Forcing Density At First Sparks Community

[Craig Baute - Creative Density Coworking]

When I first started Creative Density in Denver I rented out a 3500 sf space, but only really wanted 2000 sf after a hard lesson learned when helping out a space in Toronto that had 7500 sf and no members. In Toronto people would join but spread way out because they could. New members naturally wanted to give everyone enough space so they rarely naturally had a conversation or get to know each other unless I, as a community manager played an active role, which I did. It reminded that space design needed to play a more active role in creating the culture I envisioned.

Advice (for what's it worth): Force Density

This lesson reminded me about how Daniel Pink and Richard Florida described how the close proximity of people in cities spurred innovation and conversations. After all, this is what coworking is trying to do on a micro level (hence the name Creative Density). I was inspired by this idea and would use the 3500 sf I signed a lease for in a different way.

First, when the space opened I only made around 1500 sf. available to the members by furnishing a limited segment of the space and closing doors. This allowed the space to have different rooms for different work styles (quiet room, lounge, energy, and open floor desks) but people were forced to be close enough to each other that they would they would have conversations more frequently and get to know each other. This had a dramatic positive effect on creating community compared to my experience in Toronto. As the membership grew I slowly opened the doors up, furnished rooms, and included them in the tour. At 40 members, we still have a large 600ish sf room that is not being used very regularly so I have plenty of room to grow into.

Second, I lived in 3 of the rooms taking up a quater of the building for the first 11 months of operations. This is more of me being lean since the place was zoned accordingly and knowing Creative Density didn't need 3500 sf at launch. It worked out well but I couldn't allow Creative Density to be a 24/7 space.

Overall, it's okay as a new space owner to not furnish and open the entire space for use at first, and can actually damage your culture that you are trying to create. Don't be afraid to block some spots off and limit your space to encourage conversations and community.

Craig

Creative Density

Denver

[Alex Hillman]

Truths across the board, awesome post, & great examples in practice.

Another advantage of an "incomplete" space is that it has what I like to think of as "rough edges" for members to play a part in completing. They can help scout furniture/decoration, assist in reconfiguration options that you hadn't considered, choose paint/art, even help determine & design for alternative uses.

Think of these kind of "space-completion" projects as opportunities to help your members bond and contribute, both increasing their sense of one another as well as the sense of ownership & pride of the space they share.

This is easiest when a space is brand new yet most people overlook it, and Craig's approach supports this kind of participation over a longer time period in addition to the financial/social benefits.

-Alex

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/ah

indyhall.org

coworking in philadelphia

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[Toni Hogan]

Confirmation! We've only furnished the lounge and plan to grow into the other spaces. There has to be an absolute good reason for someone to have a private office (i.e. government regulations, nature of the business) but we will still encourage them to blend when possible. We give a full tour of the 13,000sf vision and never apologize for the empty space. It's amazing how people "get it."

TH