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Overview
Designing a workplace social hub that reinforces DBS’ strong culture through comfort, sustainability, and shared experiences in the hybrid work era.
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Opportunity
DBS needed a social space that could reinforce its strong culture, giving employees a meaningful reason to return, connect, and belong.
As hybrid work changed how people relate to the office, traditional lounges and breakrooms became less effective at supporting connection and everyday culture. DBS saw an opportunity to create a communal space that could bring people together, support wellbeing, and express its people-first identity in a more meaningful way. The goal was to shape a unifying social hub that felt emotionally resonant, deeply usable, and scalable across locations. Gensler responded by turning workplace social space into a destination employees would genuinely choose to use.
More about this topic
Why This Matters
01
Reinforcing Culture
For DBS, success meant creating a shared space that reinforces its strong culture in person and supports the everyday relationships that help teams feel connected.
02
Supporting Wellbeing
The hub needed to give employees places to pause, recharge, and gather comfortably, making wellbeing a visible and everyday part of workplace culture.
03
Scaling Identity
DBS needed a social space with a clear identity and repeatable standards, so the experience could reinforce workplace culture across the region.
FPO Quote
Solution
Gensler reimagined DBS’ social space as a modern family room that translates culture, comfort, and wellbeing into a shared workplace destination.
The core design move was to replace the typical office lounge with a social hub shaped by how people naturally gather and connect. Inspired by Asian rituals of togetherness, Gensler organized DBS Social Hub around four storytelling zones that guide employees through moments of comfort, nostalgia, respite, and renewal. Flexible communal settings support informal interaction, while wellness rooms offer space to decompress in a high-performance environment. Reused and reclaimed materials reinforce DBS’ sustainability goals and give the hub a warm, familiar character employees can genuinely relate to.
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Related Content
90%
Employees Who Reported Feeling Recharged After Using the Wellness Spaces
40%
Social Hub Furniture Reused as Part of the Sustainability Strategy
From brief to build: how DBS Social Hub became a modern family room shaped by employee insights, wellness research, and rituals of togetherness.
The design process began with a simple question: what kind of social space would employees genuinely choose to use? Gensler looked beyond the typical office lounge and drew on research, pilots, and employee insights to understand how comfort, wellbeing, and connection could be better supported at work. This led to a family room concept shaped by Asian rituals of gathering, resting, and celebrating. Four storytelling zones, wellness spaces, and a material strategy centered on reuse helped translate those ideas into a social hub with lasting cultural value.
Impact
DBS Social Hub reinforces workplace culture by turning everyday social space into a destination for connection, comfort, and shared identity.
The hub gives employees a more meaningful place to gather, recharge, and connect while reinforcing DBS’ culture through comfort, wellness, and shared experience.
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What Changed Because of This
01
Social Connection
DBS Social Hub creates more opportunities for informal interaction, helping employees connect across teams in a space designed for gathering, comfort, and ease.
02
Daily Wellbeing
Wellness spaces make pause and recovery part of the everyday workplace experience, with nine in ten employees saying they feel recharged after using them.
03
Sustainable Reuse
Reused and reclaimed materials give DBS Social Hub a warmer, more familiar character, with 40% of its furniture reused as part of the design.
DBS Social Hub shows how social space can reinforce culture when it is designed around comfort, wellbeing, and a genuine sense of belonging.
Team
Project Leadership
FAQ
What is DBS Social Hub?
Who designed DBS Social Hub?
How does DBS Social Hub support employees?
How does DBS Social Hub promote sustainability?
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