The long-awaited new Space showroom in Singapore is finally open. And with it Space’s Asia Hub, a central reference point for its regional distributors and clients. Paul McGillick reports.
November 22nd, 2011
Located in Singapore’s ’arts precinct’, the new Space showroom’s blend of heritage and contemporary sends the perfect signal about its more than twenty brands – the marriage of tradition and modernity.
The SIN$50 million development consists of two restored and internally re-modelled heritage buildings linked by a very contemporary glass’ cube’, all designed by classy WOHA Architects.
The cluster of buildings makes for a gorgeous streetscape, but also for a great variety of spaces internally. As a result, every brand gets the space it needs to communicate its unique qualities.
It also makes the showroom a destination, a kind of journey of discovery which starts at the downstairs bar and complimentary coffee and wine and includes a landscape terrace, a cool, three-storey, green-walled courtyard and two moody lofts.
At 40,000 square feet, Space’s Asia Hub is both a destination and an experience. Director, Katie Page, tells friends in Australia who shop at Space “to get on a plane and have a look at Singapore – it’s the evolving of our business”.
This is not just about looking at products, it is about experiencing them the way you might at home. “At this level,” says Katie, “you had better know what you are doing. When a customer is talking to me, they want to know that I live this.”
General Manager, Syddal Wee, explains that they wanted to avoid high-traffic malls (Space was previously in one, Millennia Walk), go for a street front and “make it an attractive destination store for those who want to come”.
It is, he says, all about “enhancing our position and raising brand awareness”.
“Then, when people come and have a look, what they see is not a disappointment.” It is, he says, about keeping a promise of an experience of quality. “It is,” says Syddal, “about maintaining a certain standard in terms of presentation”.
Syddal says he already has clients whose main reason for visiting Singapore is to visit Space. It really is worth the visit – and while you’re there take in WOHA’s astonishing School of Arts building, the Singapore Art Museum, the National Museum and the exquisite Peranakan Museum.
The arts precinct or the quality precinct?
Paul McGillick is Editorial Director of Indesign and visited the Space Asia Hub as a guest of Space Furniture.
Space Asia
spacefurniture.com.sg
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
Channelling the enchanting ambience of the Caffè Greco in Rome, Budapest’s historic Gerbeaud, and Grossi Florentino in Melbourne, Ross Didier’s new collection evokes the designer’s affinity for café experience, while delivering refined seating for contemporary hospitality interiors.
Savage Design’s approach to understanding the relationship between design concepts and user experience, particularly with metalwork, transcends traditional boundaries, blending timeless craftsmanship with digital innovation to create enduring elegance in objects, furnishings, and door furniture.
‘The Elevation of Gravity’ installation was an immersive showcase of innovation that heralded the debut of Gaggenau’s groundbreaking Essential Induction cooktop.
You might assume that creativity takes a back seat to science and hard facts in the design of health and aged-care spaces, but according to Tonya Hinde, it’s the most creative sector she’s worked in. Here’s why.
This year marks the 22nd Biennale of Sydney. Titled, ‘NIRIN,’ the inaugural event transforms the most iconic venues across the city into a destination of art, culture and conversation.
The 9-10 August, the world of commercial design and property is changing irrevocably. FRONT is your chance to be ahead of the revolution.
INLITE has recently gone live with a new website featuring detailed information on new products and projects, a variety of downloads, and the ability to subscribe to Hype, the INLITE e-newsletter. Currently featured are the new designs from Deltalight, launched at the Light + Build fair earlier this year. Perhaps the most exciting component of the […]
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
In our series spotlighting aficionados across the design industry, we spoke with Alexandra Guglielmino, who leads the Art Advisory team at Bluethumb Art Gallery.
Dallas Rogers, Head of Urban Discipline at the School of Architecture, Design and Planning, University of Sydney, comments on the history of map-making in our cities.