Meet Nicole Green from Sinclair House

People Behind the Space: Sinclair House

Sinclair House is a boutique coworking space in the heart of the city, designed for productivity and collaboration. Catering to entrepreneurs, startups, professionals, it fosters an inspiring and thriving community.

Located just off buzzing Symonds Street, the open-plan loft-style space features polished concrete floors, high ceilings, high-spec meeting rooms, a dedicated boardroom, and breakout areas. Amenities include shared office bikes, great gyms and fitness classes within walking distance, fantastic nearby cafes and easy access to motorways and public transport.

We had the pleasure of speaking with Nicole from Sinclair House to discover what drives their success.

Nicole Green From Sinclair House

1. Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do at Sinclair House.

My name is Nicole, and I'm the Founder of Sinclair House - a boutique co working space located just off Symonds Street. While working in London as a lawyer, I noticed there were a lot of different shared workspace options – large commercial workspaces, but also smaller, boutique workspaces that I loved working from. This more personal and homely vibe was what was missing in other spaces found in Auckland, and what I set out to create. 

I completely redesigned and refurbished the entire Sinclair House loft space—making sure to retain the beautiful historic features of the building, like the polished concrete floors and the high ceilings, whilst creating privacy and well-thought out space to work from. The interiors were given a complete refresh with new paint, new kitchen and bathrooms, and beautiful linen curtains throughout the office for privacy and distinction between larger spaces. Large palm and fig trees were dotted all around the office, bringing in a bit of life to the space and a sense of overall well-being in the office.

When not at Sinclair House, I'm also mum to 3 young children.

Sinclair House

1. What do you like most about Sinclair House and how does it differ from other coworking workspaces?

Sinclair House is a place where people feel like they are working from their own private office, but they still enjoy the ease of walking in and having everything they need from a workplace at their fingertips. My intention was to design a functional and professional space, with a beautiful fit-out and welcoming vibe. A place where people really wanted to come to work. 

The building that Sinclair House is located in has a long and varied history and it’s this sense of history that makes this building special. Named after its architect, Arthur Sinclair O’Connor, the building which houses Sinclair House was first constructed for the Ford Motor Company. We’ve recovered photos from the 1940s showing early Ford cars being assembled on the floors of the rear building, while at the front of the building, where Sinclair House is now, was the showroom. 

Boardroom at Sinclair House

Can you describe the community and types of businesses within your spaces?

We have 60 desks in total and it is such an interesting mix of businesses — they range from environmental and urban planners, advertising and design companies, high-end residential and commercial construction companies, IT consultants, and economic experts just to name a few. Our tenants range in size from 6-12 people, but also a number of freelancers who work for themselves, and enjoy the community that Sinclair House offers.

We always work with each tenant to ensure their team is seated altogether in a private space, so even on a busy day, our tenants feel like they can freely talk and collaborate. We also have a great number of private meeting rooms at Sinclair House (4 in total) as well as private booths where people can book meetings or have private conversations.

Even non-tenants who need a space to meet, connect, celebrate or learn are welcome at Sinclair House, with multiple spaces to hire on an hourly or daily basis. Our private boardroom is the perfect space for a workshop or team get-together, and we offer on-site catering and a lunch area for those who want to enjoy a full day of productivity at Sinclair House.

Sinclair House

Describe what you like most about working in a coworking space.

My intention was to create a boutique coworking space where our tenants could focus on their productivity rather than worrying about the issues often associated with an office that can take up valuable working time in their day. I truly think this is one of the best things about working from a coworking space - all you need to worry about is turning up and getting your job done. Everything else is taken care of.

2. Can you describe the community and types of businesses within your spaces?
4.  
5. Aim to create a space that you would truly want to work from yourself, and always keep that intention in mind. I am proud to have created a beautiful, functional space where people enjoy coming to work.  I've seen businesses grow and flourish here, and Sinclair House has provided the flexibility and community to allow them to do that.

Sinclair House

Are there any exciting plans in the pipeline for Sinclair House?

We've recently opened a beautiful new space in Parnell. Housed in an old photography studio, it has been completely refurbished and fit out and is now ready for a new team.