Access & Publics

Access and Publics May Khaikaew and Neta Nakash

Access and Publics May Khaikaew and Neta Nakash

The creation of co-working places produces a hierarchy of private and public spaces, which are achieved through diverse memberships, plan layouts, barriers, and design features. Many models of co-working spaces rely on exclusivity, limiting access to certain demographics, while others work to bring diverse groups together for enhanced learning, knowledge production, and creativity. Through these physical, social, and economic barriers, a hierarchy is present in all co-working spaces. However, with new membership types, the placement of public programming at the periphery, and the use of shared furniture layout

and translucent materials, a select group of co-working spaces are resisting and softening the exclusive nature of co-working business models in critical spatial moments. These co-working models create platforms, a new form of public space, through these inclusive spaces that encourage both members and non-members to interact and collaborate, elevating work experiences. Memberships at co-working spaces come with exclusivity. Typically, the most basic membership is a flexible or hot desk, which grants a user privileged access to a work space. Should a user desire more regularity, they can purchase a dedicated or permanent desk. Both models are typically committed to a monthly membership plan, where only those who have a membership will have access to the work area and accompanying amenities, creating a semi-private work environment. Some co-working spaces provide private offices, which are not situated in an open-floor plan like that of flexible or permanent desk members. Private offices are enclosed spaces

Public to private access in membership plans of three co-working spaces. Authors, 2018

floor plan, such as gallery and event rooms, to create a blending of private and inclusive spaces.

For example, the most public and accessible area of A/D/O, a mix-use creative space in Brooklyn, NY serving both artists and the larger community, is the outdoor courtyard patio, which can be used by anyone. Non-members can then enter the building through the patio directly into the exhibition space. This central gallery space is open to the public as work space and event space. The retail and restaurant spaces adjacent to the gallery allow for non-members to engage the building, in contrast to the artist workspace, shop, and library, which are semi-private spaces dedicated for co-working members. Similarly, Inbound League, a co-working and event space for tourists and those working in the tourist industry, is organized vertically, positioning its most public areas such as cafe, reception, resources, and workspace at the ground-floor garage. The second-floor presentation room and top-floor event space are open to the public as well, drawing non-members further up into the building to engage members in these spaces. At an urban scale, the Inbound League groundfloor garage creates a public corridor connecting to a future

Public to private spaces in three co-working spaces. Authors, 2018

within the co-working model, reproducing a high level of exclusivity. Often, co-working spaces will cater to a targeted audience through their location and provided amenities such as a fabrication lab or a child day care. These businesses require additional stipulations of their members such as belonging to a specific industry, excluding many from even applying for membership. Some co-working spaces are softening this typical hierarchical model by providing more membership options as well as spaces that require no membership, such as the ability to reserve meeting rooms and attend events without being a member. This allows for members to interact with non-members, breaking down physical exclusivity in select spaces. Many co-working spaces do not engage with their urban context, requiring membership for access to all spaces. While their interior spaces may be a diverse and intermingled open floor plan with hot desks and private offices, only members are permitted in these spaces, creating a clear cut boundary of exclusivity. However, some co-working spaces challenge this by placing public programs along the periphery of the co-working space, such as retail, coffee shops, patios, and restaurants. Some co-working places go as far as intermixing these public programs throughout the

A/D/O’s storefront. Frank Oudeman, 2016 hotel project at the end of the block. In doing so, Inbound League creates and attracts a sense of public at an urban scale, enhancing opportunities for tourists and members alike.

46 While many co-working spaces are located in larger office buildings, regulating access at the entrance, some co-working places are softening these traditional physical barriers. In addition to placing public programs at the periphery, storefront windows at the exterior retail of A/D/O or at the main entry to the cafe and restaurant of Station F, a co-working campus for startups, invites individuals to enter and engage these places. The storefronts act as a welcoming agent and a first step for people to discover these co-working spaces at their most public zone. Additionally, the exterior patio that cuts into the A/D/O building footprint is an architectural move that guides community and invites them to

notice and enter the building. Signage is used in front of establishments to inform pedestrians that they are welcome to access and utilize the co-working space. These signifiers break down any presumption of a non-public area and invite non-members to the interior to engage members, thus working to overcome social and economic barriers.

This softening of boundaries continues in the interior, where design features such as large sectional openings like at Station F, allow offices to overlook the inner street. At Station F, the inner street becomes a sightline connecting different users and offices,

Translucency mitigates privacy at WeWork Fulton Center, New York. WeWork, 2018

A/D/O’s furniture encourages collaboration. nARCHITECTS, 2016

encouraging collaboration and innovation. Similarly, glass panel systems have been a common partition in many co-working spaces such as at WeWork and Cross Campus. While it allows light to reach more interior spaces and allows for more subdivisions, the translucent nature takes away visual privacy. The exclusivity of a truly private office is challenged in co-working models, where members are reminded that they are part of a broader office ecosystem. While not all barriers are dissolved, many can be softened for example through materials such as glass and curtains, reducing the hierarchical nature of co-working. At A/D/O, as well as at many other offices, desks are aggregated in long tables rather than cubicle or private individual offices. Therefore, furniture layout becomes a catalyst for collaboration among users of the shared space. At the interior, design manipulations and materiality work to support diverse demographics in co-working spaces, while the exterior signifies inclusion at the urban scale.

While co-working places are often exclusive, in precedents such as A/D/O, Inbound League, and Station F, public or semi-public access to co-working spaces is given, transforming the space to a platform which elevates a community of diverse users. Some co-working spaces challenge exclusivity by broadening their member base, opening resources and spacesto non-members, and strategically incorporating public program both at the periphery and throughout the co-working space. Through architectural design strategies and materiality, some co-working places make attempts to engage their local urban context and communities by providing welcome markers. These co-working spaces not only challenge traditional exclusivity, but go further to thoughtfully create public and semi-public platforms that elevate member and non-member experience.

Platforms have been created at various co-working spaces across multiple industries to promote innovation, collaboration, and dissemination of knowledge and resources. Working as a system

A/D/O’s exhibition space. Gary He, 2017

Inner Street at Station F. La Brigade de Gourmets, 2018

Inbound League garage. UDS, 2017

that facilitates interactions between distinct demographics, these spaces often serve to mediate between thresholds of private and public areas, softening or removing physical, social and economic barriers. The exhibition space at A/D/O is interconnected with other programs of the building, providing artists the opportunity to exhibit to an audience beyond the gallery setting. Here community members can engage and learn about the art work and even attend free artist talks. At Inbound League, the garage is the public platform which supports and connects tourists with local tourism opportunities. At Cross Campus, event rooms are semi-public platforms which support learning for the tech and aerospace community, allowing members and non-members to engage and network with one another. At Station F, the inner street is a semi-private platform that supports the collaboration and innovation distinct of tech startups. The artist co-working space at A/D/O as one shared room is a semi-private platform which fosters partnerships and growth opportunities among designers. Each platform breaks down the boundaries through either memberships, architectural design strategies, materiality, and signage.

The co-working precedents mentioned in this essay have produced new publics that operate as platforms to advance and activate co-working spaces, elevating the experience of both members and non-members. We believe that in order to create successful co-working spaces that are not entirely exclusive, it is essential for co-working businesses to focus not only on members but non-members as well and provide accessible amenities. Through thoughtful consideration of diverse membership plans, program layout with public and semi-public programming, and consideration for materiality, signage, and architectural operations to remove or soften barriers, co-working spaces can resist exclusivity and benefit from a connection to urban context. While co-working spaces can’t dissolve all boundaries nor overcome all hierarchy, by designing spaces dedicated to learning,

sharing, and collaborating, co-working places become the site of innovation, creativity, and partnership.