A former 1889 warehouse is the home of Victoria’s new co-working space, Kwench

There was a time, not so long ago, when, incredibly, WeWork and its co-working model were considered revolutionary. So much so that its iterations have continued to multiply apace, morphing into endless ranks of hybrids at a dizzying speed.
The latest to come online is Kwench, a multi-functional culture club whose DNA tweak is, in the words of its founder Tessa McLoughlin, ‘a space where members have access to all the resources they need to live a full and balanced lifestyle’ – to wit, a host of value-add services and features including art studio and installations, event spaces and a wellness component, the latter anchored by meditation and yoga classes.
Housed in a former warehouse built in 1889 in Victoria’s Old Town quarter to store its streetcars, the 25,000 cavernous volume is capped by a glass atrium and was transformed by MJM Architecture and interiors studio Hansenbuilt Design into a series of naturally lit nooks to hold, among other things, meetings, hot-desks and private offices for up to 28, kitchen, and library.
The mood is lifted with pops of colour – canary yellow couches, swooping murals by local illustrator Lydia Beauregard and Vancouver-based graphic artist Paula Gonzales, and hanging greens – to contrast the rugged retro heft of exposed timber rafters, steel beams.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
2031 Store Street
Victoria
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.
-
Beloved British screenwriter Dennis Potter inspires an exhibition with a difference at Studio Voltaire
Hilary Lloyd's multi-faceted exhibition at Studio Voltaire considers Dennis Potter's life and work, from much-loved TV classics to power inequalities
-
Insert here: London Design Festival gets intimate with insertable design
At London Design Festival, Heirloom Studio showcases 36 objects – some life-saving, some pleasure-giving, all made to go inside the body
-
Postcard from Helsinki Design Week 2025
Helsinki Design Week turns 20 this year. Celebrating two decades of design, core themes of this year revolve around happiness and optimism: here are design critic Hugo Macdonald's ten highlights