History of Co-Working Spaces: Coffee Shops to Creative Hubs
Humans are social animals. There would have been no human growth and even existence without support, collaboration and socializing. When it comes to office space, lack of collaboration and socialization will lead to lowered productivity. Employers across the world started to realize this a bit late and it is evident from the history of co-working spaces.
This article throw light into the history of co-working spaces and how it evolved from coffee bars in 1990s to the present day full fledged office space.
HISTORY OF CO-WORKING SPACES
Humble Beginnings
1995
- Hackers are creative minds. Co-working idea was one among their creativity. The elemental form of co-working space called Hackerspace was founded by hackers in Berlin as a not-for-profit space. They named it C-Base.
- The concept was simple, i.e., to bring together computer enthusiasts for sharing thoughts and information, not just space. Further, they have conducted meetings and seminars over a computer network. Presently, hackerspaces are available in San Francisco and other major cities in the west.
1999
- Until 1999, there was no English term called co-working until Bernard Dekoven coined it. Basically a game designer, he described it as “working together as equals,” which comprises collaboration and innovation. Ironically, he used it to refer to the way we work and not the space we work in.
Premature stage
2002
- The first fully fledged entrepreneurial center (less than a co-working space) called Schraubenfabrik was opened in Vienna. It was in a closed-down warehouse where entrepreneurs and freelancers came and work freely. This space was a huge success and became a local co-working conglomerate under the brand Konnex Communities in 2004.
2004
- Regus started their first business center in Central London.
2005
- Brad Neuberg created the first co-working space in San Francisco called San Francisco Co-working Space and coined the phrase co-working space. The space offered free wifi, shared lunches, and bike tours, closing at 5:45 p.m. sharp.
- At the end of 2005, there were as few as 30 operational co-working spaces in the world.
2006
- San Francisco Space was closed down, and was renamed Hat Factory, with Chris Messina and Tara Hunt as new stakeholders. It became the first full-time co-working space in human history.
- In addition, Chris Messina set up an online co-working e-resource called the co-working wiki. This helped the co-working community connect and find such spaces in new cities. Since 2006, the number of co-working spaces has doubled each year, which is referred to as the co-working revolution.
2007
- The phrase co-working became popular. Accordingly, search engines started to notice it. Additionally, this became trending and also got into the English version of Wikipedia.
2008
- In 2008, there were 160 such spaces that were successfully running across the world.
- Co-working visas were introduced to help traveling professionals access working offices wherever they are. This helped professionals save a lot of money and develop a community. This allowed members of various co-working spaces to visit other spaces for free and work there without paying any additional charge.
2009
- The first book on co-working titled “I’m Outta Here! How co-working is making the office obsolete” was released. This indicated how co-working is changing the way we view the traditional office.
- The German co-working firm Betahaus was mentioned in Spiegel magazine. It became the biggest space to open in Europe. In 2010, Germany became the first country in Europe to use the term “coworking,” pursuant to Google trends.
Growth Stage/ Take off
The co-working gained momentum with a significant increase in the number of spaces globally. Flexible space has been growing at an average annual rate of 23% since 2010.
2010
- The first national co-working day was celebrated on August 9, and the first European co-working conference took place in Brussels. In 2010, there were at least 600 co-working spaces worldwide, with North America dominating the lead.
- WeWork was founded in 2010.
- The first online magazine deduced for co-working Deskmag has been published. It shed light on the development, design, and function of co-working spaces.
2011
- The world’s first co-working unconference was held in Texas, in a city called Austin. Surprisingly, co-working got into the heads of big companies and angel investors and opened their own such spaces.
2012
- Co-working spaces add up to more than 2,000 established. Media outlets such as Twitter have seen a huge increase in tweets with the hashtag “coworking”.
- The first co-working space in South Asia, called 91springboard, was opened in 2012 in Delhi. It quickly gained popularity as a hub for digital nomads, entrepreneurs, and remote workers.
2013
- Over 100,000 people worked from co-working spaces in 2013. The number of co-working spaces dramatically rose to 3000.
- The first fully organized co-working space in Asia is often credited to Hubud in Bali, Indonesia. It was founded in 2013 by Steve Munroe and Peter Wall.
- Co-working Ontario launched the first health insurance plan, CoHip, for the community. The plan was designed by Ashley Proctor. It was the first time in professional history that freelancers were given such life security.
Expansion/ Corporate involvement
2015
- The New York Times writes about co-living in their article “Co-working on Vacation: A Desk in Paradise.” The history of co-working will be incomplete without mentioning about co-living. Basically, it was done to combine co-working and co-living on Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands, Spain. It made the place attractive to freelancers, surfers, and travelers.
2016
- International banking giant HSBC moved 300 staff to coworking spaces. In addition, IBM and KPMG also followed the lead by sending some employees to work from coworking spaces.
- WeWork initiated co-living in New York City with the brand name Welive. Studio, 1 BHK, and 2 BHK apartments have been leased out and fitted with amenities for professionals to work and live together. They also have a community manager to plan events, etc.
2017
- This is the year that co-working finally cracks one million coworkers worldwide.
- Wework raised funding and became the most valued private tech company in the US, valued at $20 billion. The company had 250,000 members in 431 offices across 80 cities.
2018
- Co-working franchises such as Impact Hub, Venture X, and Serendipity expanded through the space.
- WeWork failed its IPO attempt after investors asked why it was valued like a tech company. Later in November 2023, the WeWork applied for bankruptcy protection in the USA.
2020
- COVID-19 hit the world, and employees started to work from home. The inability to pay the rent led to many of these spaces shutting down. WeWork fell into debt.
- However, the pandemic prompted co-working spaces to adapt to new regulations and employee demands. Most of them included hybrid work models with the introduction of virtual offices and co-working spaces. This underscored the relevance of flexibility and adaptability in the co-working industry.
Present Maturity Stage
Prior to the pandemic, co-working spaces were the fastest-growing type of office space in commercial real estate. The industry currently comprises less than 5% of the market; it’s expected to make up 30% by 2030. Around the world, there are over 35,000 co-working spaces. By the end of 2024, this is expected to number 41,975.
London is currently the co-working capital, with more spaces than New York, San Francisco, and Berlin. In London alone, there are over 1,400 co-working spaces, with 10.7 million square feet of office space in Central London alone.
Post-COVID, co-working spaces have integrated new-generation technology like IoT devices and digital platforms for space management and member communication. With increased awareness of mental health and employee productivity, most of these spaces included gyms, meditation rooms, and their existing office space.
Finally, many are incorporating eco-friendly practices especially making the space energy-efficient, practicing waste management to align with the values of environmentally conscious professionals.
In a Nutshell
In brief, the history of co-working spaces has undergone several phases since its inception. Altogether, this reflects the changing nature of societal attitudes toward collaboration and flexibility. As more and more players begin to take over the market, the co-working environment and the experiences they provide will also transform.
The latest trend among them is a community-centric approach where operators focus on creating a vibrant community through collaboration and networking. As the workplace landscape continues to evolve, co working spaces are likely to adapt and innovate to meet the diverse needs of the workforce.
