Coworking Space Design Tips That Foster Success

Coworking spaces are becoming more and more popular, especially during the post-pandemic era. In 2019, there were roughly 19,000 coworking offices around the world. While mandated lockdowns slowed down their growth in 2020, coworking spaces are projected to reach all-time highs 2021 onwards, with an estimated 42,000 by 2024.

Many businesses are now opting to decentralize their workforces, allowing employees to work fully remotely. While working from home is a huge perk, some people want the occasional change of scenery to a slightly more social environment. This is where coworking spaces come in handy.

Think of a coworking space as an office meets coffee shop meets library.

If you’re a commercial designer and are looking to expand your skillset, branching into coworking space design is a great path for you. This post offers tips on how to design a coworking space that fosters success and attracts the right demographic.

It’s important to offer workers individual workstations where they can focus or simply hop on a business call or a one-on-one meeting. It’s true that a coworking space is, in essence, a space where people get together to work with others, but many people just want a workspace away from home where they still get to sit at an individual workstation or pod and work on their projects solo.

Coworking space design requires open-air work areas. Whether it’s just small tables and chairs or a giant shared table with benches, the idea is for workers to sit in proximity with other workers, thus encouraging productivity. Mingling and networking is a big part of coworking culture, so make sure you design the space with that in mind.

People can’t survive a workday without coffee and snacks. Well, maybe that’s an exaggeration (sort of), but if you want your coworking space design to attract more employees, you have to offer them a self-serve coffee and/or snack bar. Better yet, if your client has the budget for it, you can suggest an actual coffee stand with freshly brewed coffee, healthy snacks, and a full-time barista.

When designing a coworking space, make sure there’s a variety of seating arrangements such as cafe-style padded bench seating with round tables, comfortable armchairs, ergonomic office chairs, booths, desks, pods, etc. If your client is targeting a more creative crowd, for example tech start-up types, designers, and writers, throw in a couple of beanbags, hammocks and/or poufs.

If the locale allows for it, think about creating several different work areas with varying themes. Creative workers are often inspired when they move around and change scenery and offering that in a coworking space will help foster their creativity. You can also create separate zones just like in a university library. For example, a quiet zone (blue), a collaborative zone (purple), and an in-between zone (yellow). Using a professional office space planning software will help you play around with different layouts to achieve the best results.

People are attracted to beautiful spaces. It’s a fact of life. That’s why the more esthetically pleasing your coworking space design is, the more people it will attract, and the more motivated they will be to become members and spend time there to work on their projects. Good design coupled with good function is the recipe to a successful coworking space. It’s your job as the designer to make it all come together.

This doesn’t only apply to shared workspaces, but adding biophilic components (i.e., greenery and natural colors & textures) will make the space cozier, improve overall productivity, reduce stress levels, and increase attention & focus. This can easily be achieved by introducing plants, lots of sunlight, and earthy colors and materials in the coworking space.

Just like a traditional office, designing a coworking space requires you to think about office necessities that employees might need to facilitate their work. Include lots of outlets (both regular and USB), proper lighting, an area where members can keep their belongings safe (perhaps lockers), a dedicated area for printers and copy machines, and anything else you and your client think might foster success and make the space more appealing to a wider demographic.