As technology eliminates the boundaries in our lives, lines are also being blurred how we think of and use spaces; Now, a new breed of co-working spaces are on the rise, designed to empower a new generation of workers.

Through collaboration and community, these are spaces that give artists a sense of belonging and inspiration. Two individuals in the forefront of figuring out new, creative use of spaces took to the stage at WIT 2017.

Morris Sim, CMO, Next Story Group and Turochas Fuad, Managing Director, WeWork Southeast Asia; former CEO & Founder, Spacemob, discussed their companies and how they think the industry will change.

Sim, whose company is a combination of a hotel operator, a marketing agency, and a boutique design firm who want to reinvent the way hotels use and design spaces, said they look at spaces as a way to facilitate communities. Morris Sim | Next Story Group | WIT 2017

“We start with the social network at the core instead of real estate. The way you think about spaces, when you consider that you want to facilitate special networks to grow, it is different from just leasing spaces,” he said. “I really think it’s back to innovation in customer experience and the way you use spaces. There are a lot of empty spaces in hotels that are under-used.”

For Fuad, who is currently spearheading WeWork’s expansion into Southeast Asia, which now has 150,000 members internationally: “It is all about the community that we build. How do we make sure that we add value to a member who is a freelancer, all the way to one who is at an MNC.”

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