Category Archives: Co-working office space

0 Workbar Offers a Network of Co-Working Office Space

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Workbar interior in Boston

Credit: BetaBoston

Have a peek at how some of the shared workspace providers manage users and spaces locally and worldwide.

From BetaBoston:

“Workbar has partnered with Fields Corner Business Lab and five other regional co-working spaces to create the Workbar Network, which will link these independently run facilities into a larger community…As part of the network, these [original] six sites are now using Workbar’s proprietary software to help manage their members, Cole says. The software provides tools for managers to check people in, coordinate conference room bookings, and promote events and happenings throughout the network at large. ‘It’s everything they need to run the space,’ says Cole.”

“’The reservation system is much easier to manage and it gives us more data,’ says Maudlin, who says the software helped them realize that they had a lot of people who only came to the space on weekends. ‘If we were going to do an event or do something for our members, we now know when are they there the most. It’s a lot more information that we can use to better service our members.’”

0 Big Data Analytics Start-up Moves HQ from SF to Boston

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San Francisco vs. Boston.  Not on the playing field, rather at the recruiting table.

Big Data startup Rocana provides ops solutions for IT

Credit: Rocana

The Boston Business Journal recently wrote an editorial on a SF tech start-up that decided to situate its HQ in Boston. In the BBJ article, the CEO, “Trajman, who founded venture-backed Rocana about a year and a half ago, said that while San Francisco innovators are future-thinkers focused on the next big thing, Boston innovators are more focused on solving current issues with high-tech solutions…He said he hopes his company can serve as a role model for future entrepreneurial endeavors considering a Boston headquarters. Trajman joins several other startup founders who have said they’re committed to growing their businesses in Boston instead of in the West Coast.”

You can read the full article on the BBJ, here.

0 Workbar Network Links Co-Working Office Space

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co-working office space at WorkBar in Boston

Credit: BetaBoston

Have a peek at how some of the shared workspace providers manage users and spaces locally and worldwide.

A BetaBoston article notes, “over the past several months, Workbar has partnered with Fields Corner Business Lab and five other regional co-working spaces to create the Workbar Network, which will link these independently run facilities into a larger community. Other participating sites are Work Station in Cohasset, The Entrepreneur Innovation Center at Framingham State University, Running Start in Worcester, and Groundwork! in New Bedford…As part of the network, these six sites are now using Workbar’s proprietary software to help manage their members, Cole says. The software provides tools for managers to check people in, coordinate conference room bookings, and promote events and happenings throughout the network at large. “It’s everything they need to run the space,” says Devin Cole, Workbar’s director of business development.

You can read the full BetaBoston article on its website, here.

0 Is WeWork’s $5 Billion Valuation Justified?

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shared office space at wework

Credit: Bloomberg

Is WeWork onto something here or will this be a passing fad?  Time will tell, but if the 90,000 glasses served last month are a litmus test of the future, WeWork is onto something that could transform how “Justin in time” office space is used.

From Bloomberg:

At a basic level, WeWork is a company that sublets office space, taking care of many of the time-consuming hassles involved in self-employment. That’s not the factor, though, that has captured the fancy of venture capital investors, who have pushed the five-year-old company’s valuation to a giddy $5 billion…WeWork has cast itself as a new kind of workplace for the post-recession labor force and a generation that has never known a cubicle. It aspires to make your job a place you never want to quit.

 

0 MassChallenge Accepts 128 New Startups

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boston startup accelerator logoWho are the newest inductees into MassChallenge?  Have a look.

The BBJ remarked on the program’s intrigue, “part of the four-month long no-equity program, startup teams will be granted free office space at MassChallenge’s headquarters in the Seaport and work with expert mentors in the area. Hardware startups will also have access to the MADE@ MassChallenge hardware lab, where they can prototype and manufacture products.”

Jump over to the BizJournals.com website to see the complete list of all 128 startups accepted to the accelerator program.

0 Winter Gardens Becoming A Fixture in Boston Buildings

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rendering of Binney street winter gardens

Credit: Boston Globe

A nature walk has something for everybody and the concept of winter gardens should be embraced by all.  The rentable square feet per employee is shrinking and collaboration space is growing.

According to the GSA’s “Washington headquarters is completed in 2013, the building will accommodate 4,500 workers — almost 2,000 more than a year ago — because of shared work spaces and telecommuting. GSA Headquarter office will average approximately 80 USF (92 RSF) per person of workspace.”

From the Boston Globe:

Prodded by tenants, residents, and city officials to create more parks and open spaces, developers are resurrecting an old architectural idea to beautify new buildings: “winter gardens.”

Alexandria Real Estate Equities has completed most of the work on its 6,000-square-foot winter garden at 75-125 Binney St., the future home of Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc.

0 Shared Office and Lab Space in Cambridge for Life Science Ventures

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mass innovation labsShared space for life sciences is a has a new host, Mass Innovations Labs, in Kendall Square. The program offers everything from office and bench layouts to EH&S Programs.

From the Boston Globe:

Mass Innovation Labs said Monday that it was opening an “accelerated commercialization space” for companies trying to bring their drugs and devices to market. There also are specialized services available in-house, such as help setting up research contracts and an animal testing and scientific support area run by Charles River Laboratories…The three-story space hosts 10 suites containing a mix of lab and office space ranging from 2,900 to 18,000 square feet. It is backed by Breed’s Hill Capital, a Charlestown firm.

 

0 Boston On demand Office Space

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I was first introduced to Breather from Will Preap who is the head of Breather’s business development for Boston and got the concept.  The notion that I could have a private meeting/interview in a space outside of the public eye was captivating.  Preap has strong roots to Boston and expects to add 30 location throughout the CBD.  So, questions I get from landlords are, is it safe?  Yes, Breather controls access to the space via a smart phone app.  Prior to getting access, Breather understands the clients social footprint using algorithms that access social media sites to better understand the profile.  Once you have selected the Breather spot you get to the door and Breather provides a one-time access code to the app.  You enter and you meeting commences.  The space is fitted out with smart phone chargers wrapped in a sophisticated yet relaxed atmosphere complete with WIFI.

The meeting ends and you depart, yes, Breather knows.  Breather then sends their team back into the space to ensure it is ready to go for the next client.

Breather CEO

Pictured above is Justin Harlow of BRA’s Downtown team @ 715 Boylston Street.

0 On-demand Meeting Rooms in Boston

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So, it is best described as office space between Starbucks and any number of the temporary groups that provide contractual services for office space.  Breather is space for only when you need it.  Imagine that you are interviewing a person that will be replacing a person on your team.  The last thing you would want to do is have that meeting internally, you could go to Starbucks, but you might get seen by a coworker.  Now come breather, have a meeting in a private space within close proximately to your office and schedule the space for 30 minutes.  Best of all, its done from your phone.  Boston Realty Advisors has been assisting Breather find new spots in the city.

Meeting rooms for rent in Boston

Credit: bizjournals.com

From the Boston Business Journal:

Bostonians will now have access to five private spaces in the Back Bay and Cambridge area with a tap of their phones, with [Breather] locations that include: 715 Boylston St., two spaces at 36 Gloucester Street, and two spaces at 1158 Mass. Ave. in Harvard Square.

0 Private Offices or Open Floor Plan?

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Is your preference to have a private office or open plan?  Open is the current rage, but this may not rein true over the long haul.  Quiet zones, skype rooms and meeting rooms seem to be taking the place of the private office which leads to more common space and smaller personal space.

Boston open office space with cubicles

Credit: Boston Globe

From the Boston Globe:

Some 80 percent of offices these days are “open,” roughly defined as work spaces that minimize doors in favor of low (or no) partitions, shared desks, and a full-on view of any number of people at once, very often the boss included. There are two reasons for the format’s popularity. The first is the cost of real estate, says Jeffrey Tompkins, a partner at Boston architecture and interior design firm Spagnolo Gisness & Associates. Twenty-five years ago, he says, the standard allotment was 250 square feet per worker. Now it’s 160 to 190. Simple math says you can fit in more employees when you don’t need to work around walls.

The bigger driving factor, however, has been the pervasive idea that open offices encourage collaboration, spark creative conversation, and increase productivity. Since there’s really no such thing as a private conversation in many of these offices, they also serve to symbolize the modern, egalitarian workplace ideal: one big happy family that types together, eats together, and works through personal drama together. “I love the ability to know what’s going on with all the projects around me,” says Faith Marabella, the CEO and president of Wellesley Design Consultants, whose offices transitioned from mostly to fully open a few years back. “I also like the quick interactions that can happen. Everybody can lend a hand when needed and go back to individual tasks when things calm.” The open environment, she says, also lets less experienced staffers listen and learn.