Singapore’s ‘destination office’ marks the new return-to-work normal

Cushman & Wakefield’s new 11,400-sqft office exudes the same vibe as Singapore’s best bars.

Coaxing a work-from-home workforce back to the office is a challenge with many companies resorting to incentives such as free meals or requirements to work in the office a certain number of days. A different approach was taken by Cushman & Wakefield, which felt that a new concept for an office where people want to return to and work in was in order. It came up with what they call the “destination office”, located in Singapore’s Central Business District.

The first sign that this workplace is not a regular office starts at the lift lobby, where there is not even a nameplate for the real estate services firm, and no doors either. Instead, the reception area opens up to a view over Singapore and feels akin to a first-class business lounge, with coffee tables for guests to sit at and talk rather than be whisked off to a personality-less meeting room. The reason the space feels so much like one of Singapore’s lauded bars is that it was designed by MSDO, the same team behind the Manhattan Bar and Atlas.