The Evolution of Co-Working

One of the challenges in commercial real estate is to connect the spaces we create to the end user in a way that improves their quality of life. If we do that well, not only do we foster community, but that also means a healthy bottom line for the client and spaces with longevity. One of the concepts that aids in this goal is establishing an effective third place. It is essential for our emotional and physical well-being to be able to have a place, separate from work and home, where we can socialize with people that we may or may not know, and further expand upon our home and work life.

Over the last several years, and even more from the effects of the pandemic, many of our third places have closed or changed, so we are looking at them differently moving forward. One of those changes is the organic need for flexibility. For example, libraries are no longer just libraries; they are places where people can congregate, socialize, have parties and clubs. Fitness centers are juice bars and lounges. Laundromats are also coffee bars. People are congregating in a way that needs flexibility, and our spaces should evolve to support that.

One amenity we are seeing evolve is co-working. Every single market — except for offices, of course — is trying to figure out the best way to incorporate a work function into their program, but one thing that is also true is that co-working can be anywhere. Looking at a segmented area for just co-working allows us to check the box, but it doesn’t give us the flexibility that supports the way people want to work, network and socialize.

We need to be able to look at co-working amenities in a way that blends working and leisure seamlessly to allow flexibility. Viewing these amenities as a third place also allows for natural networking and social support that doesn’t always happen at home or work. Ray Oldenberg, the urban sociologist who first coined the term “third place,” said, “Life without community has produced, for many, a lifestyle consisting mainly of a home-to-work-and-back-again shuttle. Social well-being and psychological health depend upon community.” And, while third places were originally supposed to be a break from work, our current culture is trying to find ways for us to balance work, home and leisure more seamlessly, to create a blended spectrum of tasks that support one another as opposed to individual compartments that cause quicker burnout.

One of our most recent live/work projects, Three Collective, intentionally used a more blended approach to co-working. While we had areas that support a more traditional working style like conference rooms and private offices, we also incorporated workspaces into game or lounge areas to provide a more flexible offering. This isn’t entirely new; people have been holding work meetings in hotel lobbies or sitting with their laptops in coffee shops for decades, but we feel it’s become more the norm than the outlier.

Christina Johnson is creative director of Phoenix- and San Francisco-based Private Label International, a full-service interior design studio that develops hospitality environments and lifestyle brand experiences for clients worldwide.

Photos courtesy of Private Label International