Co-working offices is not a new concept now. With more and more people turning to freelance and entrepreneurship, the need of co-working spaces is increasing rapidly. The main motive of co-working space is to provide a professional yet fun environment for the people who work on their own.
People turn up to these co-working places because they miss communicating with others and building connections while working at home. But, we have noticed that many co-working spaces are not designed properly.
Yes, some people think that placing a few big tables and lots of chairs in the whole area make it an ideal co-working place. But, that’s not the case. So, if you are also planning to create a co-working office, then you need to go an extra mile.
Otherwise, people won’t turn up to your space, and without lots of people, the whole purpose of opening a co-working office become useless. So, let’s know the tips which you should keep in mind while designing co-working offices.
Select a Large Space:
If you want to open a co-working space, then you must have a large area for this purpose. The co-working office should be larger than a normal office because people go to these spaces for better communication and increased networks.
So, if you will open a co-working office that can only accommodate 10-15 people, then many professionals won’t like to work there. On the other hand, if you will place too many work desks in a smaller place, even then the place becomes crowded. Various professionals won’t get the much-needed privacy in that place.
Thus, ensure that you have a larger place that can accommodate at least 40-50 people. In addition, you may have to make different areas for the convenience of people. Thus, keep all that in mind before opening a co-working office.
Keep it Flexible:
You can use your co-working office for multiple purposes by keeping the library furniture perth, lightening and other things flexible. You can give your space for professional conferences, activities and business meet-ups by following this rule.
Add tables and chairs that have wheels, movable bean bags or stools, and stackable furniture. You can also buy movable workstations from office workstation manufacturers. Also, ensure to add many power sockets and electrical outlets.
Lightning should also be adjustable so that you can change it as per the occasion. Make one or two storage rooms to store the extra furniture in case you give the space for corporate parties and other events.
Design to Promote Communication and Collaboration:
Why a person who is not tied up with a 9 to 5 job will go to a co-working office? Why would he/she leave the comfort of working from home? They do it for better networking, communication, and collaboration. So, your co-working space design should promote all these things.
To enhance communication, you can design a big kitchen area with some tables or bar stools. Ensure that this area is equipped with many charging sockets and good Wi-Fi range. People will sit in this area not only for eating something but also for meeting new people.
The feeling of working and chilling at the same time makes a co-working office hit. So, you should bring in that. You can also create a communal chilling area with a few indoor games like billiard and best foosball table. This will encourage people to create a better bond while playing together.
You can also adopt an open office plan with big tables on which many people can work together. In this way, people will interact more and find like-minded professionals.
Keep it Casual:
Co-working spaces are usually more casual than normal offices. They are free from strict rules like pin-drop silence, and they don’t have boring cubicles. You should also keep your co-working office casual to attract more professionals.
You can make it casual even with a decent budget. Instead of cubicles, create spaces like the library, communal area, café, and a terrace seating area. Choose bean bags, couches or swings over the normal chairs.
Include various spaces so that the people can sit anywhere as per their mood. Try to make it look like a public place rather than an office. The more casual your co-working office will be, the more chilled people will feel.
Add some No-Noise Areas:
While keeping everything casual, you should not forget that people will need a little bit of a professional environment as well. Yes, these professionals will come to your workspace for work. They may like to have some fun in between, but they would also like to work in a disturbance-free atmosphere.
But, you can’t control the people in a co-working space, then how you will provide that noise-free ambiance? Well, you can do this by adding a few sound-proof rooms. People who want to work in full-silence for some hours or people who want to do called work can go to these cabins for better concentration.
You can also invest in sound free- furniture or movable sound-free cubicles to make it modern. At least one or two areas should be totally disturbance-free in your co-working office.
Add Something Unique:
With so many co-working spaces worldwide, the competition in this field is quite high. So, you have to give a unique reason to the people to choose your co-working office over the other famous ones.
It could be anything. You can add a unique element, area or facility which is not offered by other co-working spaces. If you have quite larger space, then you can add a few video games, a small bowling alley or a few hammocks for chilling.
These unique elements will become your selling point. So, don’t just copy co-working designs from Pinterest, but plan something out of the box. People love change; no matter how small it is. Hence, find that one unique element for your co-working office.
Now that you are loaded with all the information which is required for designing a co-working office; you can begin your work.