Pop-up work spaces in vacant buildings

Faithful Springwise readers are undoubtedly already familiar with both being spaces and the pop-up trend. Now a new Dutch company is combining the two by offering pop-up work spaces in abandoned shops and vacant buildings. The SpareSpace Foundation transforms empty inner-city shop and office buildings into temporary work spaces for copywriters, designers, artists and other young creative professionals. Featuring furniture by designer Jack Brandsma, SpareSpace equips each empty space with seven mobile units: four desks, one meeting table, a bar and a fold-out wall. All units are crates that can be folded in and out quickly and easily for instant setup; conversely, when the space is let or sold, they can be packed up and relocated to a new building within 24 hours. Spaces typically are available for several months, SpareSpace says; rental fees are EUR 150 per month to cover water and electric charges. Currently the project inhabits a vacant storefront at the Westerkade 24 in Groningen, the Netherlands. Beginning this week, however—to coincide with the Salone del Mobile international design event—it will also open another office in a vacant building at Via Ventura 6 in Milan, where it will stay through April 21. SpareSpace is a project by Nieuwe Garde, a Dutch creative agency. By making use of space that would otherwise be wasted during the transition from one paying tenant to another, SpareSpace brings the urban office within reach of budding creatives who otherwise might not be able to afford it. The concept should also find favour among real-estate managers, since it keeps buildings from looking abandoned or barren—which can only help get them rented or sold. It’s a win-win all around—a concept to emulate in cities around the world! (Related: Digital billboards revive empty storefronts.) Spotted by: Core77 via RK