Workspace culture case study: Sella Concept and De Beauvoir Block

London’s workspaces have transformed in the last decade. With the boom in freelancers, tech start-ups, small creative agencies and other entrepreneurial businesses, there has been an explosion in shared office spaces, start-up hothouses, and working hubs housing multiple companies and individuals. In London at least, the ‘one business = one building’ set-up is becoming rarer by the day. 

De Beauvoir Block in Hackney is a case in point. Formally opened by Hackney South MP Meg Hillier in October 2017, the restored Edwardian industrial building currently houses a mix of 26 creative businesses, including the likes of Alexa Chung, Resident Advisor and Assembly and spanning art, music, design, fashion, architecture, as well as providing flexible desk space for freelance workers. The aim of its developers, the Benyon Estate, is to provide ‘a creative hub for like-minded industries so they can benefit from working under the same roof, professionally and socially.’

 

Achieving that vision takes more than providing office space – any working environment that seeks to foster a sense of community needs to create a physical space in which that atmosphere can flourish. And that’s where Sella Concept comes in.