It's worth pointing out and remembering why Steelcase/Turnstone fundamentally are interested in coworking:
Their business is providing equipment for the workplace. We represent a fundamental disruption in what the workplace can look like, so it's in their best interest to know where that's headed so they can be there with solutions. It's helpful to remember that when interacting with them, it puts a lot of these conversations into perspective. -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Wed, Feb 23, 2011 at 9:17 AM, David Troy <[email protected]> wrote: > Back in November about twelve folks from Baltimore involved in space design > were flown out to Grand Rapids to visit Steelcase's corporate headquarters > on their corporate jet. Needless to say it was an awesome day trip. > > There were a few take-aways I've been finding myself referring to often > enough that I thought they were worth sharing here: > > 1. Corporations are downsizing their spaces and preparing for Gen Y's > willingness to work more flexibly and collaboratively. GE's global standard > for space-per-worker is now 70 sqft. Accenture's is 50 sqft. This doesn't > mean each person gets a phone booth; it means they're not providing space > for all their employees anymore. *They expect people to be working from > home, shared facilities, coffee shops, airports, and client sites.* > * > * > 2. *Coworking spaces are a lot like restaurants, and you probably don't > want Mexican or Italian every day.* They think a major city should be > able to support 12/25/50 coworking spaces over time, and that you'll make > your decision about which one(s) to go to on a daily basis around the design > of the space. By "design" I am talking about "design constraints," not just > layout and furniture. Who's attracted to the space? Is it coders or fine > artists? Which group do you need to be inspired by / move with that day? > This turns the "space competition" question into a moot point. We don't > think about a Thai place being in competition with a taco joint. In the same > way, we should be preparing our cities to handle multiple coworking > facilities and welcoming new entrants and multiple experiments. > > Other tidbits of interest: > > a) Steelcase *owns* IDEO, the creative consulting / "design thinking" > firm. > > b) Steelcase's more whimsical/coworking-targeted brand is Turnstone, which > has been referenced here. Turnstone is very interested in supporting > coworking. > > c) They have a "wormhole" video link between Grand Rapids and IDEO's office > in Palo Alto. We've been talking about doing this between some coworking > spaces but haven't quite gotten it going yet. > > Thought y'all would appreciate these ideas. > > Best, > Dave > > -- > Dave Troy > Beehive Baltimore > Community Coworking in Baltimore, Maryland > > -- > 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. > -- 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.
