Coworking has recently become the new fashionable way to work. With lower costs, more flexibility and less commitment, it makes sense for many new businesses. But how did it come about? This article will go into a brief history of coworking!
The pre-coworking era
Before co-workings officially came to be, there were a few organisations that had a similar structure, which can be seen as the predecessors of the coworkings we recognise today. C-base, a hackerspace in Berlin, was founded in 1995. This hackerspace was community oriented, with free Wi-Fi and promoted free public access to the internet. In the late 1990s, some offices spaces with flexible desks began to pop up, such as 42 West 24 in New York City. These, however, lacked the community aspect.
The first coworking
The most important event in the brief history of coworking came in 2005, as the first official coworking is founded by Brad Neuberg. Unhappy with his job, Neuberg wanted to find something that combined the freedom and independence of working for himself with the structure and community that comes with working with others. To achieve this, he created the first coworking in the Spiral Muse, San Francisco. After a slow first few months, he had to find a larger space to accommodate everyone, and opened the Hat Factory. This space offered free Wi-Fi, meditationbreaks, shared lunches and more. To find out more about Neuberg, check out his blog post here.
2005 proved to be a successful year for coworking, as it also heralded the arrival of the first Hub and the Angel Station in London. From there, more than 40 coworking spaces have been developed on 5 continents, making it the biggest franchise of coworkings as of today.
The idea catches on…
In Berlin, Germany, St. Oberholz opened a café to offer free internet access and encourage people to work. The café appeared in a book, named “We Call it Work”, which described the new style of working created by the ‘Digital Bohemians’ of the internet, and how the way the self-employed work was evolving. This book set the precedent for German coworking.
In 2006, New York’s first coworking space, Brooklyn Coworking, opened up. In 2007 “coworking” got its own Wikipedia page, and then in 2012 the first Global Coworking Unconference Conference was held. By this year, there were over 2000 spaces in the world, cementing its power as a global trend.
Coworkings today
According to Statista, in 2019 there were 18,700 coworking spaces. This number was projected to read 26,000 by 2025. Coworkings are the office of the future, so it is likely that we will only see the number rise.
We hope you found this article interesting. At Coworking Granada Catedral, we understand everything a coworking has to offer. If you’d like to take advantage of our bright, spacious coworking spaces and friendly international community in the heart of Granada, then don’t hesitate to get in touch!