Today there are coworking spaces in all major cities around the world. However, it is only recently that the phenomenon has really exploded. Before that, coworking was a formula used only by some companies.
The history of coworking is not particularly long, but it is certainly interesting. In a relatively short period of time, coworking has gone from a small-scale phenomenon to a global phenomenon.
Although coworking has grown rapidly in recent decades, we can identify the key values of this case. The offers that we find today in the coworking market are many, from the smallest space, for a niche market, to the largest space, for a larger market. However, the basic concept remains the same, that is to combine in a single space the independence that one feels working individually with the sense of community that is established working together with a team.
From the experimental workspaces of the 1990s to the present day, this innovative and forward-thinking line can be seen through some key moments in the history of coworking.
1995 – One of the first “hackerspaces”, C-Base in Berlin, Germany, is born. Hackerspaces were spaces where people with a passion for computers would gather, work side by side, support each other, and exchange knowledge, expanding their skills.
1999 – Bernard DeKoven coins the term “coworking” However, the term referred to something different from today’s concept of coworking. DeKoven, a game designer, used “coworking” to refer to the way we work, not the space where we work. He hoped to evolve a different way of working, which involved collaboration and a break from hierarchy.
2002 – Two Austrian entrepreneurs founded an “entrepreneurial center”, Schraubenfabrik, in an old factory in Vienna. The space was aimed at entrepreneurs, offering them a place to avoid having to work from home, where they can collaborate and work with like-minded people. The space included architects, public relations consultants, startups, and freelancers. This space is undoubtedly one of the first forms of coworking and a precursor to what we know today.
2005 – Brad Neuberg creates the first official coworking space, the “San Francisco Coworking Space”, at a feminist collective called Spiral Muse in the Mission district of San Francisco. The space aimed to maintain the freedom to work independently while providing the structure and community to work with others.
2007 – The word “coworking” is seen for the first time on Google, and searches increase immensely. The term “coworking” establishes itself and enters the English version of Wikipedia.
From here on, coworking becomes a global trend, increasingly taking the form we know today, with the birth of franchises with locations around the world.
Working in these spaces offers numerous benefits: flexibility, reduction of fixed costs of renting a private office, presence of a community with whom to create professional relationships, increase in personal motivation and creativity.
A space that encompasses all these advantages and services is belfiore10, a stone’s throw from the center of Florence, with its well-equipped and well-furnished rooms, it meets the needs of its customers. Offering not only offices with multiple workstations, but also meeting rooms and relaxation areas, where you can relax and chat with other coworkers.
