03 MARCH 2019

14
LIVING SPACES
Sunday, 3 March 2019
Daily Tribune
When Nico
and Erwan came
to work…and play
The end-result was their own
space that is devoid of the
traditional look of office spaces
By Kathleen A. Llemit
Along Chino Roces Avenue, there stands an
old, nondescript building that seems just to fade
away in the city that houses many of the country’s
businesses. Along the stretch of the former Pasong
Tamo Avenue are warehouse stores, car showrooms
and offices with signages that scream the type of
business they do.
Those who have been to one of its floors,
however, know the surprising sight of an
unconventional space.
From the moment they step foot on the
staircase leading to the upper floor of Hectare
One, they realize it is not the regular office with
modular cubicles enclosed in white-washed walls.
Rather, it is a cross
between agricultural and
industrial space. The
walls are splashed with a
somber gray, the flooring is
cement, and the fixtures and
furniture bear the green,
brown and gray colors.
There are occasional pops
of color like a screaming
fuchsia-colored square stool
in one of the lounges and
red chairs along one of the
hallways.
Accents are also very
telling of who inhabit the
place. There’s Yoda’s famous
line, “Do or do not. There is
no try,” stenciled on a piece
of plywood, hanging by the
rest stop in between the
staircases. And then there’s
a framed, signed football kit of Leo Messi at one
of the prominent corners.
By the looks of the office, it is a space
frequented by unconventional office workers.
Hectare One is the office of businessman Nico
Bolzico and restaurateur and YouTuber Erwan
Heussaff. Initially made famous through their
showbiz girlfriends and now spouses, Solenn
Heussaff and Anne Curtis, respectively, the
gentlemen have successfully carved their names
outside of the shadow of the gorgeous women
they love.
The popular brothers-in-law share the space
where they let their creative side merge with their
business practice.
Work-life integration
Bolzico heads LM10 Corporation. He sits as the
president and chief executive officer of a “group
of companies diversified to focus on bringing
solutions.”
The companies are Precision Agriculture, which
conducts feasibility studies for land development;
GenEx Biotech Group, a subsidiary that brings
“advanced livestock genetics” in the country;
Advanced Protein, an animal protein rendering
plant and VieNovo,
a manufacturing
company that produces
all-natural animal
feeds.
COMMUNAL areas define co-working spaces such as this pantry-cum-dining area.
ERWAN does his Fat Kid Inside vlogs in his studio kitchen.
NICO loves bringing his and Solenn's dog Pochola to the office.
Heussaff, meanwhile, is in the
restaurant business. He has put up
dining outlets around the metro but
he is more popularly known as “The
Fat Kid Inside.” He started out with
his blog bearing the same name as
his moniker. The blog and his YouTube
channel, all bearing the same moniker,
have a combined million views.
Viewers go to his sites for his travels,
and most especially his cooking videos,
which are shot in his studio at Hectare
One.
Workplace aesthetic
“Most of the companies here are
under the agricultural or food sector
or a little bit of both. The name
Hectare One stands for any agricultural
endeavor that starts with one hectare.
That’s where you’re starting, you grow
from. The idea was to try to get all those
agricultural notes — the rough flooring,
the cement kind of feel, the very somber
colors, but adding natural woods and
greenery to get a very organic feel,”
began Heusaff.
Deciding on how the place was
going to look like was a complementary
process for the duo. Bolzico, Erwan
recalled, was more of the “big picture kind of guy,”
while he was more into the details.
“I think both personalities really complemented
each other in terms of how we wanted to
create a space. Nico just wanted
everything open, if Nico had his way
there would be no walls. And then he
realized: ‘Shit, I need walls,’” he recalled.
His partner-collaborator agreed
and corrected him a bit. “Being
brutally honest I think I knew what
I wanted but, I didn’t know how to
make it to a reality so I think Erwan
understood that, understood me very
well because I have no taste; he has
a lot of taste and he understands more
about architecture — he knows what
this is about. I have no idea. So I think
he is being a modest about his answer,
about the whole look and feel. I just said I
wanted agri; I wanted it planned and I want
it to look cool. Those were my three things,”
Bolzico said.
Fortunately for them, they found Mundo
Design and Build, a design firm and
general contractor that specializes
in the fit-out phase of design and
construction.
The end-result was their own space that
is devoid of the traditional look of office
spaces. Was it because they both belong to
the millennial crowd, that generation that is
changing the landscape of the workforce in
terms of behavior and workplace aesthetic?
“Well, I think our generation is one that
is very active and wants to as much as
possible integrate our professional life with
our regular life so we need to build spaces
that are comfortable enough for people who
are OK extending working hours or feel
comfortable working on corporate hours.
And that’s what we’re trying to foster here
in terms of the culture — come and go as
you please as long as the work’s done on
time. And we’re all about productivity and
POPS of color abound in Hectare One.
efficiency versus clocking in and out of space.
So what we have here is a very soothing feel but
at the same time it is very professional. It’s kind
of working at home but not really because it has
structure,” Erwan explained.
Space that fits
They may strike one as carefree dudes who
occasionally appear as goofballs in some of the
videos they created with their wives, but here
they present another facet of their personas as
businessmen.
“Well I guess the public sees a very small
fragment of our lives. You know we’re just anybody
else but in terms of the personalities of how we
are very carefree but when it comes to work, we’re
very professional. This is why the space is built
this way. We didn’t want something too clinical
and sanitized. We wanted something that fits our
personality,” Erwan said.
His partner and collaborator, Nico, turned
serious and agreed. “Regardless of how public
we are, we are entrepreneurs. The life of an
entrepreneur is a rollercoaster. I think that goes
that way. We work a lot in terms of a new project,
we develop a lot of new things. We don’t have 9-to-5
jobs but we still kind of like to work all the time,
some even on Saturdays and Sundays. And yeah
the place reflects a little bit of that,” Nico ended.
The edge of owning
an office space
For business owners, an office space which they can call their
own signifies they have achieved a major corporate milestone.
As an investor or entrepreneur, ownership enables them to capitalize
on their assets, as opposed to merely being a tenant. Ownership of an
office space affords them the freedom to fit out and customize their
unit’s amenities, depending on their business operation’s needs and
specifications. Ownership also offers long-term financial advantages
and investment potentials, including tax savings and better cash flow
management.
With a long-term fixed-rate mortgage, they can anticipate their
monthly expenditures without fear of annual rent increases or,
worse, lease expiration.
The 32-story Parkway Corporate Center is now opening its doors
to investors who want to give their businesses the singular advantage
of occupying a corporate space in an intelligent, green-oriented
building at Filinvest City in Alabang.
Parkway Corporate Center’s building features and amenities
are bound to attract top tenants. Business owners can acquire an
office unit at a low cost. Typically, one can also demand higher
rent that creates increased profits. And as landbank options in
major central business districts (CBD) decrease and with the
shortage of office spaces in Metro Manila, capital values and
rents are experiencing an upsurge, with multinational tenants
seeking longer lease terms for up to five to 10 years, allowing
for longevity of guaranteed income and the assurance of steady
and continuous returns.
The building employs intelligent space planning with flexible
and combinable office units averaging 36 square meters. Whole
floor options for larger companies are also available.
Modern building facilities include six high-speed elevators,
24-hour security with CCTV cameras in strategic areas, 100
percent back-up power and advanced fiber optic backbone. Other
amenities include an elegant main lobby, a retail plaza at the
ground floor, a fully-equipped business center for meetings and
other small business functions, podium deck garden, balconies
on every five levels, plus eight levels of secured parking.
In keeping with Parkway Corporate Center’s green orientation,
its glass curtain wall is double-glazed with a low e-coating to
reduce heat and UV (ultra-violet) radiation, reducing cost while
raising energy efficiency and sustainability.
Filinvest City is a prime and strategic setting where a full
spectrum of offerings — from premium lifestyle and retail facilities
to one-of-a-kind residential concepts — are found for a genuine
work-live-play environment.
Enjoy greater accessibility as Filinvest City has an efficient
public transportation hub South Station and easily connects to
the north and CALABARZON area through Skyway, South Luzon
Expressway and Daang Hari Road. Ninoy Aquino International
Airport is just 10 kilometers away.
For more information, call (02) 809-6517 or visit www.
parkwaycorporate.com.
ARTIST’S perspective of Parkway Corporate Center’s combinable office
units averaging 36 square meters.
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