With Three New Locations Opening in China, WeWork Helps Build an Innovative Way of Work For the Future

● WeWork opens three new locations in China in a single month

● WeWork leads promotion for innovative way for future work, becoming increasingly attractive for enterprise members

Shanghai (May 9th) - WeWork, the platform for creators that provides the  space, community and services to  help people make a life, not just a living, announced today at a ribbon cutting ceremony in Shanghai that it has opened 3 new locations in China: WeWork Yan An Dong Lu (Shanghai), WeWork Yun Nan Lu (Shanghai, test operation) and WeWork Ciyunsi (Beijing, test operation). The newly opened Yan An Dong Lu and Ciyunsi locations are the first two locations that WeWork built in a strategic cooperation with China’s leading real estate player Sino Ocean Group.  The ribbon cutting ceremony was joined as well by Mr. Chao Kejian from Huangpu District Government and Mr. Wen Haicheng, Vice President of Sino Ocean Group.

“Around the globe, WeWork aims to accelerate the shift to a new way of working - one focused on community, collaboration and meaning, ” said Ole Ruch, Managing Director of WeWork Asia Pacific Region. “We believe that whether you are a solo entrepreneur or an employee for a multinational enterprise, you can benefit from the power of WeWork and our community.”

Ever since entering into the China market in summer of 2016, WeWork uses a local playbook to better serve its community and members in China. Partnership with strong local real estate company Sino Ocean Group is part of its localization efforts. “Sino Ocean Group has rich experiences in development and operation of office buildings in China, we are very happy to work with WeWork in China, ” said Mr. Wen Haicheng, Vice President of Sino Ocean Group. “With our strong local expertise, we are confident that we can help WeWork navigate in the China market, which creates a win-win situation for both parties.”

Three New Locations Bring More Chinese Members to WeWork’s Global Community

In May, WeWork opened three new locations in China - WeWork Yan An Dong Lu, WeWork Yun Nan Lu and WeWork Ciyunsi, providing more than 3,000 members access to WeWork’s global community of more than 100,000 members.

WeWork Yan An Dong Lu: 600+ desks

Adjacent to a neighborhood filled with northwestern food restaurants, WeWork Yan An Dong Lu is influenced by the Silk Road. Once an ancient trade route passing through the Xinjiang region in the northwestern China, it  paved the way for the trade of information, language, and culture across numerous countries -- a trait directly aligned to WeWork’s mission and values.

A hand-painted mural inspired by the ornate patterns and vibrant colors of silk road can be seen in the lounge area.  A combination of different patterns from the East, West, and Eurasia, the mural was created as a  collage and torn to reveal the various textures beneath. Underneath these layers, in blue and gray letters, contains one of WeWork’s mottos, “Better Together”. This phrase can be seen again in the form of a  red neon sign behind the community bar.

WeWork Yun Nan Lu: 2000+ desks

The design of the building was inspired by the surrounding areas (3 concepts in one) - the local authenticity of Yun Nan Street, where the building is situated (Floor 6,8,10), to the hustle & bustle of Nan Jing East Road (Floors 2-5) nearby, which connects all the way down to the classy Bund (Floors 7,9,11). Yunnan Street has a historic charm that is meant to be celebrated. The natural appearance of the street with areas of unevenness and imperfections expose a layer of humbleness and rawness that reveals layers of history that lie underneath. The Yunnan building pays homage to it’s roots and is layered with elements from it’s surroundings, which infuses it with life and keeps up with the bursting energy of modern society. It is then balanced by classically refining it back to its humble beginnings.

WeWork Ciyunsi: 900+ desks

The building is located in the third ring of Beijing in the shape of a trapezoid and is located in a giant complex with residential and other office buildings. The concept of this space is derived from the many traditional Chinese “gates” or archway architecture also known as Paifang. Ciyunsi invokes a warm, zen-like vibe using more earthy materials, such as wood, cork, and concrete as compared to Guanghua which uses metal and a more colorful and vibrant palette. It includes the first internal staircase in Beijing and the first Karaoke room.

Community-centered Experience and Innovative Way of Work Attracts More Enterprise Members

WeWork is creating spaces where people can connect and create meaning together and it believes that how and why people work, live and play is changing. More people want to work on the projects they’re passionate about in an energetic environment where others are also working hard to bring their ideas to life. What WeWork provides is more than just space, but “Space-as-a-Service”. The community-centered experiences brought by innovative space design and diverse member events helps increase both creativity and productivity. The shift of work towards more meaning and collaboration occurs among millennials who work in both small, medium-sized companies and large-scale enterprises as well. More than 50 Fortune 500 companies have joined WeWork because of its ability to help members make a life, not just a living. Currently, WeWork has more than 30 entire floors across its portfolio that are occupied by a single enterprise member.

In China, Lululemon, a world leading Yoga wear company, joined WeWork Weihai Lu with more than 40 desks. “We appreciate the community built by WeWork, in which entrepreneurs and creators are able to share the creative spaces that helps boost inspiration. Creation and entrepreneurship are one of the core values of Lululemon,” said Amanda Casgar, Lululemon APAC Brand and Community Director. “We are thrilled to move in WeWork and grow our team in Shanghai in such a creative space.”

On April 19th, WeWork Chief Product Officer David Fano and Head of Product Research Joshua Emig announced in New York City that it is now exploring opportunities to help big companies to design, build, manage and operate their corporate offices and campuses. Through this new product offering, WeWork can provide enterprises with enhanced workplace experiences, which include interior design, guest management, conference room booking, event coordination, data collection and analysis on efficient space usage, and a community management team that can provide onsite instant service to enterprises.  

To better serve growing members, WeWork also introduced the WeWork Services Store, a brand-new integrated hub for business services that gives members the freedom to do what they love without the hassles of traditional business management.  The Services Store is a software platform, similar to an app store, and is the first of its kind to be built by WeWork. It streamlines the process of finding, managing, and purchasing the various services that a growing business needs, with recommendations from members and special offers for WeWork members. Currently this services store is only available in the U.S, but it would not take a long time to benefit all 100,000 members of WeWork in the world, including China.

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About WeWork

WeWork is a platform for creators, providing more than 100,000 members around the world with space, community, and services through both physical and virtual offerings. Its mission is to create a world where people work to make a life, not just a living. WeWork currently has more than 140 physical locations in more than 44 cities and 15 countries around the world.

Founded in 2010 by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey in New York, the company now employs more than 2,000 globally. WeWork seeks ‘creators’ from all industries and companies big and small to become members, with a suite of WeWork-specific membership benefits in each country and a local staff in each city.

Nearly 10,000 companies and more than 100,000 members are now based at a WeWork, with member companies ranging from start-ups to household names including Dell, KPMG, GE, Microsoft, and Samsung. More than 70% of WeWork’s members collaborate with each other and its international locations serve as convenient bases for business travel, enabling a great degree of work flexibility for both multinationals and small-to-medium-sized businesses alike, as well as options for easy expansion into new markets.

For more information, visit: wework.com

For Media inquiry, please contact

Louis Ma  louis.ma@wework.com 

WeWork APAC Communications