There’s no doubt that tourism is big business in Singapore, a tiny city state which has seen arrivals soar year on year to 18.5 million in 2018, more than three times the size of its population. A huge potential the Singapore Tourism Board has been fixated on in recent years is the millennial traveller, and especially this specific demographic in Indonesia, India and China, three of the country’s biggest tourism markets. Needless to say, the local hospitality scene has anticipated this trend, and a fine example is the recently opened lyf Funan. Set up by real estate group CapitaLand’s wholly owned lodging business unit Ascott, the lyf brand (pronounce as life) caters to a youthful clientele with cool style and great comfort, available to both groups and individual globetrotters, by way of a co-living hospitality concept.
An integral part of the renewed Funan mall and office complex in the Doby Ghaut area of town, the property features 412 rooms across 279 apartments in five categories on nine floors. Obviously, every effort has been made to please this savvy young crowd, so the stylish apartments come with comfy beds, ensuite bathrooms and complimentary WiFi. As everything revolves around interactive community at lyf Funan, it offers appealing public spaces where to sit back, mingle or get some work done. At the so-called Bond social kitchen, guests can prepare home-cooked meals, take cooking classes and socialise while learning more about global cuisines from other residents. Staying in shape? Check. Guest can work out and have fun with quirky design and interactive elements such as a giant ball pit, a giant-sized Connect Four set and the Burn social gym with kettle bells, total resistance equipment, and a human-sized hamster wheel. Wash & Hang is the funkiest laundry room you’ll ever see, and yes, it’s also one that’s inviting enough to hang and chill in between chores.
And that’s not all. The Connect communal lounge hosts a weekly programme to build connections, share ideas, or partake in any of the workshops and other activities on offer. Another cool aspect of lyf Funan is specific staff which, similar to its core clientele, comprises of millennials who fill a range of positions, from bar keeper and event organizer, to city guide and community manager. Proving this hospitality concept is quite switched on is the lyf app which allows guests full control of their stay, enabling not only easy booking, payment and seamless access throughout the property, but also direct communications with the hotel staff. The lyf hotel concept is being rolled out across the Far East, and new outpost have already been planned for Singapore (two properties), Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Shanghai and Fukuoka.
lyf Funan
67 Hill Street (Doby Ghaut)
179370 Singapore
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
