Warner Music Philippines
The Sound Hub
We were commissioned by our long-standing client, Warner Music, to design their latest Asia office on Bonifacio High Street in Manila. This 5,400 square foot workplace needed to function as both an everyday studio and a vibrant cultural hub. It includes a front-of-house for events and casual working, a performance stage with an LED digital wall, an artist room for creating demo music, a separate listening lounge, a boardroom with a flexible operable partition, meeting rooms, phone booths, a contemporary open workspace for around a dozen employees, and new wellness amenities including a shower room. The vision was to create a space where the creative energy of the music world blends seamlessly with the needs of a modern office.
The Narrative: Colour, Culture, and a Creative Pulse
For over a decade, we have been shaping a consistent design DNA for Warner Music across Asia, gradually transforming their traditional office model into open, sociable, and emotionally engaging environments. The Manila narrative continues this evolution but honours its place in Filipino culture.
We collaborated with a local artist on a bespoke mural positioned behind a pill-shaped seating niche inspired by the curves of the Warner Music logo. The artwork became the cornerstone of the project’s colour palette—grounded earth tones, energetic reds, sunny yellows, and bold blues—mirroring the vibrancy and diversity of Manila’s cultural and artistic landscape.
The Process: Crafting Identity Through Detail
Our design process explored how the global identity of Warner Music could be expressed through local storytelling. We developed bespoke joinery that subtly echoes the brand’s pill-like geometry, from the curved seating niches to select lighting features. The artist room is hidden behind the performance stage with a concealed door, allowing performers to step directly onto the stage.. Close collaboration with both the global and local Warner Music teams was essential—from aligning the design with international workplace standards to embedding cultural nuances unique to the Philippines.
The Solution: A Stage for Collaboration
As with all our Warner Music projects, we intentionally removed the notion of a formal reception. Instead, visitors are welcomed straight into a lively, flexible front-of-house space with immediate visual connection to daylight and the cityscape beyond. This social hub becomes a pantry café during the day, an informal workspace throughout the week, and an event venue when needed. The boardroom opens directly onto the hub via an operable wall for larger gatherings, reinforcing the fluidity of the space.
The open-plan workspace sits along the window line to maximise daylight and views, while enclosed rooms—two meeting rooms and a pair of phone booths—are discreetly placed along the core. A mirrored ceiling in the foyer amplifies height and creates a sense of theatrical arrival, while additional mirrored surfaces along the pantry windows extend the greenery and bench seating into a continuous, cinematic panorama.
The Materials: A Palette in Motion
The material palette balances natural architectural calm with strategic bursts of colour. Timber, textured neutrals, and warm mineral tones form the primary envelope, grounding the space in honesty and tactility. Against this restrained base, we introduced vibrant accents in key social areas: sunny yellow in the pantry, deep blue in bespoke joinery, and clay-red perforated panels forming the backdrop to the performance stage.
These tones subtly reference Manila’s architectural vernacular—terracotta bricks, indigo textiles, and the saturated hues of Filipino contemporary art. We also curated Warner Music’s collection of signed artworks by global music artists, placing them thoughtfully along circulation routes and feature walls to celebrate the company’s creative legacy.
Mirrors are used with precision, not extravagance—enhancing light, extending greenery, and amplifying the lively atmosphere of the social hub. The palette as a whole shifts between composure and intensity, much like the rhythm of music itself.
Lighting, Acoustics and Wellbeing: Comfort in Every Beat
Lighting plays across several layers to balance energy with comfort. The front-of-house features diagonally arranged linear LEDs that echo the movement of sound waves, animating the open ceiling during events while remaining dimmable for a softer daytime ambience. The boardroom’s illuminated timber light boxes provide a warm architectural glow, and indirect lighting in niches and transitions encourages a sense of ease throughout the workspace.
The open-plan area uses energy-efficient LEDs with excellent colour rendering, supporting long hours of work. Task lighting is calibrated to reduce visual fatigue, while ambient lighting ensures a welcoming environment across the day.
Acoustics were carefully engineered: enhanced partitions for meeting rooms and music spaces, acoustic ceiling treatments, and calibrated sound absorption within wall panels. The open plan intentionally retains a gentle sociable buzz while ensuring clarity during calls and focused work.
Client: Warner Music Asia Pacific
Main contractor: Goudie Associates
Project manager: Ar. Winzel Marie R. Zamora
Mural artist: Titsay
Location: Manila, Philippines
Photography: Hilary Buenaflor
