This is one of the most thoughtful posts I've seen about considerations and themes for space planning!
It's not overstated, nor written in a way where someone feels like they need to adhere to everything at once. Someone highlight this and add it to the wiki! Great job Mark. If you end up expanding on this into a blog post or a wiki page, please link me up so I can add it to my own archives. -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 5:39 PM, mark gilbreath <[email protected]>wrote: > Hi Mike > > I wanted to share some thoughts on the topic of Space Planning and Design > for your Beijing project. In no particular order, here are some central > themes that steered our space planning: > > * the layout and design of your space is hugely important. your real > estate rent/lease will be your largest expense, so you want to think about > using that space as efficiently as possible. > * your members/customers WILL have a physical and emotional reaction to how > you layout the space. your space design plan WILL directly impact their > productivity. > * there is both art and science to space design. > * the science component considers the physical characteristics of your > building and basic human ergonomics and will steer you toward the optimal > dimensions for rooms, hallways, ceiling heights etc. > * the art component considers textures, emotions, user behaviors, brand > values etc to create the unique qualities that set your cowork space apart > from the typical office down the street. you can aspire for a space that > makes people immediately think "wow...cool... I want to be here...this is > the kind of place where I imagined myself working...etc" ie a space that > inspires your members/customers to keep coming back AND to invite their > customers, friends, partners etc to come as well. > > > * think of your space plan as a kit of parts. a typical cowork kit of > parts would include: > - an entrance / gateway area - key objectives here will be to create a > sense of welcome and flow. security, access control and wayfinding are > other considerations for your gateway area > - communal workspace - this may be one or more types of work areas > including cubes, shared tables, high work bars. this type of space will be > denser (more users per sf) and more social. > - private workspace - these might be sized for individuals or teams > depending on the type of customer you are seeking to attract. private > offices might be assigned or shared. basic dimensions are well understood > for this type of space. > - quiet spaces (we called them APRs "audio privacy rooms") - a place for > one or possibly two people to have a discreet conversation or make a phone > call. these can be very small spaces. can be managed by reservation or > simply used on a drop in basis. the major consideration here will be > acoustic isolation. > - meeting rooms - a place for small to large groups to conduct meetings. > power, network connectivity and displays/monitors are considerations for > your meeting room(s). there are well understood norms for the minimum > dimensions of meeting rooms, depending on the number of people you want to > accomodate. a larger cowork space might consider multiple meeting rooms of > various sizes to more efficiently accomodate various group sizes. i agree > wholeheartedly with the other folks who have responded to your post, that > meeting rooms are a valuable amenity for your space. if you consider > letting them be used on a pay per use basis by the general public they can > also be a valuable marketing awareness generator for your new facility. > - mail/copy room - a place for your office imaging > equipment...printer/copier/scanner/fax. this might be its own isolated > space or simply a zone in a larger open space > - cafe/kitchen - a place for informal gathering, coffee, refrigerator, > water etc. again this might be a standalone space or a zone in a larger > open space > > Other considerations: > - wayfinding - think about how you want people to find their way through > the space. the experience will be different for new users and visitors than > it will be for return visitors. more open space simplifies wayfinding. > nooks and crannies add privacy and intimacy. finding the right balance > gets into the "art" part of your design. > - textures/colors/materials/imagery - have a profound impact on your > member's experience and can reinforce your brand and values. this might > be the paint color you choose for accent walls. this might be the artwork > you hang on the walls or the reclaimed/recycled organic material you use for > a wall or floor covering. > - natural light - daylight is a proven productivity enhancer. be sure to > carefully consider how you organize your spaces around any windows in your > space. > - multi-purposing spaces - again, considering that real estate is your > largest expense, there are ways to think about giving certain spaces > multiple functions. for example two medium sized meeting rooms might share > a curtain/moveable wall so that they can combine to create an event space or > large meeting room > > Happy to elaborate on any of this. > > Best > Mark > > On Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 6:03 AM, Michael P. Daugherty < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> Thanks a lot for the advice. >> >> As far as I've seen, it's true that in China big offices usually have less >> space per person, but I don't think our target audience is going to be the >> people who'd be perfectly happy in a Chinese cube farm. There are a lot of >> ex-pats working independently here, and we're also trying to make the space >> more relaxed and creative feeling, so that pushes up the requirements a >> little bit. >> >> In any case, it sounds like your and Jerome's advice is pretty similar - I >> need to know the local area well and decide for myself. I've been doing a >> lot of a research, so it's nice to have some encouragement saying 'trust >> yourself'. >> >> I'm sure I'll have more questions as we get going, and I'll let everyone >> know how it goes. >> >> Thanks again, >> >> -Mike >> >> P.S. Jerome, about the meeting room; we've decided to have one, too. I >> suspect some of the people who answered "I'd try it out" instead of "It's >> critical" will find that they appreciate having a private place to talk >> every once in a while. >> >> >> On Fri, Jun 25, 2010 at 4:49 AM, Jerome Chang <[email protected]>wrote: >> >> We absolutely believe in meeting rooms, and our bookings confirm them. >>> >>> Size based on a square area isn't that helpful, as squares and rectangles >>> are totally different for seating. Just lay things out, have a 4' aisle >>> between desks, and feel out how much space you'd want before your seat bangs >>> into the desk behind you. Really, that's about all there is to it. >>> >>> Location is critical in L.A. It'll determine who uses your space. >>> Anyone can build a shack in a forest, throw in some desks, and then price >>> it at $10 or something, but do you really want to be in a forest? There's >>> of course no real answer to that, but I think you get the picture. We're >>> located literally next door to a Staples office supply store, and 1 block >>> from Starbuck's, so the two most important amenities for offices are very >>> very conveniently nearby. >>> >>> Jerome >>> >> >> On Fri, Jun 25, 2010 at 4:53 AM, Arne Hulstein >> <[email protected]>wrote: >> >>> Hi Mike, >>> >>> The answers to you questions depend on many variables. For one, the >>> accepted size of the workspace differs per person and per country. I >>> have understood that in China Office space in general is much tighter >>> packed than most US or EU offices. Just take a look at what is >>> acceptable for what price in other Bejing rental situations and try to >>> take a look at their seating arrangements. >>> >>> As for location, you are the best person to weigh your location to >>> surrounding facilities, travel possibilities and the general image of >>> your area. These are the factors that your renters will use for >>> themselves. Take the same approach. >>> >>> Arne >>> >>> On Thursday, June 24, 2010, Michael P. Daugherty <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>> > Hi everyone, >>> > >>> > I'm trying to start a coworking space in Beijing, China, so I >>> > thought I should write and introduce myself. The reason I'm interested >>> > in this is that I'm also working on a startup, but my other founder >>> > lives in Boston. Therefore, I miss exchanging ideas in person >>> > much of the time when I work alone in my apartment. I've also worked >>> at coworking spaces before and always >>> > enjoyed the feeling. However, there has never been one in >>> > Beijing before now. >>> > >>> > I've already looked at quite a few offices and lofts, and rent >>> > has turned out to be much more expensive than I expected. For a ~210 >>> > square meter place, I think I'd need 11-12 people on a monthly plan to >>> > cover my costs. >>> > >>> > So, I have a few questions and would greatly appreciate any advice >>> > you may have. First, how many square meters do you end up using per >>> seat? I want to make sure my estimates of how many people can work >>> comfortably in a given space are reasonable. I've just been estimating >>> capacity by walking around inside, and it seems that most of the time my >>> estimate comes out to almost 7 sq. m per person (counting space used for a >>> meeting room and a small place to relax, etc.). >>> > >>> > How critical is location in general in this business? I'm operating >>> under the >>> > assumption that it's really important, since we're basically competing >>> > with working from home, and nothing can be more convenient than that. >>> > >>> > Lastly, we did a survey and the most surprising result to me was that >>> so few >>> > people considered a meeting room necessary. How many of your spaces >>> > have meeting rooms, and how often are they used? >>> > >>> > Thanks for your support. I hope that if any of you visit Beijing, >>> > you'll stop by and we can work together for a while. >>> > >>> > -Mike >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > -- >>> > 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]<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. >> > > > > -- > Mark Gilbreath > > PO Box 2830 > Ketchum, ID 83340 > > mobile 208-720-8107 > skype mfgilbreath > twitter markgilbreath > > -- > 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. 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