You ought to look at the newly published Cool Deals Report: Capturing the New Market in Urban Commercial Real Estate, “to learn what the most innovative companies want in an office and how urban and walkable communities provide it.“

If you’re in Pittsburgh, you should call the publisher of the report, Cool Space Locator, a nonprofit commercial real estate service that seeks out cool space for small and growing businesses, with cool space defined as “commercial real estate in walkable urban

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Tired of the office park, your home office or the downtown corporate office building? What kind of workplaces would you find in a cool town? One would think the author of a book called Happy Hour is 9 to 5 would have some answers, and Alexander Kjerulf does in 10 Seeeeriously Cool Workplaces.

His top 10 list with pictures and descriptions, in no particular order (though location-wise, they may not necessarily be in a cool neighborhood:

1. Pixar (pictured)- You can’t get more creative than

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Part of Starbuck’s loyal following consists of entrepreneurs seeking creative places to work outside of the home, where the coffeehouse with wi-fi makes a pretty good alternative. After all, the CEO of Starbucks will tell you, “We’re not a coffee company, we’re a real estate company.“

At last there’s something better.  It’s called coworking, “the social gathering of a group of people, who are still working independently, but who share values and who are are interested in the synergy that can

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The Grand Rapids, MI area lost 27,000 jobs between 2000 and 2004, but is it looking to regain them by ‘stealing companies from other cities’ like most economic development programs prioritize?

Not so. In BusinessWeek’s Towns Chasing Workers, Not Just Jobs, Greg Northrup, president of the West Michigan Strategic Alliance states, “The old model, where you used to chase people to invest in real estate [ie office parks] might not be the most effective way to be successful. There’s recognition

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Art gallery by day, home by night

So you want to open an art gallery, but don’t have the budget?  Or how about just wanting to have your home double as an office with employees during the day?  The folks at I-Beam Design worked out quite the solution in this Manhattan loft.

The highlights:
- A revolving wall/door that separates the main gallery/workplace from the private section of the house by day, opens it up by night.
- Moving panels that hide your, ahem, flat-panel TV, in not one, but

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If you’re a member of any one of 29 entrepreneur/business networking organizations, this recently opened workplace - The Hubworking Centre (THC) in downtown London is indeed free.  The membership requirement is simply to ensure that it’s frequented by people who are running their own businesses, mainly because people enjoy being there to network with other entrepreneurs.

First question I’m sure is, how does the place make money?  They do so by charging for the following additional services:
-

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While The Work Factory, presented yesterday, is a model for the creative class workplace, how it was established is just as representative of its role in a progressive economy. Once again, in the words of co-founder Ted Randler:

“Last year Work Magazine (Richmond, VA’s slick biz dev mag) and C3 (profiled here) held a business conference call, “What’s the Big Idea?“ We brought together corporate executives, designers, academics and media folks to spend the day in seminars and sessions dealing

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That’s a little contradictory, because the office is your ‘second place’, your home being the first, with your favorite hangout often referred to as the third place.  But that’s compelling the premise behind The Work Factory in Richmond, VA - the office as third place.

From $299 a month, like any true third place, you’ll have literally dozens of places to set up your laptop and get to work, as described by co-founder, Ted Randler:

“Between the community spaces and the meeting room, a $299

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Followers of this website know that we focus on neighborhoods and districts that attract the creative class, but if there ever was an example of a single venue that does so, it’s C3 (the Creative Change Center) and there’s really nothing like it anywhere.

Surprise, it’s not in Manhattan or Austin, but in Richmond, VA, which should be encouraging to cities that aren’t Manhattan or Austin.  Richmond, however, is a growing mecca of creativity itself.

What is C3?  As they say, it’s a “community

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Seems like writers have it good in Manhattan as far as workplaces are concerned.

This one, called Paragraph, is a 2500 s.f. loft near Union Square.  Compared to the Village Quill reviewed yesterday, this one’s 24 hours as opposed to being closed from midnight to 6 am, 365 days/year, though it has only a fraction of the art/community-oriented events that the Quill has. The workstations are more private, though a bit too much cubicle for some - a little translucency would be nice.  The public

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Yep, it’s true, but only if you’re a writer and you know about the Village Quill.  Within the 1700 s.f. loft, you get a workstation with broadband internet and access to a lounge, meeting room and wifi-zone.  The Quill helps foster a sense of writers’ community with regular art-oriented events, such as writers’ workshops, live music performances, author readings, and film screenings.  Plus, it’s in Tribeca, Manhattan, a creative haven itself.

For a more open-ended example, check out the

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Yesterday I highlighted ‘those lucky Macromedia employees’, but they got nothing on those who work at the Affinity Lab, or should I say work and play… and rock…

The topmost images show the ‘Lab’ (as it is affectionately called) by day, with over a dozen or so entrepreneurs working on their own businesses at their own workspaces around a common ‘living room’ (with kitchen.)  ‘Lab members’ commonly collaborate on projects, and every so often they gather for birthdays, goodbyes, politically

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Is your workplace becoming your characterless home?  Is your home becoming your isolated workplace?  There’s no need to be in either all the time, thanks to the proliferation of being spaces: “commercial living-room-like settings that facilitate small office/living room activities like watching a movie, reading a book, meeting friends and colleagues, or doing your admin.“  It’s a specific example of a third place.  I even mentioned being spaces here over two years ago - in fact, it was my

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Since we can’t all be entrepreneurs and artists, many of us need to work for corporations and government.  But when going to work in a cool town, don’t expect to waste away in a cubicle prison.

Check out this demonstration workplace in Washington DC put together by Herman Miller.  Corporate-style office, yes, but no cubicles.  Notice that none of the private offices are along the main window wall - that means great views and more importantly, natural daylighting for all.  It’s also a green

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The previous entry  illustrated the elements a city needs to attract job-creating creatives.  Here’s some of the evidence...

This photo is what’s happening on the floor above The Diner featured yesterday.  As the story goes, a group of entrepreneurs, moving from another creative mecca, New York City, were drawn by the active scene surrounding this now locally-famous 24-hour hot spot, a decision made much easier when the floor above it became available. It was more space than they needed, so

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To best understand the nature of commuting, it’s best to first introduce:

Larry Tesler’s Law of Conservation of Complexity: The complexity of a business process is like energy - it cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be moved around. There is a base level of complexity that can’t be simplified any further. This is related to the adage, “The more things change the more they stay the same” and is the basis for…

Tog’s Law of Commuting: “The time of a commute is fixed. Only the distance

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The workplace alcove is becoming more of a standard feature in new urban homes, as reported yesterday.  Younger people simply can’t afford a separate room just for an office, so alcoves are the next best thing. It also better fits the modern open-plan layout, and the coffeeshop mentality as well.

Architect/author Sarah Susanka began popularizing the idea in her Not So Big House book in 1998, and Neal Zimmerman and Associates AIA is one of the leading resources for workplace niches today.  You

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In today’s evolving workplace of mobile workers, work-at-home entrepreneurs and employees, and satellite offices, the idea of an office park is getting to be increasing outdated.  It certainly isn’t a favorite even in today’s times.  In fact, for the aforementioned workforce, it’s the most inefficient workplace you could possibly design.

From a work point of view:

- Office parks are isolated.  That means you’re wasting one to two of time each day commuting instead of working.  It also means

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For millions, the single, career-driven life is the way to go.  Maybe it’s a phase, maybe there’s a higher calling, but for many, having a family or even a serious relationship is not a current priority.

The Families and Work Institute reports that women’s reported workweek rose to 44 hours from 39 in 1977, with men at 49.9 from 47.1.  People are working longer hours not because they have to, but because they want to - and researchers say there’s no health risk under those conditions.  It’s

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While downtown St. Louis enjoys a residential renaissance, taking advantage of commercial loft conversions in a city with a 15% office vacancy rate, that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s too much office space.  It may also mean there’s too much undesirable office space - who wants to work in a dark building with 100 foot corridors and cubicles?

The prices tell the tale.  As recently as two years ago, downtown office buildings could be acquired for $2/sq.ft. and sometimes for considerably

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What are one of the benefits of being in a workplace full of entrepreneurial, creative people?  You get something entirely spontaneous like High Tea at the Lab.

Take one very creative person recently inspired by a trip to London (no coincidence that London is a compelling place to be), and watch them do the following:

Provide an announcement for “high tea” after work at 4 pm, and play some rather English-oriented music.  Then provide everyone with a menu for tea, sandwiches and pastries,

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The people in the image are the employees of a company in the UK’s Cambridge, just north of London.  Seems to be no rush to get home…

The current workforce generation is fed up with the 12-hour work day - essentially leaving for work at 7 am and getting home at 7 pm because of traffic.  Smart companies like Patagonia are quickly realizing this and locating offices in the downtown where convenient access to mass transit can literally shorten the work day, while immersed in an entertainment and

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First two CoolTown tour stops: Cambridge MA and Madison WI

Next week CoolTown Studios tour will be documenting Cambridge, MA, and how it became the 23rd largest economy in the world, followed by Madison, Wisconsin, the most creative medium-sized town on the creativity index.

The prelimary word on Cambridge is that it is now suffering from its own success, as the immense popularity of the places has caused skyrocketing rents, rents that only retired executives and national chains can

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The CoolTown satellite office

What is a satellite office?  One definition:  A type of telecommute using office locations typically operated by and for a single employer that are away from the employer’s primary work site.

What is a CoolTown satellite office?  A satellite workplace that excites employees.

The image is from the Future@Work exhibit in Seattle, a demonstration of integrated design and management approaches for modern workers.  Notice the diversity of workplaces in one area,

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When should company employees work at home?

More and more government and company employees are working at home or in satellite centers, at least part-time.  Why?

- Companies don’t have to pay for office space.
- Employees don’t have to commute
- Technology is allowing people to collaborate virtually
- Satellite offices bring workplaces closer to more people.  In other words, one giant company campus is close to a few, and far away for many.  Several company offices (satellite centers) are

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