Within the six floors of office accommodation, there are fully flexible cellular spaces for staff, covering 17,000m². Level 2 forms the main entrance and transition from the public and shared space to the HSBC space. Level 9 is the Visitor Hub, which includes the main reception area, visitor meeting rooms, video conferencing facilities, break-out meeting spaces, flexible training studios and a large multipurpose space.
"The Hub, like the heart of a city, forms the core and provides all the central services, such as pantries, vending stations, touchdown areas, formal meeting rooms and storage facilities," says Simpson. "The Hub is surrounded by the primary circulation route, known as The Street. This is bounded by pockets of planting and greenery that form a visual and acoustic barrier between the activity of The Hub and the quieter working space."
Pods along The Street not only serve as wayfinding landmarks, but incorporate service areas, formal and informal meeting spaces and collaboration spaces.
"The pods help break down an expansive floorplate into smaller working communities," says Simpson.
Strong environmental graphics reinforce the theme of Singapore, the Garden City. The design team engaged with HSBC's employees through a photographic competition and the images are featured on personal storage lockers that help foster personal identity within the broader social context of the workplace community.
Meeting rooms are identified by different cities around the world and are complemented by wall graphics of their national flower. For example, the Vanda Miss Joaquim orchid is a backdrop to the Singapore meeting room.
A rigorous approach to the sustainable agenda underpins the design, as requested by the bank.