Glass doors, shop windows on the ground floor. Behind the glass, large tables like those at banquets in days gone by. But there's no wine on tap, no laughter galore... Just faces concentrating on screens and nimble hands fluttering over keyboards. Housed in old warehouses, these new-style offices, lit up with warm garlands hanging from exposed pipes, abound in Brooklyn, everywhere from Park Slope to Dumbo...
The phenomenon of coworking spaces is no secret here. Everyone knows a programmer, a web designer, a fashion designer or a 'simple' entrepreneur who makes good use of them. "In New York, flats are so small that, when you're a freelancer, it's almost salutary to be able to see familiar faces every day in a spacious place. It's a bit like going to the office, only better."Jody Stein, a woman in her thirties whose project is to create an unconventional art gallery. A place where you can come to work, whether you're an artist or not. In the hip neighbourhood of Williamsburg, there are dozens of these hybrid spaces, halfway between a trendy café and a designer office. One of the best known is called The Yard. With his lumberjack shirt and deliberately unkempt beard, Andy explains how he became inspired to run this space since its creation in 2011. "I liked the idea of emulation and diversity. People work here, but they're not limited to one field: there are Internet programmers and application developers as well as estate agents, musicians and photographers."says the young man. In all, 240 people have opted for the daily grind in one of the 96 'cubicles', which can accommodate from one to ten people, or sit at the communal table in the entrance hall, above which a monumental, flashy fresco depicts Manhattan and Brooklyn in a stylised version. Among the success stories developed within these walls is the e-taxi platform Uber, a system that is extremely widespread in New York. So The Yard intends to conquer Manhattan via the Lower East Side. The pretty French brand Kusmi Tea has just set up offices here for its New York launch. "Maybe it's because we offer a productive environment with free coffee all day long"Andy laughs.
COMMUNITY OF SPIRIT
The other characteristic of these cool business-style offices is that they create a sense of belonging to a community. Makeshift, the most recent example and undoubtedly the most design-led of them all, is a place not only to work, but also to meet potential partners. Anchored in the rapidly changing Hope Street micro-neighbourhood, also in Williamsburg, this concept, which originated in San Francisco, has taken over a former pencil factory dating back to 1907. "What makes us different from other places like this is that we cater mainly for creative people and emphasise community spirit."explains Bryan Boyer, co-founder of Makeshift Brooklyn. As an architect, he also designed this highly poetic, yet flexible and versatile environment, where the conference room can suddenly be transformed into a theatre stage. "You don't just come to sit at a desk because you don't have enough space at home, but also to forge links, be at the heart of the action and find inspiration by strolling around the neighbourhood or having a coffee across the street.".
At 66 Hope Street, to be precise. Because you have to be from the neighbourhood to know that when you climb to the first floor of an old brick building, you enter a living room reminiscent of a chalet. Amidst the green plants, you work, computer on your knees, on animal skins and wooden benches in the style of Swiss mountain pastures. Because the owner is from Zurich and he's managed to reinvent a studious atmosphere that's both urban and mountain.
RECYCLING AND NEW IDEAS
If you venture further inland, crossing the borders of Williamsburg to reach Bushwick, the atmosphere changes completely. In this new, slightly run-down Soho, where minimalist cafés are slowly colonising old suburban houses, you reach Bat Haus, a space that opened in June 2012. More rudimentary than all the others, but in the image of the neighbourhood, it's also more affordable. We reflect in the former garage of a plumber that a group of friends have equipped with large salvaged tables and beautiful industrial lamps. "Most of the people who come here are locals, but some come from other boroughs, because they want to feel like they're going to work, even if it's far from conventional."says Cody Sullyvan, co-founder and writer. If you want to try your luck, a seat at the big table here costs just 20 dollars a day... In other words, not much to launch a start-up which, in a few years' time, may be worth millions.
