On November 7, 2017, we continued our 20-year anniversary celebration in our Shanghai office. Robarts Spaces founder Adam Robarts shared the story behind  company’s Chinese name"一工", it was inspired by a story from ZhuangZi.

A craftsman designed a musical instrument from wood and presented it to the king. The beauty of the instrument illumined the entire court and everyone marvelled at such a masterpiece. The king, therefore, called the craftsman ZiQing and asked him,

“How did you create such an amazing piece of work?”
 
“My Lord,” ZiQing answered, “I am a humble craftsman and do not have any complicated methods. Before I started, I made my ablutions and gave time for meditation. I began with a tranquil and focused mind. By the third day, I detached myself from the thought of the material benefits this assignment would bring me. By the fifth day, I let go of how much fame this assignment would bring me. By the seventh day, I completely let go of my ego. I walked into the woods and this piece appeared right before my eyes. It was not me who made this; the greatness of the universe created this instrument through my hands.”

The spirit of the craftsman is the spirit we have tried to inculcate and nurture in Robarts Spaces right from our establishment. Our company was thus named “一工”. This simplest and most humble "一" represents persistence, focus and continuity of these qualities which unite us all.