Hi Rachel, These are good questions. I hadn't though through security much because I haven't thought through basic design enough, but I guess security would be constrained by how open the access was. If it's as open as a cafe, I suppose people wouldn't be able to just leave their laptops on the desks when they go to the bathroom (or maybe every desk would have a bar for laptop locks? or even a box to lock up laptops with reserved seating. When thinking about it, I did imagine a public cafe component with separate members' only area, or perhaps just separate meeting room area with the whole space a kind of coworking cafe. Just at the very beginning stage of thinking about what the space might have. I'm not too worried about the security aspect, as we've had a space with 24/7 access and no real security for four years without a meaningful theft, so I'm probably naively optimistic that security can be dealt with.
Will On Wednesday, October 22, 2014 4:56:10 PM UTC+2, ruyoung wrote: > > > I would think security and noise would be the biggest concerns, after > little to no community building. Sure, there's ample parking and food and > shopping in the building, and I see your argument for shaping the human > experience of the mall experience, and I love to see people thinking of > alternate uses of existing space, especially unique spaces that bend the > norm. > > How would you deal with security that is not as precarious as when someone > a cafe? If someone has to go to the bathroom, which in a mall is probably > not in the unit but rather a large shared bathroom off the food court, do > they have to pack up their things and take it with them? Even to have a > meeting if you have a separate meeting room in the unit, a member would > still have to pack up their things and move them into the meeting room for > meeting, which might affect the professional atmosphere of the small > business owner. > > Noise would be a huge issue, unless you had a public cafe in one half and > could section off a members-only area (with key fob access that would also > address the security issue) with a sound proof wall and door. If you look > back through this group, some spaces have talked about having a public cafe > in their space but, though handy to have the coffee so close, noise > transfer was a prohibiting factor for some of them. It can be done > successfully, given the structure of some spaces, but noise from a cafe > *and* a mall might be too much for some coworkers to handle if not done > well. > > If you can find a way to strive for the core values of coworking, the > location of the space should matter less, especially if you can prove the > business model and ensure you're attracting people who want coworking and > not just somewhere to sit with wifi. But ensure that you're not just > dressing up an internet cafe by using the fancy word coworking and prove it > can be done! > r. > > > > > > *____________________rachel young*[email protected] <javascript:> > > *We're located at 2241 Dundas St W, 3rd floor* > *(between Bloor and Roncesvalles)* > > *Chat with me *via 10KCoffees > <http://www.TenThousandCoffees.com/profile/rachel-young> > > *Find us online:* > Website/blog <http://camaraderie.ca> and Newsletter > <http://bit.ly/camaraderienewsletter>, Twitter > <http://twitter.com/camaraderie>, > Facebook <http://bit.ly/9zv3Fx>, Google+ <http://bit.ly/CamaraderiePlus>, > Yelp <http://bit.ly/CamaraderieYelp>, and LinkedIn > <http://bit.ly/CamaraderieGroup> > > We're a proud member of CoworkingToronto <http://www.coworkingtoronto.ca/> > , > CoworkingOntario <http://coworkingontario.ca/>, and CoworkingCanada > <http://www.coworkingcanada.ca/>! > -- 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]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
