I’ve made no secret about how much I like Open Space in Charlottesville. While they are still trying to, in the words of a friend, “trying to find their soul” – seeking their own personality as it were, it’s a fantastic concept, and is a space I use as frequently as possible.
I’m a Realtor, so having a great space to work and meet clients is crucial, but not something I need every day.
My question is this – if there were an Open Space in Crozet – in Old Trail for example – would you use it?
What is Open Space Co-working?
For starters, it is going to be a place where I (others, too, but I’m really looking forward to this space) will be able to rent time to work in an aesthetically pleasing, architecturally designed professional workspace populated by fellow creative professionals, many of whom I suspect will either be fellow entrepreneurs or telecommuters who live in Charlottesville and work in other parts of the country or world.
For years, the Charlottesville area (really Central Virginia) has been a destination location; I think that OpenSpace fills a void.
Or, from the co-working wiki:
Coworking is cafe-like community/collaboration space for developers, writers and independents.
Or, it’s like this: start with a shared office and add cafe culture. Which is the opposite of most modern cafes. ?
Right now, lacking a physical office outside of home, I spend an inordinate amount of time in coffee shops … but coffee shops don’t have quiet spaces to meet with clients as well as talk on the phone or Skype. Take some of the people from coffee shops, provide a cool space with conference rooms, Apple displays, great lighting (and coffee, hopefully) – and the possibilities are pretty exciting.
I’ll have access to all of the above – and more – in OpenSpace.
So there you have it – a beautiful office space, rentable by the hour or in bulk.
I see this as being yet another way that Crozet may becoming self-sufficient.
Take a look at some photos of the Charlottesville Open Space.
What do you think? Would you use it?
Update: the GetOpenSpace blog has an interesting story this morning.
More and more people are choosing to work away from the traditional office. Today’s technology makes this easier by allowing us to stay fully connected almost anywhere we roam.
This new breed of worker has been lingoed: a “nomad”, the “mobile worker”, or “worker in limbo”. The word on the street is that about 23% of the U.S. do their jobs outside of the office and this number is on the rise.