Coworking: a brief history of the flexible office movement

While many of us now can’t image life before coworking, hot-desking and hybrid office spaces, a flexible approach to work has been finding its feet for the last two decades and is, arguably, still doing so today. With projections estimating just under 42,000 coworking spaces worldwide by the end of 2024, it begs the question, where did it all begin?

The conception of coworking

Surprisingly, the first initiative most closely resembling the coworking spaces of today was founded almost thirty years ago, in 1995. Envisioned as one of the first ‘hackerspaces’, c-base in Berlin was created by 17 computer enthusiasts as a place to congregate, work and push the field of computer science forward. As well as resources and technology, c-base (a non-profit still in operation today) provided like-minded individuals with a physical community on top of its digital one, inspiring the inception of similar hackerspaces throughout Europe and beyond.

c-base may not have had the sleek interiors, in-house coffee shop or abundance of houseplants we associate with our more popular, modern coworking spots, but this model was one of the first meaningful departures from the traditional office space. 1999 also marked a crucial year for the movement, with video game designer and ‘fun theorist’ Bernard DeKoven officially coining the phrase (albeit in a slightly different interpretation of ‘working together as equals’) and 42West24 opening its doors in New York. Despite lacking some of the community and networking elements in practice today, 42West24 was considered a breakthrough in the industry and helped to bring the idea of coworking to a wider global audience.

Trial and error

Since the late 90s, then, many iterations of the coworking concept have come and gone, some of the very first being Schraubenfrabrik in Vienna, 2002, and Brad Neuberg’s San Francisco Coworking Space launched in 2005. In London, now-iconic hotel The Hoxton became a hub where creatives across Shoreditch came to plug in their laptops throughout the mid-to-late 2000s, reflecting the growing desire to do independent work alongside others. More recently, The Wing infamously struck out while trying to find its own niche in the now burgeoning coworking market, opening a women’s-only workspace in 2020 that was both controversial and short-lived – closing its doors just three years later.

Is the office (as we knew it) dead?

Somewhat paradoxically, as more of us take on fully remote positions – either within the same country or abroad, joining a growing community of ‘digital nomads’ – many are still seeking collaborative, amenity-rich spaces to work outside of the home. It seems that, after the bout of remote working prompted by the pandemic, many of us realised the importance of clearer work-life boundaries for our physical and mental health; but also, that this didn’t have to take place in a traditional office setting.

This shifting perception of the modern office has also been reflected by a marked trend in commercial interior design, specifically the growing ‘hotelisation’ of workplace projects. Companies are now commissioning more attractive, hospitality-led workspaces in the hope that this will not only entice employees back to the office, but also cater to more flexible attitudes centred around dedicated coworking and collaboration zones. So, as established conventions of ‘the office’ continue to break down, the growing market for local, dynamic and design-centric coworking spaces (especially in urban environments) shows no sign of stopping.