I need space: co-working in Canberra

Posted on 16 September, 2014

Much is asked of employees these days – to be creative, to be adaptive, to be motivated, to balance work and life and in return employees ask much of their workplaces – flexibility, more opportunities and greater collaboration.

Yet the very backdrop where this transaction takes place often takes a backseat – the workspace itself.

Many of us have spent time in a cubicle of despair – where the muted colours and synthetic walls of our tiny work environment do little for creativity and vitality but everything for an efficient politically correct décor.

Major corporates, small consultancies and creative startups alike have cottoned on to the fact that the spaces where we work need to be more enriching and conducive to collaboration.

In the warehouses of Sydney’s Surry Hills, in the heart of Melbourne CBD and now in Canberra, co-sharing and collaborative workspaces are opening their doors and desks to a different way of working.

Last year the Museum of Australian Democracy experimented to co-sharing workspaces, with more opportunities to come later this year, and now The Studio in the suburb of O’Connor is bringing together freelancers and start-ups to a light filled and well designed space.

“We work hard to strike the right balance between space to pursue your own projects whilst being deliberate about creating opportunities for collaboration,” said Byron Little, Community Manager of The Studio.

For some Canberra public servants looking to redundancies as the catalyst to start their own business, spaces like The Studio could offer an alternate work environment to the home office.

It can be isolating working from home or struggling to start up your business idea, places like The Studio offer an opportunity to feel connected with people who share a similar philosophy to work.

‘ Girl Friday, Anne McAffee says with clients all over the world including Australia, having a desk at The Studio along with a home office allows her to have the best of both worlds.

“We looked at several option for office space but it was the vibe and the people that convinced us to work from The Studio,” she says.

“It’s a cost effective way to have a beautifully fitted-out workspace with readily available access to all the typical office needs.”

Offering a great level of both social and professional interaction, Anne says that the opportunity to collaborate with others weighed heavily in the decision-making.

“We have already collaborated on projects with copy writers and designers from The Studio,” she says.

“These collaborations go both ways in a social and productive environment.”

The ethos of The Studio is fantastic, the vibe is great and the other members are interesting and diverse.

Creative start ups, entrepreneurs and small consultancies seem be the early adopters of the co-sharing trend in Canberra but big corporates like Deloitte, NAB and AMP have taken to the trend as a way to foster innovation, have richer face to face interactions with clients and employees and ultimately improve staff retention.

It represents an opportunity for the public service to rethink how it collaborates and to rethink … the décor.

the essentials

The Place: The Studio

Where: Level 1, 3 Sargood Street, O’Connor

Type of space: Co-working, design studio, hot desk, office space, photography studio

Lease duration: One hour to 6+ months

Price: $150 per week