Re: [Coworking] Importance of space

[Alex Hillman]

You can get away with imperfections in the space when the community vibe is 
good. It’s much, much harder to get away with cultural dysfunction (or 
nonexistence) when the space is good.




It’s not debate of if space OR community is valuable or important. Both are 
important. 






What’s important is that the returns in absence of each other are unbalanced. 







Here’s what I’ve observed across LOTS of different styles/kinds/scales/breeds 
of coworking, including “dedicated" coworking spaces like what many of us run, 
but also including some of the bigger patterns in how/where people work in 
other kinds of businesses & corporations.




Perfectly designed, beautiful, ergonomic, and inspiring spaces without an 
attractive culture are the ones that find themselves weak for new membership, 
weak to retain their members, and very, very difficult to sustain without 
constantly applying pressure. 




I’ve seen the lack of community lead to the burnout and closure of a LOT of 
beautiful coworking spaces that people seem to be “impressed" by. Meanwhile, 
the returns on well designed spaces is MULTIPLIED by a great community. 




Take this out of the context of coworking for a second to see what I mean: 
companies are spending FORTUNES to create beautifully designed spaces to 
inspire their employees to create, collaborate, and be more productive…and they 
expect to get a return on those investments. If a company spends hundreds of 
thousands to millions of dollars on an office, they expect that it can generate 
some multiple of that more in recruitment, retention, collaboration, and 
innovation. 




What I’ve learned along the way is that most of these companies design the 
space intentionally, but don’t do anything to design the culture of the company 
with the same intent. When the culture and the space design aren’t congruent, 
those hopeful returns are very hard to realize…




When those companies put even a fraction of the effort and intention into 
designing the culture of the community as they do the space, the results are 
tremendous. 




COMBINE those two efforts, and the results are unparalleled :)




-Alex

On Tue, Sep 23, 2014 at 9:29 AM, Erynn Lyster 
wrote:

> I know I'm jumping into this discussion late, but just getting to my 
> overflowing in box!
> I just wanted to respond to the discussion that popped up about the 
> physical "space" itself not being a huge factor when people think about 
> "what makes a good coworking space". I don't speak French, 
> unfortunately, Nicolas, so I can't read what you wrote on the subject, 
> but here at The Commons one of the first things people say that they 
> enjoy about our space is the actual, physical space.
> We put a lot of effort into making the space feel comfortable, 
> sophisticated and inviting and this has paid off tremendously. I would 
> say that, yes, people choose to work here because they like the vibe and 
> the community but I would argue that one of the factors contributing to 
> the vibe and community is the physical space. It encourages people to 
> talk, lounge and be comfortable.
> One of the big things that factor into them choosing us above other 
> coworking spaces in town is that they are proud to bring their clients 
> here, that it is comfortable to work in and it really does feel like a 
> home away from home. Our members take great pride in our space - we can 
> tell as they bring their clients on a tour when they come in and talk a 
> lot about the design.
> I was a member here before I became an owner and I knew when I took over 
> that that was one of the biggest criteria for me - to work in an 
> inspiring, well-designed space. This is something I feel quite 
> passionately about, in fact, and was a huge debate when my brother and I 
> took over the space as he just wanted to put in the least expensive, 
> most utilitarian furniture possible and said no one would care.
> It may be just sibling rivalry, but I do like the fact that he had to 
> admit a year later that I was right and he was wrong ... ;-)
> ~Erynn
> On 2014-09-14, 11:45 AM, Nicolas Bergé wrote:
>> I recently asked the members of Les Satellites "What makes a good 
>> coworking space ?". I received different answers, none of them put the 
>> "space" as a criteria.
>>
>> I've realized that members are the best to define what coworking is 
>> and what coworking is not, even though they only know a few coworking 
>> spaces, if not only one. I wrote something here 
>> (http://www.les-satellites.com/2014/09/les-personnes-qui-font-du-coworking-ne.html)
>>  
>> explaining why members of coworking spaces are not interested by the 
>> space criteria (in French).
>> If you can include, Ramon, the members' - your members' - viewpoints 
>> on the definition of coworking you wish to show, you'll be better off 
>> - we'll all be better off.
>>
>> Nicolas Bergé
>> Les Satellites
>> -- 
>> Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com
>> ---
>> You rec

Re: [Coworking] Importance of space

[Jerome Chang]

"the returns on well designed spaces is MULTIPLIED by a great community. "

Well, I think the reverse can work as well: the returns of a good community
can be multiplied by a well-designed space.
Just sayin'

:-)


*JEROME CHANG*

*WEST: Santa Monica*
1450 2nd Street (@Broadway) | Santa Monica CA 90401
ph: (310) 526-2255

*CENTRAL: Mid-Wilshire*
5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) | Los Angeles CA 90036
ph: (323) 330-9505

*EAST: Downtown*
529 S. Broadway, Suite 4000 (@Pershing Square) | Los Angeles CA 90013
ph: (213) 550-2235

[image: ] [image:
] [image:
]

[image:
]
[image:
] 

On Tue, Sep 23, 2014 at 10:23 AM, Alex Hillman  wrote:

> You can get away with imperfections in the space when the community vibe
> is good. It’s much, much harder to get away with cultural dysfunction (or
> nonexistence) when the space is good.
>
> It’s not debate of if space OR community is valuable or important. Both
> are important.
>
> What’s important is that the returns in *absence* of each other are
> unbalanced.
>
>  Here’s what I’ve observed across LOTS of different
> styles/kinds/scales/breeds of coworking, including “dedicated" coworking
> spaces like what many of us run, but also including some of the bigger
> patterns in how/where people work in other kinds of businesses &
> corporations.
>
> Perfectly designed, beautiful, ergonomic, and inspiring spaces *without *an
> attractive culture are the ones that find themselves weak for new
> membership, weak to retain their members, and very, very difficult to
> sustain without constantly applying pressure.
>
> I’ve seen the lack of community lead to the burnout and closure of a LOT
> of beautiful coworking spaces that people seem to be “impressed" by.
> Meanwhile, the returns on well designed spaces is MULTIPLIED by a great
> community.
>
> Take this out of the context of coworking for a second to see what I mean:
> companies are spending FORTUNES to create beautifully designed spaces to
> inspire their employees to create, collaborate, and be more productive…and
> they expect to get a return on those investments. If a company spends
> hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars on an office, they expect that
> it can generate some multiple of that more in recruitment, retention,
> collaboration, and innovation.
>
> What I’ve learned along the way is that most of these companies design the
> space intentionally, but don’t do anything to design the *culture* of the
> company with the same intent. When the culture and the space design aren’t
> congruent, those hopeful returns are very hard to realize…
>
> When those companies put even a *fraction* of the effort and intention
> into designing the culture of the community as they do the space, the
> results are tremendous.
>
> COMBINE those two efforts, and the results are unparalleled :)
>
> -Alex
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Sep 23, 2014 at 9:29 AM, Erynn Lyster  > wrote:
>
>> I know I'm jumping into this discussion late, but just getting to my
>> overflowing in box!
>>
>> I just wanted to respond to the discussion that popped up about the
>> physical "space" itself not being a huge factor when people think about
>> "what makes a good coworking space". I don't speak French, unfortunately,
>> Nicolas, so I can't read what you wrote on the subject, but here at The
>> Commons one of the first things people say that they enjoy about our space
>> is the actual, physical space.
>>
>> We put a lot of effort into making the space feel comfortable,
>> sophisticated and inviting and this has paid off tremendously. I would say
>> that, yes, people choose to work here because they like the vibe and the
>> community but I would argue that one of the factors contributing to the
>> vibe and community is the physical space. It encourages people to talk,
>> lounge and be comfortable.
>>
>> One of the big things that factor into them choosing us above other
>> coworking spaces in town is that they are proud to bring their clients
>> here, that it is comfortable to work in and it really does feel like a home
>> away from home. Our members take great pride in our space - we can tell as
>> they bring their clients on a tour when they come in and talk a lot about
>> the design.
>>
>> I was a member here before I became an owner and I knew when I took over
>> that that was one of the biggest criteria for me - to work in an inspiring,
>> well-designed space. This is something I feel quite passionately about, in
>> fact, and was a huge debate when my brother and I took over the space as he
>> just wanted to put in the least expensive, most utilitarian furniture
>> possible and said no one would care.
>>
>> It may be just sibling rivalry, but I do like the fac

Re: [Coworking] Importance of space

[Ramon Suarez]

Of all the spaces I've visited in Europe and the USA, the design has never
been the defining factor of their success or not. People and community
trump space every time. Depending on its design the space can be a better
fit for the community it hosts. If you are talking about other hospitality
businesses the space may matter more, but in Coworking the added value and
what makes us special is the people not the space.

If your community is business oriented, a business like space will suit
them better. If it consists of makers and coders, then it will probably be
different.

I personally think that function and cleanliness is more important than
looks. The function part of design is often forgotten in most discussions
and some people mistake design with pretty. The space has to be functional
for the community of clients it serves.

Ramon Suarez
Serendipity Accelerator, Betacowork
Author: http://coworkinghandbook.com
email & hangouts: ra...@betacowork.com
Phone: +3227376769
GSM: +32497556284
Twitter:http://twitter.com/ramonsuarez
Skype: ramonsuarez
Try coworking: http://betacowork.com


On Wed, Sep 24, 2014 at 6:39 AM, Jerome Chang 
wrote:

> "the returns on well designed spaces is MULTIPLIED by a great community. "
>
> Well, I think the reverse can work as well: the returns of a good
> community can be multiplied by a well-designed space.
> Just sayin'
>
> :-)
>
>
> *JEROME CHANG*
>
> *WEST: Santa Monica*
> 1450 2nd Street (@Broadway) | Santa Monica CA 90401
> ph: (310) 526-2255
>
> *CENTRAL: Mid-Wilshire*
> 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) | Los Angeles CA 90036
> ph: (323) 330-9505
>
> *EAST: Downtown*
> 529 S. Broadway, Suite 4000 (@Pershing Square) | Los Angeles CA 90013
> ph: (213) 550-2235
>
> [image: ] [image:
> ] [image:
> ]
> 
> [image:
> ]
> [image:
> ] 
>
> On Tue, Sep 23, 2014 at 10:23 AM, Alex Hillman <
> dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> You can get away with imperfections in the space when the community vibe
>> is good. It’s much, much harder to get away with cultural dysfunction (or
>> nonexistence) when the space is good.
>>
>> It’s not debate of if space OR community is valuable or important. Both
>> are important.
>>
>> What’s important is that the returns in *absence* of each other are
>> unbalanced.
>>
>>  Here’s what I’ve observed across LOTS of different
>> styles/kinds/scales/breeds of coworking, including “dedicated" coworking
>> spaces like what many of us run, but also including some of the bigger
>> patterns in how/where people work in other kinds of businesses &
>> corporations.
>>
>> Perfectly designed, beautiful, ergonomic, and inspiring spaces *without *an
>> attractive culture are the ones that find themselves weak for new
>> membership, weak to retain their members, and very, very difficult to
>> sustain without constantly applying pressure.
>>
>> I’ve seen the lack of community lead to the burnout and closure of a LOT
>> of beautiful coworking spaces that people seem to be “impressed" by.
>> Meanwhile, the returns on well designed spaces is MULTIPLIED by a great
>> community.
>>
>> Take this out of the context of coworking for a second to see what I
>> mean: companies are spending FORTUNES to create beautifully designed spaces
>> to inspire their employees to create, collaborate, and be more
>> productive…and they expect to get a return on those investments. If a
>> company spends hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars on an office,
>> they expect that it can generate some multiple of that more in recruitment,
>> retention, collaboration, and innovation.
>>
>> What I’ve learned along the way is that most of these companies design
>> the space intentionally, but don’t do anything to design the *culture* of
>> the company with the same intent. When the culture and the space design
>> aren’t congruent, those hopeful returns are very hard to realize…
>>
>> When those companies put even a *fraction* of the effort and intention
>> into designing the culture of the community as they do the space, the
>> results are tremendous.
>>
>> COMBINE those two efforts, and the results are unparalleled :)
>>
>> -Alex
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Sep 23, 2014 at 9:29 AM, Erynn Lyster <
>> er...@thecommonscalgary.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I know I'm jumping into this discussion late, but just getting to my
>>> overflowing in box!
>>>
>>> I just wanted to respond to the discussion that popped up about the
>>> physical "space" itself not being a huge factor when people think about
>>> "what makes a good coworking space". I don't speak French, unfortunat

Re: [Coworking] Importance of space

[Alex Linsker]

Is there interest in a discussion of the branding of "place" instead of 
"space"? I have a coworking place. I think it's  very important to people new 
to the concept and place leads to a warmer feel.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/_/dict.aspx?rd=1&word=place

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/_/dict.aspx?word=space

I don't sell space in a community, I sell place in a community.

Alex
-- 
Alex Linsker
Collective Agency's Community Organizer / Proprietor
 (503) 517-6900 http://collectiveagency.co
Tax and Conversation's Statewide Community Organizer 
 (503) 517-6904 taxandconversation.com
(503) 369-9174 mobile   (503) 517-6901 fax
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97209

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Re: [Coworking] Importance of space

[Randall Arnold]

I think the conversation so far has shown that the "space vs place" debate is
largely over pointless, polarizing, counterproductive semantics.

People are definitely attracted to places.

Many like a place that has some (elbow) space.

This topic could be kicked back and forth for who knows how long, but IMO it's a
distraction that takes eyes off of the prize... which is selling a
largely-uninformed public on the benefits of coworking (or co-working, if you're
not into the whole brevity thing).

Randy

> 
> On September 24, 2014 at 10:38 AM Alex Linsker 
> wrote:
> 
> 
> Is there interest in a discussion of the branding of "place" instead of
> "space"? I have a coworking place. I think it's very important to people new
> to the concept and place leads to a warmer feel.
> 
> http://www.thefreedictionary.com/_/dict.aspx?rd=1&word=place
> 
> http://www.thefreedictionary.com/_/dict.aspx?word=space
> 
> I don't sell space in a community, I sell place in a community.
> 
> Alex
> --
> Alex Linsker
> Collective Agency's Community Organizer / Proprietor
> (503) 517-6900 http://collectiveagency.co
> Tax and Conversation's Statewide Community Organizer
> (503) 517-6904 taxandconversation.com
> (503) 369-9174 mobile (503) 517-6901 fax
> 322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97209
> 
> --
> Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com
> ---
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "Coworking" group.
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> email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
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> 

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Re: [Coworking] Importance of space

[Jonathan Stever]

Randy, I'd agree that  "place vs. space" isn't the issue,

But the earlier discussion on this thread around "community vs. space" hits
at the core of what coworking is about. Community is the differentiator
between coworking and other office substitutes: McDonalds, Starbucks,
Regus, home offices, corporate office wonderlands, whatever...

Design is incredibly important.  Design can accelerate interactions,
inspire lateral thinking, increase seratonin through natural sunlight,
simtulate productivity,  etc etc etc, but a well-designed office space does
not a coworking space make.

Jon

On Wed, Sep 24, 2014 at 5:50 PM, Randall Arnold 
wrote:

>  I think the conversation so far has shown that the "space vs place"
> debate is largely over pointless, polarizing, counterproductive semantics.
>
> People are definitely attracted to places.
>
> Many like a place that has some (elbow) space.
>
> This topic could be kicked back and forth for who knows how long, but IMO
> it's a distraction that takes eyes off of the prize... which is selling a
> largely-uninformed public on the benefits of coworking (or co-working, if
> you're not into the whole brevity thing).
>
> Randy
>
> On September 24, 2014 at 10:38 AM Alex Linsker 
> wrote:
>
>
> Is there interest in a discussion of the branding of "place" instead of
> "space"? I have a coworking place. I think it's very important to people
> new to the concept and place leads to a warmer feel.
>
> http://www.thefreedictionary.com/_/dict.aspx?rd=1&word=place
>
> http://www.thefreedictionary.com/_/dict.aspx?word=space
>
> I don't sell space in a community, I sell place in a community.
>
> Alex
> --
> Alex Linsker
> Collective Agency's Community Organizer / Proprietor
> (503) 517-6900 http://collectiveagency.co
> Tax and Conversation's Statewide Community Organizer
> (503) 517-6904 taxandconversation.com
> (503) 369-9174 mobile (503) 517-6901 fax
> 322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97209
>
> --
> Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com
> ---
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "Coworking" group.
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>
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Re: [Coworking] Importance of space

[Randall Arnold]

Absolutely no argument with any of your points made Jon.  I should clarify: my
contention was specific to the space/place semantic debate.

In my opinion the concern expressed earlier over empty space is (outside of
economic needs) largely overwrought.  There is no one size fits all design
approach-- what could work very well in Berkley will absolutely not fly in Fort
Worth, Texas.  Here, massive amounts of empty space could very well mean you
know your claustrophobic community.  ;)

Randy (creative community guy, son of a San Diego architect)

> On September 24, 2014 at 11:29 AM Jonathan Stever  wrote:
> 
> Randy, I'd agree that "place vs. space" isn't the issue,
> 
> But the earlier discussion on this thread around "community vs. space"
> hits at the core of what coworking is about. Community is the differentiator
> between coworking and other office substitutes: McDonalds, Starbucks, Regus,
> home offices, corporate office wonderlands, whatever...
> 
> Design is incredibly important. Design can accelerate interactions,
> inspire lateral thinking, increase seratonin through natural sunlight,
> simtulate productivity, etc etc etc, but a well-designed office space does not
> a coworking space make.
> 
> Jon
> 
> On Wed, Sep 24, 2014 at 5:50 PM, Randall Arnold <
> randall.arn...@texrat.net  > wrote:
> 
> > > 
> > I think the conversation so far has shown that the "space vs place"
> > debate is largely over pointless, polarizing, counterproductive semantics.
> > 
> > People are definitely attracted to places.
> > 
> > Many like a place that has some (elbow) space.
> > 
> > This topic could be kicked back and forth for who knows how long,
> > but IMO it's a distraction that takes eyes off of the prize... which is
> > selling a largely-uninformed public on the benefits of coworking (or
> > co-working, if you're not into the whole brevity thing).
> > 
> > Randy
> > 
> > > > > 
> > > On September 24, 2014 at 10:38 AM Alex Linsker
> > > mailto:alexlins...@gmail.com> > wrote:
> > > 
> > > 
> > > Is there interest in a discussion of the branding of "place"
> > > instead of "space"? I have a coworking place. I think it's very important
> > > to people new to the concept and place leads to a warmer feel.
> > > 
> > > http://www.thefreedictionary.com/_/dict.aspx?rd=1&word=place
> > > 
> > > 
> > > http://www.thefreedictionary.com/_/dict.aspx?word=space
> > > 
> > > I don't sell space in a community, I sell place in a
> > > community.
> > > 
> > > Alex
> > > --
> > > Alex Linsker
> > > Collective Agency's Community Organizer / Proprietor
> > > (503) 517-6900 
> > > http://collectiveagency.co
> > > Tax and Conversation's Statewide Community Organizer
> > > (503) 517-6904
> > > 
> > > (503) 369-9174  mobile (503)
> > > 517-6901  fax
> > > 322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97209
> > > 
> > > --
> > > Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com
> > > ---
> > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the
> > > Google Groups "Coworking" group.
> > > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from
> > > it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com
> > >  .
> > > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
> > > 
> > > > > 
> > 
> > --
> > Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com
> > ---
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in
> > the Google Groups "Coworking" group.
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> > To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to
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> >  .
> > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
> > 
> > > 
> 


 

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