The general manager of flexible workspace provider Generator says collaboration is the way of the future.

This comes as the company gears up to build another site in Auckland's Wynyard Quarter, set to open in two years’ time, which will see its business go from “strength to strength”, despite other flexible workspace businesses recently going bust.

Generator's general manager, Lauren Joyce, said it was “pretty special” to be part of the continued development in Wynyard Quarter. 

More collaboration

Pipiri Lane will be the second site Generator has developed in the previously industrial area along Auckland’s waterfront and the sixth in the city. 

Joyce said Generator prioritised building spaces that people want to engage with and hoped it would encourage more collaboration in business.

Generator general manager Lauren Joyce. (Image: Supplied)

“Our whole business mantra is about getting people together. We take care of everything, so that it's an easy decision for businesses, but also help them thrive and be the best they can be as well,” she said.

Joyce said any kind of development is a positive for Wynyard Quarter as it's happened “pretty slowly” in stages. 

“I think this will just be a great thing to activate the process.”

She said business was booming at its existing site at 12 Madden Street with near full occupancy levels across all their sites, despite the struggles of the past few years.

She said a lot of people really resonated with co-working and collaboration, and that this innovation and freedom of space was the reason for their success.

“Many businesses are rationalising this space. So, they might have a smaller need office, and they're going with like a hub bespoke model. 

“So then they get agreements with businesses like ours, they can have more flexible terms and businesses want to flex up or down," Joyce said. “When it's sort of a bad economic situation, for a lot of businesses, quite often, it's quite positive for ours. Because we can provide people with flexibility.”

'Super popular'

Flexible workspaces have been a successful venture for Generator's owner, Precinct Properties. Alongside the sites in Auckland, it also has two in Wellington. 

Joyce said Bowen Street, which is in the government precinct, was “super popular” and gaining lots of momentum.

Not so for Regus-owned Hereford Mews, a co-working space on Karangahape Road in Auckland that went into liquidation late last year owing $25 million.

However, Joyce is confident Generator won’t succumb to a similar fate, despite acknowledging it’s been “very, very hard” for many businesses.

The business has been pretty clever in using the “wealth of knowledge” that its parent company provides from understanding trends to reliable market research, she said.

“The way that I look at it is that people want to be in premium locations and we've positioned ourselves in that way.”

Generator's other Auckland sites are in Britomart Place, Stanbeth + Excelsior House, and joint meeting/event suites at PwC Tower and HSBC Towers respectively.

She said the sites are all near major transport hubs, which provides ease of access.

“We’re in these great assets, in these beautiful locations, right on the door of transport. So it was so easy.”

Underrepresented

It was important for Generator to leverage any relationship that helps make good, informed decisions in terms of where it's positioned, Joyce explained.

She said it was really sad when “any of our peer businesses go down” but added she doesn’t view others providing flexible spaces as competitors because "flexi-working" is underrepresented. Instead, she prefers to collaborate.

The recent announcement of the Northbrook retirement home development will bring a different demographic to the area, which Joyce hoped will encourage more people to use the space in the precinct.

“Hopefully, we will hit that balance with businesses that are going to want to be here because their people are living here.”

When people start to see these businesses coming into an area, she said it had a knock-on effect. 

“And then they want to base their business near those other big businesses. And so it's great for everybody in the area.”

Historic site

Meanwhile, she said there had been a lot of care and thought with the new build.

Generator needed to preserve a historic site so its architects, Warren and Mahoney, have designed the space to incorporate it into the entranceway.

“It’s a really great outcome when you get to integrate historical sites with new builds because it gives it more character.

“It will be really cool to have this little historic building that you'll walk into and then you'll have our beautiful building based behind that.”

She said it will be a sustainable timber build with a 6-star rating. Precinct Properties is forecasting a 70% reduction in carbon emissions in comparison to the traditional use of steel and concrete and she was most excited about this, as a construction nerd.

Pipiri Lane

Joyce said consultation with mana whenua was another important aspect of the project. 

Many of the lanes in the areas surrounding the building have been gifted ingoa Māori (Māori names) based on Māori astronomy by Eke Pānuku. 

Subsequently, their new building will have a Māori name, Pipiri Lane.

“So, we're really stoked when we saw the location because we always name our sites after the streets that they're on.”

She said her team will do a lot of work internally to be able to tell the stories of Matariki in a genuine way and use the names as an educational piece. 

“What's really nice about it is the theme around togetherness and closeness and the colder months. And that's what our whole site is about, bringing people together.

“We're really hoping, hoping that we get to open in Pipiri in 2025 [June].”

This story has been edited to correct the spelling of street names.