I can echo Alex's post and say that we do basically the same here at Office Nomads. We have several clusters all around the office with 4-8 desks at each cluster. Also with the mix of residents and part-time members, as we dub them at ON.
Side note: our members asked us to make it clear which desks were available for drop-in use (as sometimes our residents take a minimalist approach to what they bring in and leave at their dedicated desks), and our Community Cultivator (Alexandra) came up with a great solution: flags! We have these great little stand-up flags that sit at desks that are available to use during the day. It makes our space even more colorful, teaches us all some flag patterns we would have never known (I'm currently sitting next to the flag of Macedonia!), and makes it really easy on new folks to feel confident that they're sitting somewhere they're supposed to. It's kind of awesome, I have to say. We are currently open from 8:30 - 6 M-F, but are considering some night-owl hours one day/week in the near future to accommodate some other members who are interested in being here on the late side. Those were the hours our members were interested in, and the rest of the nights and weekends we determined would be for us to keep our social lives in tact. :) Hope that helps! Best of luck, Susan __ Office Nomads officenomads.com 206-484-5859 On Tue, Jul 27, 2010 at 10:01 AM, Alex Hillman <[email protected] > wrote: > Citizen Space's drop-in table is awesome (having used it myself), but I > wanted to point out another important element of communal tables. > > Indy Hall is actually composed of over a dozen "clusters" of desks, that to > some effect, each behave as community tables. > > Each cluster is also a mix of full time and flex members usage. That is, > there's no such thing as an "only full time" cluster, or "only drop in" > cluster. At least, we strive to avoid it. > > The reason? We wanted to make it so that it was difficult/unlikely that > you'd find yourself sitting alone. After all, if you wanted to sit alone, > you could have stayed in your dining room. > > By making our entire space a mix of communal tables, but each communal > table having anchors in some of our full time/resident members, we've > encouraged a pretty fascinating and powerful churn of people interacting. > > This intentional mix is one of the few "rules" we have when desks are being > occupied, but how its executed is totally up to members. Any time we mix up > desk arrangements (which are often designed/initiated by members), we remind > them to try to keep at least one desk in any cluster available for > drop-ins. > > As for hours...Jesse nailed it. Find ways to be open when people will > actually be there. Creatively rewarding members for leading things like > early/late hours has worked well for us in the past. > > -Alex > > > /ah > indyhall.org > coworking in philadelphia > > > > On Tue, Jul 27, 2010 at 12:39 PM, jesse <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Hi Isaac, >> >> re table set up: >> At Citizen Space, we call it the "Communal Table" or the "Drop-In" >> Table and it's been wildly popular. Maybe because for Drop-Ins it's >> free/donation, but as a resident/former manager of the space, I >> noticed folks like sitting around a large table. It fosters discussion >> and a sense of work solidarity. Our main set up is individual desks >> for full-time members (the entire space is open plan), but having that >> group table is truly an anchor, and for a beginning coworking space in >> your situation, building community is crucial. >> >> And I'm going to borrow a line from Alex Hillman regarding your >> hours: ask your members! Maybe the person who favors an 8am open >> time can be the one to spearhead that initiative. :) You can always >> change them once you get rolling. At Citizen Space, full-time >> residents have 24/7 access, Drop-Ins and daily visitors are advised >> to aim for 10-6. >> >> Hope that helps, >> Jesse Taggert >> >> (former manager Citizen Space and coworking enthusiast) >> http://www.taggert.net @jtag >> http://citizenspace.us @citizenspace >> >> >> >> On Jul 26, 9:41 am, Cotec <[email protected]> wrote: >> > I just started a coworking space in seattle and had a question on the >> > best hours. Someone I am working with beleives we should open at 8am. >> > I personaly don't won't to get moving until 10am. I was wondering what >> > other spaces have seen in tbe past. >> > >> > When do you find the peak "coming in" time is? >> > >> > Also another question is table set up. I personally want to make one >> > large table for people to work at with some side space in case people >> > want to be more private. Are there any spaces with just a large shared >> > table? And what do you think about that? >> > >> > Thanks everyone, >> > Isaac >> >> -- >> 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]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
