Alibaba Group Visitor Centre in Singapore, revamped by DISTINCTidENTITY, is the first the firm has set up outside of China.
Located on the ground floor of AXA Tower, the idea was to transform the actual space in a corporate meeting and event venue for Alibaba and its partners and stakeholders to better facilitate business here for its units.
Project Name: Alibaba Group Visitor Centre
Architect Name: DISTINCTidENTITY
One of the challenges was the fact that Alibaba Group owns a lot of brands (Alibaba, Taobao, TMall, Aliexpress, Lazada, Fliggy, Cainiao, Redmart etc…), and because of that, the space can’t have one strong identity to emphasize. So, instead of developing on an entity, the team decided to focus on the function of the space which is ensuring the traffic flow of the meetings and the values that it should reflect. Following this modern corporate direction, open discussions areas were created using clean lines and bright colours to represent the large umbrella of brands.
A black carpet and metal structure were integrated to add a sleek aesthetic and gather the elements together, while showcasing the furniture from Tmall at the same time.
Another challenge was the short time of one month, given for the renovation. This decisive factor pushed the team to embrace and enhance the existing structure, instead of taking some elements down and starting a new design from scratch.
Indeed, the glass walls of the former rooms remained, but were altered with a frosting design to give more privacy to the future enclosed meeting rooms. Moreover, the circular staircase, which is one of the key elements, was also already existing but was made of metal bars which was giving a messy look to the overall. Hence, it has been redesigned by adding a partition and a structured pattern.
Last but not least, the level 2 has been designed with an open concept in mind for town hall meetings, as it is a big area with the capacity to contain 200 people.
DISTINCTidENTITY
DISTINCTidENTITY was founded in 2010, to deliver design and architectural services to trusting and returning clients in Singapore.
The interior design firm takes pride in understanding their clients’ and projects’ needs, as it is key to communicate the clarity and beauty of a design. Inspiration is taken from various fields, topics, visuals and even lifestyles to create the essence of a design concept.
At DISTINCTidENTITY, the designers are young but ambitious; with a ‘Desire to Inspire’ one space at a time, and the hope to achieve excellence.
