Thanks, Mark! Didn't know about this. Interesting. On Wednesday, October 22, 2014 5:36:53 PM UTC+2, mark gilbreath wrote: > > Will > > There is a good bit of this happening already. Westfield, a major > shopping center owner/developer, recently announced "Bespoke > <http://www.sfgate.com/style/article/Westfield-San-Francisco-Centre-pioneers-new-mall-5801646.php>" > > which they describe as a "co-working, demonstration and event space" (yes, > they used a hyphen :( > > We've also seen examples of this in Australia with "Space&Co > <http://www.spaceandco.com.au>" a coworking space developed by GPT Group > (an office and retail REIT). > > I think you ask the right question, about whether a retail environment can > be effective as a community driven environment, vs a more transactional > space. I believe that if well designed and operated it can certainly be > the latter. TBD on whether these new spaces can truly support community. > Regardless, I think its very clear that more and more flavors of > workspace are on the come. > > Cheers > Mark > > On Wed, Oct 22, 2014 at 4:15 AM, Will Bennis, Locus Workspace < > [email protected] <javascript:>> wrote: > >> Hi All, >> >> Recently a shopping mall realtor approached me about opening a coworking >> space in their closed gaming zone/internet cafe. I'd love to hear opinions >> about this, pros and cons. Before you completely ignore this post as coming >> from someone who is clearly not from the same coworking planet, here is why >> I'm even considering it: >> >> (1) *With respect to the fact that mall real estate goes for a premium: *At >> least where I am, a lot of shopping malls are trying to build in >> community/space quality features that make going to the mall (which lets >> face it, most people in urban areas sometimes do) a more human experience: >> space-taking areas like open art galleries, free indoor playgrounds, >> exhibition space, gardens, etc. These spaces add value/traffic to the mall >> as a whole, making the rentable space more valuable. This means that the >> mall owner may be willing to partially fund a coworking space if it adds >> value to the mall as a whole. >> >> (2) *With regard to the importance of community and quality of the work >> environment: *Sure, malls are horrific. But they're also a reality. >> Wouldn't creating coworking spaces in the horrific reality of a shopping >> mall make malls a little less horrific? To the extent you could contribute >> to the reinvention of malls as more human, community-focused spaces, >> wouldn't it be a good thing to promote the development of a coworking space >> in a mall? >> >> (3) *With respect to the objection that it wouldn't be sustainable; the >> kind of people drawn to coworking would not want to do it in a mall: *The >> malls where I am right now have many fast food restaurants (McDonalds, KFC, >> etc.) with free bad wifi and people working away on their laptops or in >> business meetings, or higher end cafes where laptop workers aren't as >> welcome and places to work aren't comfortable or well suited for meaningful >> work or quality meetings. I would guess many of the people who work in the >> area or who are just there while their partners are shopping or their kids >> are at the movies would love a more human space to work. Yes, they're not >> the people traditionally drawn to coworking, but is there room for >> something in between? >> >> My big question I guess is whether there would be a way to do this that >> would create more than the equivalent of a hotel "business center" or an >> internet cafe? Would there value or demand for a community-focused >> workspace in a mall? >> >> Clearly this couldn't be an ideal community-focused and community-driven >> coworking space. But is there room for something between the ideal and the >> "business center" in a shopping mall (or airport or highway >> gas-station/restaurant off-ramp for that matter)? Something that would help >> build the sense of community and humanity in these largely community-less >> spaces? Could it bear the *coworking *name? >> >> I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. >> >> Best, >> Will >> >> -- >> Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Coworking" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected] <javascript:>. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > >
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