas can be seen as a little stiff and overly formal. The solution achieved at Kaer instead integrates the workstation nearest the entry into a curved shelving component seamlessly. From this position the staff member in the location is able to greet the visitors and direct them to the lounge area opposite this desk, should there be any need to wait for their appointment.
– Greening The Office
An essential part of any human-focused office environment should always be some connection back to the natural world. At Kaer the approach to greenery has been to incorporate subtle additions at every opportunity. While no one space feels like ‘the green area’, all spaces contain either large potted plants, smaller tabletop plants or hanging/creeper plants.
While initial estimates from Tenderers based on the first issue of Construction Documentation came in between 50-75% over-budget, through patient dialogue with Contractors and suppliers, some minor adjustments on design details, material specifications and furniture selections, the entirety of the design ambition was able to be delivered in line with Kaer’s expectations.
A longer timeline for design and construction was necessitated by various labour and supply lockdowns. The silver lining to this challenge was that more time enabled every specification to be researched as thoroughly as possible to find the very best market price for each supplier and component, while negotiating price with little time pressure.
Regular and diligent site meetings attended by the Client, the Project Manager and the Designer enabled clear communication to the Construction team. There were few surprises after the Landlord’s rectifications and those few were easily overcome to deliver a finish of the highest quality.
“In 2021 Kaer transitioned to a ‘work from anywhere’ model, and when we were designing our new global headquarters, we knew we had to offer so much more than just desk space. We wanted our team to be genuinely excited to return to the office environment.
The design from VUCA VUCA really captured Kaer’s DNA and delivered a space that reflects our values and new ways of working. At Kaer you can find a total mix of spaces to match any working style or task. From intimate and quiet collaboration spaces to large creative areas to relax or brainstorm.
We are really happy with the result!”
Justine Mackerness, Executive Director, Kaer
