The Ascott Limited (Ascott) recently opened its second co-living property, the lyf one-north Singapore, situated among a number of start-ups, research and development firms, as well as high-tech and media enterprises in the One-North precinct.
Norman Cross, head of lyf Brand, told TTGmice that lyf is designed for “next-generation guests”, which combines “the best of serviced residences, hotels and co-living apartments”.
Lyf’s popularity will only increase, Cross opined, as the pandemic has “spurred a new way to live and work”, due to “an increasing trend of digital nomads and self-starters preferring to work remotely”, while looking for “novel experiences and opportunities to connect” at the same time.
At lyf one-north Singapore, guests will be able to take part in social programmes “centred on innovation and sustainability”, noted Cross, such as a woodworking workshop led by sustainable upcycling brand, Creuse, as demonstrated during its grand opening.
Aside from providing business guests a place to rest their heads, the property also welcomes corporate groups and small meetings, with several indoor and outdoor spaces available for bookings. Meet is an outdoor amphitheatre; To-Gather is a flexible outdoor activity area; Hang Out is the property’s social clubhouse and terrace, while Huddle & Collab is lyf one-north Singapore’s function room, which is suited for brainstorm and networking sessions.
“The apartments, social spaces and experiential programmes at lyf properties are designed for guests to forge connections and to nurture a strong sense of community,” stated Cross.
As for sustainability, one of the top trends to emerge from the pandemic, lyf one-north Singapore has several initiatives in place, from encouraging a car-lite lifestyle with bicycle lots and shower facilities, to toiletries stored in larger 500ml pump bottles. The building is also a Green Mark Gold Plus certified building by Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority, with various features that improve energy efficiency, reduce building energy consumption and reduce carbon footprint.
As part of its local partnerships, the property has teamed up with The Goodburger food truck, which serves up plant-based burgers on-site, as well as launched a lyf Innovation Lab with Temasek Polytechnic’s School of Informatics & IT. The Innovation Lab will design and testbed immersive virtual reality and augmented reality technologies, as well as digital experiences for the lyf brand. Successful pilots will eventually be implemented across other lyf properties worldwide.
This digital partnership offers “borderless experiences in the virtual realm”, shared Cross.
“For instance, virtual experiences could include live virtual property tours, physical craft workshops where guests can purchase their own creations in the metaverse as non-fungible tokens or as actual merchandise in the real life, and participate in virtual sports games,” he elaborated.
When asked how business has been since its soft opening in November 2021, Cross revealed the property has “achieved a strong occupancy rate of above 85 per cent”, with guests hailing from the UK, France, China and Australia.
Ascott currently has 17 lyf properties with over 3,200 units in 14 cities and nine countries. This includes 10 lyf properties that are under development – five of which are slated to open this year in gateway cities such as Bangkok, Cebu, Kuala Lumpur, Xi’an.
Lyf will also make its entry into Australia this year.
