Since
the late 1980’s walled offices to "hackerspace" of the mid-1990’s and
the emergence of the first official coworking space in 2005- office settings
have changed beyond expectation. Since 2005, what the coworking spaces have
gone through is also quite spectacular.
The
early coworking spaces in Bangalore or Mumbai would appear old-fashioned if one compares them with
the new trendy ones. Yes, “trends”- they really define an era, and in this case how coworking
spaces should be.
Nearly
15,000 coworking spaces worldwide –the more successful ones, at least—have
really capitalized on the trends to appear appealing through the unimaginable
density of competition. And new trends would again alter the way we see and
think of coworking spaces. Let’s just take a look at what the trends might be
in 2019-
The Corporatization:
Scary
or exciting, it is already evident that the corporate houses have entered into
coworking sector in two ways. In the first case, the corporates have become the
consumers and the second projects them as a service provider. The latter
suggests that the office space providers would meet with tough competition, which
is good for start-ups and professionals. The former case sounds a little
strange, although there could be a lot of possibilities involved. Primarily,
coworking spaces are understood to be meant for small groups of professionals;
whether small companies or independent working individuals. However, nowadays
big companies with hundreds of employees are increasingly choosing shared office spaces to
work in.
It
is natural that any corporate house would want to make the most out of the
benefits of a coworking space – networking, innovation, productivity, finding
talent etc. This is also great for the start-ups and professionals to team up,
find better prospects etc. However, this might lead to the monopoly of big
companies.
Design:
The
aesthetic aspect of coworking spaces –especially interiors- have always been
evolving symbolizing creativity itself. That is going to continue as a trendy
aspect of such social office spaces in 2019 as well. Among many decorative
models, bringing nature to the workspace would become a fancy option. Since
many start-ups are going to be energy based according to many studies, it is
perfectly fitting that the colors green and blue will dominate the walls, paintings, even furniture
of coworking spaces representing clean energy.
Living walls, plants and biophilic designs will be frequently visible
throughout these spaces irrespective of the city and country. More abstracts
and handicrafts will also become a part of many shared office spaces.
Merging with Real Estate
This
trend has already started with developers increasingly getting into mix-use
spaces. For the moment, this is confined to existing buildings that are in
prime business locations where landlords want to rent out or sell the
properties which are open for renovation, and conversion.
Needless
to say, the most preferred conversable is a coworking space. Similarly,
existing coworking spaces also want to tie up with developers to add more
unique features to their complexes and protect the designs from being reused. Seeing
the demand for coworking spaces as workplaces and realizing that these are best
platforms to showcase their own creativity, developers are more willing than
ever to join hands with office space providers.
Some
developers like RMZ Corp and Aurum
Land Private Limited actually jumping into coworking sector to grow
independently, and set new trends.
Categorization
Coworking
spaces getting categorized might sound a little contradictory to the very idea
of coworking, but it is already happening. Coworking spaces for only women,
coworking with co-living and coworking spaces dedicated to specific sectors are
not new. However, this classification would intensify in 2019. Similarly,
global networking between coworking spaces might also experience further
intensification, and that might leave many small coworking platforms out. Apart
from that, coworking spaces + shopping centers would definitely create some buzz. Some
of are just predictions, and some are already happening. Either way, there
would be a sharp categorization of these shared workspaces in coming times.
Some
may sound exciting, some may not appeal you, and some might be posing new
challenges for some, but trends are bound to emerge in coworking spaces like
everywhere else. Better be ready to embrace the nuances, and capitalize on
those to make it big for your business.
