Physical space/Location

[Limassol Hackerspace]

Hi,

Let's use this thread to discuss about securing a physical space for the hackerspace.

A few scenarios:

1. Get in touch with the Limassol municipality, as well as other municipalities in the Limassol district. We have already prepared a presentation about the hackerspace and what it can offer to the city.

2. Talk to the Cyprus University of Technology (or other univeristies in the city) for any unused spaces we could use.

3. Contact technical schools in Limassol for any laboratories we can use.

4. Get started by renting a place/warehouse ourselves

5. Do 3 or 4 and in the meantime look into options 1 and 2

Obviously each option will have its pros and cons:

Option 1 (municipalities):

Pros:

• If the municipality can offer us a good rent (or ideally no rent) we could have a large chunk shaven off our budget

• A place near the city centre would be ideal in terms of accessibility. It would also be even easier to promote the space once we get started.

Cons:

• A bit ambitious. Could take us a long time even to recieve an answer.

Option 2 (CUT/other universities)

Pros:

• Considerable savings in budget.

• It will attract a lot of keen people from the university, so the community can grow even faster.

• Possibly some of the equipment will already be provided

Cons:

• We could have restrictions as to how we can modify the space to accomodate tools and equipment.

• There's the possibility that 24/7 access to the members will not be possible

Option 3 (labs in technical schools)

Pros:

• Budget savings

• Some equipment should be already present in the lab

Cons:

• Restrictions as to how we can modify the space to accomodate tools and equipment.

• 24/7 access to members is highly unlikely

Option 4 (renting a place ourselves)

Pros:

• ensuring 24/7 access would most probably not be an issue

• greater chance that we will be free to modify the space to our liking

• we can get started almost right away

Cons:

• The founding members will have to maintain the space for the first couple of months. Of course we 'll have plan to return the contribution of the founding members in the long run. More here!

• There would be more pressure to get the hackerspace known quickly so that it can reach a more stable state, since the founding members will be supporting it initially (with keen members, this shouldn't pose an issue :))

Now on with your opinions and suggestions, shoot! :)

[Pavlos Papapavlou]

Hi guys.
I started looking at some newspapers and websites for our physical space.
I came accross to some warehouses for rent. We must have a look at them. We need to keep searching for space to set up our gathering point. All the rest,in my opinion, are paperwork...
I will keep you informed regarding the status of the search.
This decision will take place after a meeting we will set up with the members...
Cheers guys...
Pavlos

[Panayiotis]

Hi Pavlos,

Thanks for taking initiative!

Indeed, renting a place on our own (while also looking at other options with municipalities, universities, etc.) looks promising when it comes to kick-starting the hackerspace. Also, warehouse rents tend to be cheap - we should be able to find a space around 100 sq.m. for about 250-300 euros/month, depending on the location. Some of them might even have some sort of equipment (e.g. benches) that we can use!

If anybody has any ideas/suggestions on the matter, feel free to share them below!

Panayiotis

[Pavlos Papapavlou]

Hi Panayiotis,

I agree with you in many of the aspects you mentioned.

I made a rough list with all some of the things we need for the physical space. Just some thoughts.

Please see below the list:

1. Cheap and affordable. (low rent for the members)
   
2. Parking. (Need to have parking place for existing and future members)
   
3. Near center Area. (near Limassol area. In order to split distance between members. To be somewhere in the middle)
   
4. Power modifications. (To be able to install auto shut down switches and carry multiple machines at the same time. Power modifications maybe needed for project needs as well)
   
5. Fire Protection and plan. (The area should be road accessible to fire rescue and have fire protection/evacuate plan)
   
6. Water. (To have water at all times.)
   
7. Toilets. (Must have all types of toilets which are approved by European Union law)
   
8. Modification Allowance. (Plumber, pneumatic, Power tables, Ethernet lines,access panels, bolting, wiring modifications e.t.c)
   
9. Telephone line Accessible. (Telephone line accessible for telephones, internet, fax e.t.c.)
   
10. Public transportation. (Must be near public transportation area)
    
11. First Aid. (First aid should be included in "key" areas in the building)
    
12. Noise reduction plan. (Heavy machinery, member areas, neighbors e.t.c)
    
13. Equipment. (Just a reference. Once we have a space, we will create a topic regarding this chapter)

Guys, please feel free to include your ideas as well. 

Thank you,

Pavlos

[Panayiotis]

Excellent points! Thanks!

[Makris p.]

Hey. 

I don't think it's going to be easy to find an affordable place near the centre area, and  I dont think it's that important.  Futhermore i would like to ask what's our plan to secure the money to pay the rent. Maybe we can implement some kind of subscription fee? at least until we can get some sponors. Thanks. If we are going to handle money from the hackerspace member I think we will need some hierarchical organization.Sorry for going offtopic. 

[Panayiotis]

Hi Panayiotis,

Once again welcome to the community!

Indeed, a space near the city centre would probably be not be as affordable as one elsewhere (although it would have a strong advantage due its proximity to the university). In the end it will come down to what our budget will be and how we can keep the hackerspace sustainable in the long run with that budget. We will also discuss about this in our first AFK meetings - I will be making a post for that soon.

As you correctly pointed out, if we choose to rent a place on our own to host the hackerspace for starters (which looks quite likely at the moment) we could have some sort of subscription fee which will go towards paying the expenses of the space (rent, electricity, water, internet, garbage collection, etc). For this approach, what we could do is to gather, say, 20-30 people which will raise the money to support the hackerspace for the coming 6 months. When I had a chat with the guys at Cambridge Makespace back in May, they told me that that's what they did to kickstart their space. Have a look here at the section "Founder Members". This way we can keep the space sustainable for at least a few months by which point we will hopefully grow even more and attract more members. The founding members can have their name displayed as a token of appreciation. Furthermore, they could decide on what the name and logo of the hackerspace will be, since they were the ones to believe in it first! Of course the funds they gave to the hackerspace will be returned to them in the form of a 6-month subscription.

You also mentioned about handling money/donations/etc. for the hackerspace. There's already some good news here: we saw this coming when we started this initiative back in November. We submitted an application for a non-profit/non-governmental organisation, called "Cyprus Institute of Innovation & Technology" (or just CIT), which was approved by the registrar of foundations and associations in May 2014. Its purpose, amongst others, is to support the Limassol Hackerspace as a legal entity, especially now at this early stage. Any funds gathered for the hackerspace can go to CIT for the time being if everyone agrees (which of course has a bank account registered). Of course, there will be complete transparency as to how the funds will be used and anybody making a contribution to the hackerspace will be given a receipt issued by the CIT, mentioning the amount contributed and the purpose.

Regarding sponsors: Yes, I'm afraid that we will have to go stealth for a little while until we can show the world how beneficial a hackerspace can be for the community in Cyprus. That's pretty much how it is when taking such initiatives. Once people are convinced (and, believe me, they will be :)) then we will be able to attract/approach sponsors much more easily.

Anyway, at this point in time, the most important activity would be to grow the community. After all, a hackerspace is a community :)

Spread the word! We want to get as many entusiastic, passionate and creative people to join us as possible!