Things we’ve learned this year #2
Density is absolutely necessary for the coworking vibe.
We’re talking about both density in general and in specific. In our opinion it’s best if a coworking location is smack in the middle of something busy. We’re close to something like that here in Houston, located at the north-end of the Museum District, but one of the unique things about Houston is that it has lots of centers and you can’t be close to them all.
In specific, we’ve found that density is necessary for a coworking space to maintain it’s “vibe.” We’re pretty sure that there should be a maximum of about 8 feet between each person in the coworking space at any working time and we’re constantly trying to achieve this. There are generally two ways to solve this situation: go out there and get more people in, or shrink your space. Appropriately enough, we feel that space is a particularly Houston issue.
2 Responses
It’s not just Density, but proximity. To make it in a coworking environment, you have to be within regular speaking distance, but not so close that you can shoulder-surf the other person’s laptop. On a wider scale, planting your flag in the ground makes people come to you – and therefore creates the sense of gravity. I couldn’t agree with you more about having multiple centers – and I also agree that this is a uniquely Houston problem. As someone who operates out of the other bookend of the “Houston Technology Corridor”, I can tell you that the community ‘vibe’ is the essence of Caroline and the one thing that keeps me going back the most.
Thanks Marc. We love to see you!