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Marina Nikolova

Working where new ideas from professionals in various fields are evolving makes you more creative and productive, promises the slogan of the new place for coworking, which opened in Athens two weeks ago and is called loft2work. The idea of coworking is based on the notion that freelance professionals, who because of the nature of their work might not have their own space to work, share a common premise to work together with new people, among which they are able to find new contributors, to exchange ideas or seek advice. One of the advantages, as one of the coworkers Olia Karatza said, is that it is more interesting to work together with more people than alone; and in practice it saves money because it is not necessary to rent your own place. But most importantly, you work in a place where new ideas evolve and joint projects could be developed. The idea is to create a community of people similar to a hive where innovative ideas pop up and lead to a socially useful activity, says Olia.

loft2work is a social enterprise, that is an organisation that applies capitalistic strategies to achieve social and philanthropic goals. In practice this means that loft2work, after having ensured its viability, will reinvest its profit to support social projects.

loft2work is located on a small quiet street in the central Athens neghbourhood of Keramikos and the premise itself is a kind of loft with a large veranda. There I met Olia, Andreas and Zois who are among the first coworkers. Olia is a freelance psychologist and business consultant, Andres is a DJ and cook, and Zois organizes exhibitions for new inventions.

Briefly, this new space is an open plan room of 140 sq. m with wi-fi, printers, scanners, lap-tops, a TV with NOVA channel, board games, music, sofas, a library, tables for work and a meeting room for several people. The prices vary between 10 euros a day, 75 euros for part-time visits per month - 2-3 times a week, and 150 euros monthly fee. The conference room can be rented for 15 euros per hour for business meetings and it is offered for free to non-profit organizations.

Olia made coffee and we sat on the veranda, where Andreas and Zois were, and a pouring rain started outside. Olia continued with more information about the coworking community of Athens. For example there is Jelly that is a casual work event where everyone’s invited. Some Jellies are in people’s homes (that’s how it started) others are in coffee shops and businesses. People bring their laptops and some work, and Jelly provides wifi, a chair, and smart people to bounce ideas off of and collaborate with. Jelly is using loft2work space for its meetings amongst other spaces.

loft2work, apart from coworking projects, supports community schemes and non profit organisations. This decision represents the philosophy of loft2work, i.e. a deep belief that collaboration, sustainability and mutual support can bring about a better world.