I agree with Alex. This is an extremely insightful post. Thanks for taking the time and making the effort, and yes, if you post if to a blog or wiki page, we'd love to get the link!
On Jun 28, 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 > > ... > > read more » -- 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.
