Singaporean design consultancy ministry of design pays homage to the founder of the Leo Burnett advertising agency in its newest office in the south east Asian city, by drawing all over the wall.

 

Key Facts

Project: Leo Burnett office, Singapore
Designer: Ministry of Design
Client: Leo Burnett
Size: 1,280 sq m
Completion time: Four weeks

Project Description

The word ‘unique’ is often overused when it comes to talking about design: an office, for instance, may be chic, stylish, brilliantly planned, but is it really different from anything we’ve seen before?

Well, if the Singapore office of advertising agency Leo Burnett isn’t quite unique, then it’s certainly exceptional. Designed by local practice Ministry of Design, this is a creative triumph that feels like a cross between an exclusive art gallery and a secret headquarters.

Housed in an art-deco building in central Singapore, the office is divided into three sections, ‘space to impress’, ‘space to Interact’, and ‘space to create’.

The lift takes visitors directly to the ‘space to impress’, of course and, as the doors open, a larger-than-life portrait of the agency’s founder, Chicago advertising executive Leo Burnett, greets you. (Burnett was the man behind some of the 20th century’s most iconic advertising campaigns, including Jolly Green Giant, Marlborough Man and Tony the Tiger.)

The portrait, which forms the centerpiece of the reception, is a 3m-high line drawing of the type an art director would sketch as his copywriter works on slogans. It has been painted directly on to the floor, wall, windows and ceiling, as if Burnett were leaning over his desk, working on an idea.

The giant version of the agency’s logo – a pencil bearing Burnett’s signature – has been sculpted from PVC piping and plywood. It stands the full height of the room, at an angle to the floor, as if, having drawn the portrait on the floor and walls it has stopped mid-line.

In the reception, two plinths with imbedded screens present showreels of the agency’s work in a way that wouldn’t feel out of place in the most fashionable of galleries. Above the screens hanging speakers, their sound channeled downward by clear plastic shades, provide the soundtrack.

A short walk from reception, the ‘space to interact’ is a haven of ‘chill-out areas’ and more formal meeting spaces where a wheelbarrow full of trophies won by the agency is illuminated by a single vintage studio lamp. The ceiling works have been left exposed and are painted white and a projection canvas covers one wall. Banquette seating, upholstered in green, and a selection of white hanging chairs and loose furniture, all supplied by local company Kingsdec Interior, make the space comfortable and versatile.

The story goes that, when Burnett started out in Chicago during the Great Depression of the Thirties, detractors told him he would soon be out of business and selling apples on the street. Undeterred, he made a joke of this by leaving a bowl of apples at reception each morning for his staff.

This tradition continued, and the apple has since been absorbed into the company’s corporate identity as a symbol of Burnett’s pioneering spirit. In the Singapore office, red plastic apples have been placed in clear plastic alcoves in one wall of the interaction space. Baskets of plastic apples have also been suspended from the ceiling in reception.

A mysterious, dark corridor, barely lit by ceiling-mounted halogen spots, leads from the reception area to the boardroom and two formal meeting rooms. The corridor’s jet-black walls have hidden doors and little porthole windows, which allow only a glimpse inside each room. The rooms themselves are green from floor to ceiling and brightly lit, so that the light coming though the portholes seems to glow green in the darkness of the corridor.

Then it’s on to the ‘space to create’, a capacious, open-plan office where the creative teams work on campaigns. Custom-made plywood desks in various finishes are arranged in double rows, so that the different shades of wood create a checkerboard pattern. Hot desks for group meetings and discussions also line the office perimeter. The floor is rough, unfinished cement screed.

It’s an understatement to say that Burnett was passionate about his craft. If asked how he got into the business, he would answer simply: ‘I didn’t. The business got into me’. That passion is evident in every detail of this fantastic office.

This article was first published in FX Magazine.