The live and work elements of shared office space will continue to converge in the near future, experts said today.
Office space providers will soon be able to create environments that promote an unprecedented level of comfortable working and services.
James Townsend, co-founder of Kontor, said: “They will look like some hybrid of student accommodation and hotel. It’s evolving. WeWork chief executive and co-founder Adam Neumann talks about having a crèche and a funeral home in his offices, so you could live your life through WeWork and come out at the other end.”
Townsend was speaking at an Estates Gazette round table on the future of co-working and serviced offices, hosted in conjunction with Regus at its serviced office facility in the News Building, SE1.
He said that in the future, the sector would be providing more bespoke products that focus on a particular area of endeavour.
“You will see fashion hubs start, art hubs start, and whatever else it might be in areas that are affordable but still central enough to attract people.”
Juliette Morgan, Cushman & Wakefield global tech group leader, said these trends would emerge outside the primary cities, and would be driven by lifestyle offering as well as affordability and internet connection.
“We get fixated with primary cities – San Francisco, New York, London – but actually we’re seeing really interesting stuff come out of Barcelona, Medellin, Amsterdam, Stockholm and Bali.
“If you are a digital nomad running your business from anywhere, then lifestyle and community and people like you are important, so there’s a bright future for places like Auckland.”
Primary cities would continue to be centres of finance, so occupiers’ ability to “dock in and dock out” between primary and secondary or tertiary cities was key, Morgan added.
