INC Office

The INC Office project began with a single question: what does a workplace look like when it genuinely reflects the people who work in it? The answer, for this 420 m² interior in Ho Chi Minh City, is a space that is simultaneously focused and open, minimal and warm.

Brief & Context

INC is a growing creative consultancy based in Ho Chi Minh City. Having outgrown their previous space, they approached Z.FSO with a clear ambition: a new office that could accommodate a team of 30, support both deep individual focus and spontaneous collaboration, and project a confident, distinctive identity to clients and recruits alike.

The space occupies the entire fourth floor of a mid-rise commercial building in District 3. It receives good northern light, but the existing floor plate was a single open rectangle — generous in area, but offering no inherent spatial hierarchy or character.

Design Strategy

Rather than dividing the floor with full-height partitions, Z.FSO introduced a series of freestanding timber volumes — a library wall, a meeting pod, a pantry bar, that define zones without enclosing them. The result is a space that reads as open and connected while offering genuine acoustic separation and visual privacy where needed.

The material palette is deliberately restrained: white plaster walls, natural oak joinery, poured concrete floors sealed to a matte finish, and blackened steel frames. This neutrality allows the work, displayed on pinboards, screens, and reference shelves throughout, to be the dominant visual presence in the space, rather than the architecture itself.

Zones & Programme

The office is organised into four distinct zones that flow into one another without hard boundaries. At the entrance, a generous reception and client lounge creates a calm, professional first impression. Behind it, the primary work area houses open workstations arranged in pairs, each with direct access to natural light and views across the city.

A central collaboration spine, running the full length of the floor, provides standing-height tables, writable wall surfaces, and flexible seating for impromptu meetings. At the rear, two enclosed meeting rooms in glass and steel serve larger client sessions and video calls. The pantry, positioned at the building's corner, takes advantage of dual-aspect views and becomes a natural social hub throughout the day.

Light & Atmosphere

Lighting was designed in close consultation with the client to support different modes of work across the day. Diffuse ambient lighting from linear ceiling slots maintains an even, glare-free base layer. Adjustable task lighting at each workstation allows individual control. In the lounge and pantry, pendant fittings in warm brass introduce a human scale and a sense of hospitality that distinguishes these social spaces from the work areas.

The INC Office was completed in early 2024 and has since been fully occupied. The client reports that team morale and collaboration have both improved significantly since the move — an outcome that, for Z.FSO, is the truest measure of a successful workplace project.