Loaded Bow

We found WorkSpace online and have had it recommended by many a hip Vancouverites who are learning to forge new spaces for their work.  Many women do not have the need or cash to pay for a full office.  WorkSpace is a coworking space or shared work environment located in Vancouver’s Gastown district. Our fourth floor loft has meeting rooms, a lounge, and a café surrounding a beautiful open concept desk area.  Workspace provides flexible memberships (not long-term leases) to independent professionals and small firms looking for a better place to work.  Essentially we bridge the gap between working from your home office and working from a traditional office space.

WorkSpace is the perfect place to pay a little and gain a whole new way of working.  Here we interview Dane Brown who is the general manager at WorkSpace. 

LB: Can you describe how Workspace came to be and how it functions?

WorkSpace was inspired by the Queen St. Commons in Charlottetown, PEI.  After visiting the Commons, Bill MacEwen, the founder of WorkSpace, began putting together a business plan for a coworking space in Vancouver.  He spent a year refining the plan as well as securing funding and leasing our space in Gastown.  I joined the company in May 2006 to help with the start up process. We opened in August 2006.

Our members pay a monthly rate ranging from $95 to $595 per month, depending on how often they would like to come in.  We provide everything they need to run their business: desks, a solid internet connection, meeting rooms, printing, faxing, and all the other requisite office equipment.  On top of that we also have some amenities you might not find in a typical office: an espresso bar at which coffee is free for members, a kitchen, lounge, and a fantastic view of the North Shore mountains from every desk.

LB:  How long have you been with the company?

I helped Bill open the space in August 2006 and have been running it ever since.  In August 2008 WorkSpace was sold to the current owners, Jayson Minard (http://mindheap.com) and Linda Minard.

LB: How do you see the contemporary workspace changing?  How does it differ from the past generations of workers?

The contemporary workspace is changing in that the concept of nine-to-five job is starting to fade away.  Companies are realizing that their workers don’t need to be chained to a desk for eight hours per day, five days per week in order to get things done.   Previous generations clocked in in the morning and clocked out at night.  Now people are getting more and more freedom to work where and when they want to.  This is especially true to independents but is increasingly true for those working at large corporations as well.

LB:  What type of people/workers generally use your space?

Before we opened we assumed that all of our members would be working in technology-related fields.  After opening, we realized that there are people in almost every industry who can benefit from this type of space. We have start-up companies, consultants, programmers, graphic designers, industrial designers, talent agents, sales people, writers, artists, accountants, and programmers.

LB:  What is innovative about your design?

The physical design of the space is innovative in that, aside from our meeting rooms, the space is entirely open-concept.  There are no cubicles or walls separating the desks.

Beyond that, the concept of coworking itself is quite innovative.  Here we have all these people doing all these different thing,s but they exist within the space as coworkers.  They interact with each other the same way employees at a regular office would interact.  This is more compelling, though, because each person brings their own link to a network of contacts and their own social circle, which means that being here provides an immense opportunity to connect with all kinds of people.

LB: What are the ideal features of a workable space?

A big desk to spread your stuff out on, lots of natural light, quiet when you need to concentrate, and conversation and interaction with others when you need feedback or reassurance.  The number one reason people join WorkSpace is that their home office is just too lonely.

LB: How has technology made the workspace more flexible?

Technology has made the workspace more flexible by allowing people to work from almost anywhere.  If you have a laptop and a cell phone your office is anywhere that has a wi-fi connection.  A remarkable number of people are now working this way, which is why coworking spaces like ours are becoming so prevalent.

LB: Where are your ideas inspired from? Are there other spaces like this happening in other cities?

The Queen St. Commons was the specific inspiration for WorkSpace. When we opened there were only a handful of spaces like us worldwide.  In the past two years we’ve seen the concept blossom and gain a lot of media attention.  Now there is a growing list of spaces that includes some form of the concept in nearly every major city.  Check out http://coworking.pbwiki.com to see the complete list.

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