Spanning 62,000 square feet across six floors, Distrii Republic Plaza is the single largest co-working facility in Singapore, at CDL’s flagship office building Republic Plaza. Offering next-gen tech-driven work spaces, Distrii differentiates itself through its proprietary enterprise collaboration and productivity tool developed by its in-house technology experts.
Co-Working
Spaces
Go From
Fad To Fixture
Modern workplaces have come a long way, from utilitarian cubicles to open-concept offices that can resemble a chic apartment or hotel lobby. The demand for co-working or flexible workspaces has also grown substantially.
According to real estate and investment management firm Colliers International, Singapore is arguably the most exciting market in the Asia-Pacific for the flexible workspace sector, particularly with the government’s push for innovation and enterprise. This article is adapted from Colliers International Flexible Workspace Outlook Report (APAC) 2018.
Merits of co-working
Co-working has an alluring draw, and the creative vibes experienced in these environments is a big talent magnet, especially among the tech-savvy millennial workforce.
Beyond the aesthetics and frills such as pool tables and beer on tap, co-working provides flexibility, allowing occupiers to directly correlate their headcount to real estate costs, and move away from long-term, fixed contracts.
It also adds to staff mobility, a creative and productive environment, as well as a platform to mingle with dynamic start-ups and entrepreneurs. Well-designed, open and collaborative workspaces foster better interaction and help to encourage the flow of ideas and drive productivity.
From the developers’ and landlords’ perspective, flexible workspaces and their community help to enliven buildings, as well as enable attraction of new occupiers and the retention of existing tenants with space constraints.
It is also a strategy for future organic growth, as start-ups may eventually lease office space within the landlord’s development or portfolio, resulting from their experience in the flexible offering.
Distrii offers over 900 work stations, private offices and customisable team space. Its proprietary app also enables members to conveniently reserve facilities such as meeting rooms, and supports high quality voice calls and video conferencing in a single, hassle-free mobile application. 
Distrii Republic Plaza features a flexible multi-purpose event space with a capacity of up to 200 guests. It is equipped with a 170-inch 4K display screen, catering to seminars, workshops, and networking events.
Co-working in Singapore
Demand for co-working spaces in Asia Pacific has seen strong growth of between 10% to 15% annually from start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises, and even MNCs. Co-working spaces are often viewed as disruptors of the commercial lease space as demand for these flexible, cost-effective and efficient work space solutions have spurred some modifications to not only the traditional long-term fixed lease model but also the co-working space ecosystem.
The office market in Singapore has similarly seen an increase in flexible workspace operators. Island-wide, across all office grades, co-working and other flexible workspace operators occupy a total of 2.1 million square feet of net lettable area.
Distrii Republic Plaza, a collaboration between CDL and China’s leading operator of co-working spaces, Distrii, officially launched this year in July.
German burger chain Hans im Glück's latest outlet has found home at Republic Plaza in Raffles Place. Sharing the same entrance as Distrii Republic Plaza, its welcoming ambience, where diners can sit amongst birch logs and oak furniture, has proved a hit.
Chinese café chain Mellower Coffee is located near the main reception at Distrii Republic Plaza, where members can buy coffee, other refreshments and cakes and pastries.
Amenities include more than 900 work stations, private offices and customisable team spaces, as well as a 200-person capacity multi-purpose hall, German burger chain Hans im Glück, and China’s leading café chain Mellower Coffee.
The key feature of this co-working space is Distrii's proprietary enterprise collaboration and productivity tool developed by its in-house technology experts. It is the first co-working space provider to develop a holistic cloud-based system that boosts efficiency and simplifies daily business operations by integrating business solutions into a single hassle-free application.
Ms Jo Hu, Distrii Singapore CEO, shared on Distrii’s expansion plans into Southeast Asia, during the media preview at Distrii Republic Plaza’s event hall.
Other operators such as Singapore-owned The Great Room, mainland Chinese operator Ucommune (formerly known as UrWork), and American firm WeWork have also since entered the Singapore market with locations across the island.
Targeted markets and services
80RR Fintech Hub SG is a one-stop innovation hub at 80 Robinson Road. It offers hot-desking (pictured left), designated desks, designated offices, as well as meeting rooms and event space facilities that can accommodate up to 200 guests (pictured right).
Co-working spaces are also gaining a competitive edge with targeted markets and services, such as the fintech scene.
One such example is 80RR, one of Singapore’s largest co-working spaces in the CBD dedicated to housing international and local fintech start-ups and companies.
Opened in November 2017, 80RR was set up as part of the government’s push to spur more experimentation and collaboration in the local fintech space. Occupying two floors at 80 Robinson Road, the one-stop innovation hub offers hot-desking, designated desks and designated offices, as well as meeting rooms and event space facilities for tenants to accelerate collaboration and partnership.
Outlook
The boom in start-up culture and the Singapore government’s push for innovation and enterprise will undoubtedly contribute to the sector’s growth. One thing is certain – co-working is here to stay and ever-evolving.
