It is almost half way through 2019…and some amazing things had happen in SHL Asia, but the biggest achievement so far is the completion of our new office, “Workspace and Culture”. We started the construction working for this project since November last year. Although it is not 100% done by the time we moved, but most of the rooms and interiors were ready. Workspace and culture is the manifest of our new office. Not only a new building but we also wanted to create new culture in our new office.
Physically the building has a concept of a “local urban village.” It is compact with many rooms and a one lane hallway just like a common urban village. Other than that, we also experimented with exposed bricks (bata) concept by using it for walls and floor. ‘Bata’ is such a humble yet complicated material. It requires a long process and a lot of elements are involved, but it is used in almost every house across the country.
What we initially aimed is to present the art of brick as a material that is unique and close to our daily lives. We want to elevate the simplicity of bricks with aesthetic design that is contemporary but also familiar. An all-white color scheme is applied because we wanted to achieve a clear and clean impression. Later, we can utilize this blank canvas for various art or multifunctional space. Rather than just plain white walls, we play with a little bit of texture by painting an exposed brick wall with white paint in both exterior and interior wall.
Since the space is limited, there was not much room for a normal garden and front yard. We maximized the space by creating a vertical garden in front of the office room. Following our concept, bricks are used to create little niches that act as “pots” for the plants. For uniformity and good carrying capacity, the bricks are arranged in an angle of 45 degrees. Once it has done, we filled each slot with different kind fern and shrubs, such Fishbone fern (Nephrolepis cordifolia), Giant swordfern (Nephrolepis biserrata), Lilyturf (Ophiopogon jaburan), Mousetail plant (Phyllanthus myrtifolius) and Rattlesnake plant (Calathea lancifolia).
Besides the physical form, Workspace and Culture is also the manifesto of a new working culture. We want to alter the mindset about working in general. We believe when being in a right environment with supportive circumstance we could be more driven and productive in doing work. The intention is to make work fun, innovative and creative. Moreover, in this new culture we also encourage our team to do collaboration. The important of collaboration work is enriching ones experience and knowledge in real time. As they say, the more the merrier, often by doing collaboration we produce something that one could have not imagined. These new habits are the new means of Workspace and Culture.
Cheers,
SHL Asia Team
Image Courtesy : Widi Okantari of SHL Asia
Data Courtesy : Putu Mika of SHL Asia