We've got a few rooms with doors on them too...like you said, for meeting rooms and a place to make/take phone calls. They get used quite a bit. Private space IS important. Private workspace is something else entirely. :)
-Alex -- ----- -- ----- Alex Hillman im always developing something digital: [email protected] helpful: www.unstick.me visual: www.dangerouslyawesome.com local: www.indyhall.org On Mon, Dec 14, 2009 at 12:48 PM, Mike Pihlman <[email protected]>wrote: > I took all the doors down originally, but, decided to put back the Math > Island Classroom (where I tutor and can get noisy), and the rooms that > can be used for private meetings. Most of the time, the doors are > open......being closed only for cell phone use and meetings with clients. > > Alex: Thanks for comments! :-) I'll keep being stubborn wrt keeping > this a coworking environment! > > Mike > > > > Raul Pacheco wrote: > > I'm not the owner of The Network Hub (http://www.thenetworkhub.ca, in > > Vancouver, Canada) but I have coworking there for more than a year, so > > I can tell you that we do have private offices and open floorplan and > > the collaborative process ignites pretty much the same. We do organize > > events and gatherings with the whole community to build that sense of > > collaboration. > > > > I think you can break down the isolation of private spaces if the > > right tenants are there (e.g. if there are people who will knock on > > others' doors and say "hey, coffee?") - that, in my mind, is a lot of > > the success of coworking. Not only the physical conditions but also > > the social environment (and the personal traits of individuals > > themselves). > > > > Just my two cents, > > Raul > > > > -- > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Raul Pacheco-Vega, PhD. > > Chief Content Creator, Hummingbird604.com > > Founder, Pacheco-Vega Consulting and Research Studio > > > > My research site can be found here http://www.raulpacheco.org > > My personal blog is http://hummingbird604.com > > > > > > My office is located at > > The Network Hub > > 3rd Floor, 422 Richards Street > > Vancouver, B.C. V6B 2Z4 > > > > Find me online on Twitter & Facebook > > http://www.twitter.com/hummingbird604 > > http://www.twitter.com/raulpacheco > > (http://www.facebook.com/drpachecovega) > > > > 2009/12/14 Alex Hillman <[email protected] > > <mailto:[email protected]>> > > > > I've also noticed that spaces with both private offices AND open > > floorplan coworking space tend to struggle to fill the coworking > > space...while people clamor for private offices. > > > > People are wired to think that they NEED a private office, when in > > many cases, they do not. And if they do, that's great...but that's > > not what coworking is meant to solve. Offering private offices, in > > my opinion, can be a distraction from the coworking interactions > > you're striving to create. > > > > I think about it this way: when somebody walks in and sees > > something that looks like an office, they're going to behave like > > it's an office. They're going to keep to themselves, do their > > work, and go home at 5pm. > > > > If you set things up to intentionally disrupt the mindset of "this > > is an office", people find themselves more comfortable AND more > > productive. > > > > -Alex > > > > -- > > ----- > > -- > > ----- > > Alex Hillman > > im always developing something > > digital: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > > helpful: www.unstick.me <http://www.unstick.me> > > visual: www.dangerouslyawesome.com < > http://www.dangerouslyawesome.com> > > local: www.indyhall.org <http://www.indyhall.org> > > > > > > > > On Mon, Dec 14, 2009 at 12:23 PM, Mike Pihlman > > <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> > wrote: > > > > Follow-up: > > > > We give each member a cool personalized coffee mug. If a > > member wants a > > particular desk (or space) the next morning they can leave > > their mug > > there the night before...seems to work nicely. (FYI...I am > > coworking > > too...so I need to reserve a spot, my cubby holds pictures of my > > daughter, my chargers, etc. I just move in each day in a new > > spot. :-) > > > > Also...I have had LOTS of requests to rent an office (we have > > three with > > doors). Thus far I have resisted, feeling that that takes away > > from the > > "coworking" experience as I envision it...we are a small space > > (for now) > > so losing a room will have a major impact. > > > > Mike > > > > > > > > Mike Pihlman wrote: > > > By far...the open space on the "Patio". We have anywhere > > from 9 to 11 seats there. The rest of the space is open (we > > have three doors that can be closed for privacy) but a bit > > removed. There are about 20 seats in the other areas. > > > > > > Mike > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ---- > > > From: Sarah Neal (OurSpace) <ourspace.sa > > <http://ourspace.sa>@gmail.com <http://gmail.com>> > > > To: Coworking <[email protected] > > <mailto:[email protected]>> > > > Sent: Sat, December 12, 2009 1:14:56 PM > > > Subject: [Coworking] Open spaces or private desks? > > > > > > I've been reading many of the blogs and was wondering which > gets > > > utilized more, > > > > > > 1. the open space (tables for everyone to share) > > > 2. Private desks > > > 3. Private offices > > > > > > and which you wish you had more of. Just thought I would > > throw the > > > question out there. > > > > > > > > > -- > > > > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the > > Google Groups "Coworking" group. > > > To post to this group, send email to > > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>. > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > > > [email protected]<coworking%[email protected]> > > > > <mailto:coworking%[email protected]<coworking%[email protected]> > >. > > > For more options, visit this group at > > http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. > > > > > > -- > > > > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the > > Google Groups "Coworking" group. > > > To post to this group, send email to > > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>. > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > > > [email protected]<coworking%[email protected]> > > > > <mailto:coworking%[email protected]<coworking%[email protected]> > >. > > > For more options, visit this group at > > http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > Mike Pihlman > > TracyVirtualOffice > > "A Coworking Community" > > 95 W. 11th Street, Suite 203 > > Tracy, CA 95376 > > Mobile: 209-608-4340 > > Web: TracyVirtualOffice.com > > Twitter: @TracyVirtOffice > > Skype: tracyvirtualoffice1 > > > > > > -- > > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the > > Google Groups "Coworking" group. > > To post to this group, send email to > > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>. > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > > > [email protected]<coworking%[email protected]> > > > > <mailto:coworking%[email protected]<coworking%[email protected]> > >. > > For more options, visit this group at > > http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. > > > > > > > > -- > > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > > Groups "Coworking" group. > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > > <mailto:[email protected]>. > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > > > [email protected]<coworking%[email protected]> > > > > <mailto:coworking%[email protected]<coworking%[email protected]> > >. > > For more options, visit this group at > > http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > > Groups "Coworking" group. > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > [email protected]<coworking%[email protected]> > . > > For more options, visit this group at > > http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. > > -- > Mike Pihlman > TracyVirtualOffice > "A Coworking Community" > 95 W. 11th Street, Suite 203 > Tracy, CA 95376 > Mobile: 209-608-4340 > Web: TracyVirtualOffice.com > Twitter: @TracyVirtOffice > Skype: tracyvirtualoffice1 > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Coworking" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]<coworking%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
