A first for the region, Royal Work Club, a new premium co-working and business members club in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, has opened its doors in Plateau.
Area: 800sqm
Levels: 2 (2nd and 1st floors)
Location: Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire
Client: Royal Work Club (RWC)
Architects: GO
Furniture: Viaduct
Developed through an early engagement in crafting the brand identity, offer and business model, a number of sites were explored through an evolving real estate strategy. The close collaboration between GO, a design studio based out of London, and Royal Work Club (RWC), has led to a much needed, successful executive offer in West Africa.
“RWC is a premium co-working and business club in Abidjan combining sleek interior design and superior hospitality experience with a vibrant community of business travelers, entrepreneurs and industry leaders alike.” says Guy Rasin, co-founder and CEO of RWC. “Working with GO was an extremely pleasant and streamlined design process. It helped us not only with the design and build, but also to better align our business and operations model.”
The design is simple with key brand design features that repeat throughout the space. A tight palette of materials, colours and textures that reflect RWC, was used to craft a calm and focused space. Key furniture pieces were procured from across Europe, combined with locally crafted furniture elements.
The upper floor is the main entry point with an event space, cafe, lounge, meeting rooms and cigar lounge. Entry sitelines were planned so that visitors had a straight view across the lagoon, showcasing a bright, open and inviting space. The stairs lead down to the main working space where a combination of private offices, private desks and open desking area are flanked by larger meeting rooms and boardrooms, as well as massage areas and showers. Members can find various niches throughout the space to accommodate the different work modes that were explored in the initial stages of the design process.
One of the biggest requirements of the design was to allow for a mode switch of co-working by day, to a full event and members lounge by night. “Simple solutions like the event space wall fully opening up to the cafe space, and strategically located lounge and niche spaces allow for the interior to work as intimate spaces by day, into a full on hosting platform for our events.” says Guy Rasin. “The local response has been truly spectacular.”
“The region is amazing and full of opportunities. We are working on multiple additional sites as we further explore how we can incorporate local trades and craftsmen into the design.” says Go Sugimoto of GO. “The first site posed many challenges, but we’ve already tested a few things thinking of the eventual rollout, and that process has been exciting and meaningful to both our client and our studio.”