Singapore’s The Ascott Limited has launched a “living lab” to test co-living spaces intended for its millennial brand, Lyf.
The project, called lyf@SMU, was created in partnership with Singapore management University and will test out different concepts with SMU students, who will help shape the serviced residence brand’s upcoming products. “Creative co-innovation is a key focus for Lyf,” said Lee Chee Koon, Ascott’s CEO, in a statement. He added: “We will be directly engaging the more than 1,200 millennials expected to visit lyf@SMU daily to field test various co-living concepts and community building activities. With each of the students clocking an average staying time of about four hours, we will be building up a sizeable data reservoir of user preferences and space usage patterns. The data will be translated into actionable insights to better tailor Lyf to their needs as they prepare to become working professionals, our main target customers of Lyf.”
The space, which totals 32,000 square feet over three stories, will open on February 27 and will be available 24 hours a day and feature co-working lounges with modular furniture, large communal tables at the social pantry with interactive voting boards, multimedia rooms to encourage collaboration and free flow of ideas, days beds and napping pods.
Ascott will test out recreation areas where students can play instruments in a soundproof music jamming studio, pedal a bike to power up their mobile phones or head to the exercise zone for a game of foosball or table tennis. Feedback from the millennial students will influence how Ascott continues to evolve the design of Lyf’s social spaces.
Ascott, which introduced its Lyf brand in November, said millennials make up a quarter of its customers. Design features of Lyf hotels will cater to this demographic with communal and co-working spaces that can change into other types of social spaces. Laundry areas include foosball tables, and meals can be prepared in an open kitchen area.
Ascott is owned by Singapore’s CapitaLand, a listed real estate company.
