27 May 2015, the WE brand under the DOBE Group is officially unveiled.
WE is a new type of property development which combines combining commercial real estate with innovative business services. Both its architectural design and its services platform go far beyond the traditional office. For this release, WE has invited its co-founding partner Er Dongqiang, Boeri Studio, CBRE Group.Inc, Central Hotel Shanghai, and the media to jointly unveil the brand. The WE brand will no longer simply be an office brand. It will be a new interdisciplinary creation that fuses architecture, art and culture, services and resources.
DOBE Group Unveils WE
WE—Exploring new ways of working
Before deciding to publish WE brand, DOBE conducted random interviews with nearly 1,500 white-collar workers to understand their ideas about the future workplace. These cubicle-confined professionals insisted the future workplace should know no taboos and break new ground. Some people wanted to change the office environment, so that we can all work in fragrant forests or surrounded by clear water. Others wanted to change the way we work, i.e. work anytime anywhere.
But for most office workers, stifling cubicles, noisy subway commutes, and crowded elevators are still the everyday reality.
According to the 2015 National Senior Business People Population Survey, Shanghai counts 1.042 million white-collar employees, the very people who shoulder the responsibility for social progress. But these key people mostly work in office towers in so-called CBDs. Whereas working in a skyscraper used to be considered an enviable perk, in the current era of individuality and freedom, these endless rows of glitzy high-rises make people feel depressed.
People from all walks discuss "the way we work in the future"
WE - drawing the future nearer
DOBE hopes to change this situation, and launches WE to do so
At the launch event, DOBE CEO Jia Bo indicated that China is entering a new era, where the way we live and work will undergo tremendous change, and WE is anticipating and leading this trend.
‘WE’ stands for ‘West & East’, and their joint creations. Shanghai is an international city, where China's enterprises meet the world, and where foreign companies meet China. Through its real estate development and business services, WE will set new international standards that exceed those of the East and the West.
Jia also stressed that the WE brand contains ‘warmth’. “Companies in the same building can be good neighbors and even partner up. Proximity and friendship go hand in hand, and international enterprises can embrace this place and the change it brings. WE is a new office concept built on ‘love, leadership, and the world’.
WE was positioned, designed, and built as a ‘core area with historical and cultural meaning’, and emphasizes a personalized, natural, and relaxing design that creates a brand- new space concept.
DOBE believes the office of the future is not just about hardware, but even more about platforms and services. Therefore, the WE International Hub provides not just the usual property services, but also offers consulting and support for human resources, capital, marketing, and strategy, as well as international services.
Jia said WE wants to make people's work more efficient and more fun. To achieve this, DOBE’s WE hub has a WE LAB that explores future lifestyles, experiments with merging office real estate and business services, and explores the relationship between life and work.
At the launch event, two developments under the WE label were revealed, which will open during the third quarter in Shanghai’s most upscale commercial zones: the Bund, and Jing’an District.
Renowned photographer Er Dongqiang, CBRE Managing Director Lin Tianchun, Bund Pictorial Senior Vice President and New Star Vice Chair and Publisher Gu Qian, EUCA CEO Li Yin, Stefano Boeri Architetti Director for Greater China Xu Yibo, were all present at the launch event. Together with Jia, they discussed the possibilities of the future office. Being the first photographic artist in China to propose the concept of visual literature, Er held a light and shadow art party at WE International Hub (the bund) on the same day as the launch, as the first cultural event at the WE.
Er “Looking for a Home to Memory” light and shadow art party
The WE International Hub (the bund)：501, Jiujiang Road, Shanghai
WE International Hub (the bund) is located at 501, Jiujiang Road, the building of China’s first stock exchange – the original building of the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Designed and built by famous Chinese designer Lu Qian, the building’s design concept combines the principles of practicality, modernity, art, and culture, which are creatively expressed in the materials, decoration, and details of the building. Since its inauguration in 1934, the building has witnessed the vicissitudes of Chinese stock trading. Besides being very practical, the building embodies the legacy of decades of history.
DOBE Group invited Stefano Boeri Architetti, who created the design concept of Expo Milano 2015, to redesign the building, with respect for its history. After renovation, the WE International Hub (the bund) will be Shanghai's first cultural and creative hub housed in a Vertical-Forest-Style green building. The fresh-and-green theme of the vertical forest will run through to the building’s fa?ade, its patios, and public spaces to give the visitors and users of the building a sense of proximity with nature.
The WE International Hub (the bund)
The WE International Hub (Jing An)：135, Yanping Road, Shanghai
The WE International Hub (Jing An) is located in one of Shanghai’s most renowned commercial districts, Jing’an District, a rare platinum-level office building in the very heart of Shanghai.
The WE International Hub (Jing An) is housed on the compound of the former Seventh Printing and Dyeing Factory of Shanghai, an architectural icon and landmark which has witnessed the rise and prosperity of the urban culture of Jing’an District.
The building will boast Shanghai's largest vertical aquarium, which, the architect claims, will infuse the building with soul. The aquarium will blend romantic European-style wrought-iron railings and Oriental rustic bridges in a harmonious design. Thanks to the WE International Hub (Jing An), the building will have a new lease of life. Bringing a new experience to Jing’an, the designer has given each tenant company a front yard. This way, professionals working at the hub will have a green and refreshing moment each morning as they step into their office.
The WE International Hub (Jing An) will be a creative office park which combines creative, fashion, design, and performance companies.
The WE International Hub (Jing An)