Occupying 404 square metres on level 13 of a new tower at 380 Jalan Besar, and enjoying fantastic views over the neighbourhood, the new WOW Office is bright and plant laden – its high ceiling and tall windows accentuating the view.

Managing Directors of WOW Architects | Warner Wong Design Maria Warner Wong and Wong Chiu Man, along with their Singapore team, celebrated the move on Tuesday 30 October 2018 with a studio-warming party for around 140 guests. In attendance were clients, partners and collaborators, including many familiar faces from Singapore’s A&D scene.

Two years ago, when Cubes profiled WOW in issue 83, Maria and Chiu Man made particular mention of how they avoid the term ‘global’ – with the exception of ‘global warming’. Said Maria at the time: “We don’t think of ours as a global practice, because when you’re rooted in culture, memory and place, it’s impossible to export your product everywhere… It’s about collaboration, rather than spreading our ideas all over the world.”

In a speech at WOW Office party, Maria and Chiu Man expressed their desire that the space will be a place of innovation and wellbeing, and thanked the WOW staff and their community of industry collaborators and partners. Above them, presented on the wall, were words echoing Maria’s comments of 2016: “Our mission is to create spaces of extraordinary sensory experience rooted in culture, memory and place.”

WOW currently has a staff of 45 people across studios in Singapore, Manila and London. One might expect that the Singapore’s teams new digs in eclectic Jalan Besar will bring home the essential value of a sense of place on a daily basis.