What does co-working mean for the future of offices?
The panel
- Jon Allgood, senior asset manager, the Crown Estate
- Paul Fletcher, strategic futurist, Through
- Charlie Green, co-founder and co-chief executive, The Office Group
- Chris Moriarty, development director, Leesman
- Ziona Strelitz, director, ZZA responsive user environments
- Chaired by Emily Wright, features and global editor, Estates Gazette
Co-working is nothing new. But it is still a term often clouded by ambiguity.
Is it about communal offices and shared meeting rooms, or flexible leasing options that enable companies and individuals to take space as and when they need it, without the pressure of long-term commitments?
With phraseology such as agile working, flexible working and hot-desking, perhaps the confusion is understandable.
But what does that mean for the future of offices? As worker behaviour evolves, what are they looking for in their working environment? And how can property provide product that meets their needs?
Speaking on an Estates Gazette panel on upending traditional office models, Jon Allgood, senior asset manager at The Crown Estate, said it was just the term “co-working” that was new and that the practice had been going on for years.
“I think you have to experience it to understand the way it works,” he added. “What the likes of the Office Group and Second Home do well is create and curate a buzz. They get the right people together and those sparks are what create the success of the office space, not the building.”
Paul Fletcher, a strategic futurist at workplace consultancy Through, agreed, adding that the concept of the office building is dying, “if it has not died already”.
He described the industry as obsessed with product, but insisted co-working was an activity. He alluded to the growing trend of using coffee shops and hotel lobbies as workspaces. “I pay £2.50 to £5 per hour and I get a free coffee, fast WiFi and a central London location,” he said.
Charlie Green, co-founder of The Office Group, argued that environments such as coffee shops did not really deal with the human need to interact with other people. “They will support co-working but offices will lead the way,” he said.
A straw poll of delegates in attendance at the LREF session revealed confidence in the future of the office. According to Ziona Strelitz, founder director of ZZA Responsive User Environments, the simpler the workspace, the better.
“What users like is being in smaller spaces that are well located; that are easy to get in and out of without a big security palaver and a huge floor plate,” she explained. “We have done some studies that show people are happier with simpler stuff, so long as it is more compact and they have got their heads around who else is occupying the space.”
For Chris Moriarty, development director at Leesman, which occupies space at The Office Group’s Henry Wood House, W1, one of the key priorities for most businesses considering co-working space is flexibility.
“The recession happened and stuff got turned on its head. Organisations are more cautious about committing,” he said. “That opportunity to flex is key.”
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