Razer has officially opened its new S$100 million Southeast Asia (SEA) headquarters at one-north last week.
The seven-storey building features an iconic black façade with the acid green lines streaking across the building – a tribute to the brand’s instantly recognisable aesthetic.
At night, the building literally glows as it gets illuminated with strips of LED lighting in the signature Razer green.
Spanning an estimated 19,300 sqm, it is definitely a huge upgrade from the previous two-storey Razer office at the Chai Chee Industrial Estate.
When you step right in…
When you first walk through the glass doors of the building, you will be greeted by a massive LED screen which displays impressive graphics, which heightens the futuristic feel of the place.
On the left side of the first floor is the very first RazerStore in Singapore. It is also the only one in Southeast Asia and the sixth globally — other store locations include London, Las Vegas, Hong Kong, Taipei and San Francisco.
The RazerStore sports an open concept, where visitors can have a first-hand look at Razer’s latest innovations and creations, as well as try out the full range of their products.
There are also plenty of merchandise available for sale, ranging from Sneki Snek plushies, custom Razer mouse, to Razer apparels.
However, it’s worthy to note that visitors cannot make an in-store purchase. There’s only a click-and-collect option available, meaning you would need to place your purchase online first and then head down to the store for collection.
Meanwhile, on the right side of the first floor is Razer’s very first F&B concept, RazerCafe, where you can get your drinks made and served by its very own robotic barista.
At the RazerCafe, guests can order (or pre-order) a beverage at the store via the RazerCafe app or ordering kiosk. There are several drink options available, and you can also personalise your cup of coffee. The coffee beans are sourced from PPP Coffee.
Once the order is ready, you will receive an in-app notification and you can then proceed to collect it from a designated cubicle.
In line with Razer’s commitment to sustainability, every purchase at the RazerCafe is carbon neutral, from seed to cup. All consumables (cups, napkins etc) are made of recycled or recyclable materials; and its straws are also plant-based.
The RazerCafe is currently open on weekdays from 9am to 6pm, though there are plans in the works to extend the opening hours to 24/7. After all, their barista never needs to sleep!
Where the hustle happens
Although the Razer building has seven storeys, Razer only occupies the first four floors — the upper levels are leased out to various tenants, including co-working company JustCo.
Razer’s offices in the United States, Germany and Singapore are already Great Place to Work-certified and with the new SEA HQ, Razer is poised to extend its propositions to be a place to do great work.
The second, third and fourth floor of the building houses the main workspace (no photos allowed unfortunately), with countless meeting rooms, lounge areas, phone booths, and “hot desk” spaces littered across.
Their walls are lined with patent certificates that they have achieved over the years, as well as sporadic displays of their award-winning products.
It’s interesting to note that their meeting rooms are all named after Razer products, such as Kraken, Black Widow and Kiyo.
All meeting rooms are equipped with Razer chairs, and BAMBOOLOO – The Nurturing Co.’s brand of sustainable tissues and anti-bacterial wipes. BAMBOOLOO received the first investment from Razer’s US$50 million Green Fund.
Their biggest meeting room is Boomslang, which seats over 20 people. There are also cushioned seats which flank the windows, which apparently is CEO Min-Liang Tan’s favourite spot — he prefers to sit at the sidelines rather than take the centre seat of the meeting room.
The room is so big that it has a dedicated pantry area so you can conveniently make yourself a cup of coffee to keep awake during long meetings, as well as a small room at the back that allows you to take urgent phone calls without stepping out of the meeting.
However, one might think that when a meeting room is too big, the meeting might be less productive (because you can’t hear or see the person on the other end). This isn’t the case at all for Razer with a nifty gadget that automatically zooms in on the speaker’s face, and splashes it on the big screen.
When food meets fun
Each of the floors has a pantry area with plenty of dining space, though they all look starkly different.
The one on the fourth floor is illuminated with the iconic Razer green lights, while the one on the third floor has a more cosy cafe feel (it also has a foosball table).
The one on the second floor arguably has the best-looking pantry. It extends into the Sky Garden (unfortunately it was raining when Vulcan Post visited, so we couldn’t take any good shots), and has more gaming amenities like a pool table and a huge Xbox One gaming machine.
Fun fact: 802C refers to the colour code of the signature Razer green!
Razer used to offer its staff free lunches (mainly because the previous office was located in a remote industrial area), but with its current well-equipped pantries, Razer has done away with this perk.
The upside is that Razer now provides a selection of artisanal bread for its staff for breakfast.
There’s a designated room right beside the pantry for hosting esports workshops and training sessions. The walls can also be shifted to expand the pantry area, which doubles up as a space for Razer to host their company townhall sessions.
Want to join Razer?
Love what you see so far and hoping that this can be your future office? Good news, Razer is now aggressively hiring in Singapore.
The gaming company is looking to beef up its current headcount of 600 employees to 1,000 employees. There are currently over 30 job listings on Razer’s LinkedIn page, with available roles including product marketing, development manager, software engineer, data scientist, and social media specialist.
Although most of its employees are working from home now, Razer makes an effort to organise company-bonding activities, the most recent of which is its office-wide virtual Halloween party.
Razer also often hold gaming tournaments for its employees too, which is reflective of the company’s mantra of “work hard, play hard”.
To celebrate the opening of Razer’s SEA HQ opening with fans across the region, Razer will hold a livestreaming event on November 17 at 12pm. You can tune in via Razer’s social media channels: YouTube, Facebook, Twitch.
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Featured Image Credit: Vulcan Post
