Co-working spaces are known to be creative,

flexible environments that encourage working

together. So, how does a co-working space

achieve this? That’s an easy question to answer.

More than the people in a shared office

workspace, or the companies that rent co-

working spaces, it’s the design of the office that

encourages interaction.

Co-working spaces are brightly lit, with a vastly

open floor plan and spaces where people can

congregate whenever they feel they need to. For

someone from a traditional office space, moving

to a co-working space is like stepping out of a

cage to find the savannah stretching to the

horizon ahead of them. That’s the difference

between the two.

Traditional office spaces are very confining, with

steady lighting that is almost clinical in nature,

cubicles that make the office seem closed-off and

confine employees and encourage little to no

interaction between employees beyond team

members, if even that occurs. That’s where co-

working spaces are different. The entire

workspace is designed from the ground up with

one purpose in mind; to be more open,

interactive and lively. Read on to find out some

common design elements that can be found in

any co-working space.

A common element that makes any workspace

better is natural lighting. While ambient lighting

to set the tone is all well and good, nothing

beats the sun for providing the right kind of

lighting that can make any space brighter and

more people-friendly. Natural lighting, whether

it’s direct or reflected is energizing and helps

boost creativity and positive thinking. We might

not be Superman but, it’s been proven that

sunlight definitely gives us a boost.

Colours play an important part of our daily lives.

Whether it’s in a presentation, in our food or in

the clothes we wear, colours add a sense of

vibrancy, reflect our moods and so much more.

Both observational experience and confirmed

studies have proved the effects different colours

have on us. Brighter colours make us happier,

intense, vibrant colours convey a sense of energy

and drive while other colours can evoke a

calming sense of peace.

Colours in a co-working space have many uses;

they define spaces, adding virtual separations

without restricting members; they can define

roles in office workspaces, like one colour for a

tech team, and another for the marketing

division. The possibilities and uses of colours in a

shared co-working space are endless. They can

even be used to simply accentuate a workspace.

In most restaurants, the ambience is a large part

of the experience. The same is true for a co-

working space too. Designing an open, flexible

office is good but, without any activity, a

workspace can seem incredibly dull. Having a

constant hum of activity, with the option for

silence when needed is a tried-and-tested way

to boost creativity.

The low hum of conversation, the sound of

people shuffling around the co-working space

lends energy and vibrancy to a workspace

environment. The activity in a workspace is

directly proportional to the creativity it

engenders. Having a certain amount of ambient

noise gives off a sense of action, a dynamic that

can motivate and drive employees and members

of a co-working space.

Most co-working spaces are open 24×7, with

members able to come and go as they please,

working whenever they want. This though, leads

to a need for improved security. You might be

the only person working in a co-working space

late at night. That’s when you become aware of

your need for security.

All co-working spaces come with a good amount

of security and regulations aimed at making

shared co-working spaces secure for all their

members. Co-working spaces usually allow free

access only to their permanent members. Co-

working spaces also respect privacy, despite

being known as open workspaces. Members in a

co-working space can get personal lockers for

their important belongings too.

Co-working spaces are defined as open and

flexible workspaces for everyone. There is a

line however. The point of an open co-working

space is to encourage interaction with other

members of the office space. True interaction

can’t be achieved if the co-working space

doesn’t respect cultural differences.

A co-working space is meant to be accessible and

friendly to people from different walks of life so, a

degree of cultural sensitivity and a line drawn in

the sand of openness will be appreciated more

than just a blanket do whatever you want rule.

Co-working spaces should be open to everyone,

regardless of the community they belong to, the

religion they follow or any other criteria and,

providers of co-working spaces should be aware

enough to account for them when creating their

workspace.

This content has been taken from iKeva: -

www.ikeva.com