Alex Hillman answered a question pertaining to the importance of design for community. How important is the design of a space? Alex recalled a time he went to Liberty Village, a collection of condo buildings lining the streets of a neighborhood in Canada. The separation of the buildings is the opposite of what he thinks of when he thinks community building. The design of the condos actively divides them. Unless you are a resident of the building, you cannot enter…
Coworking
Alex Hillman Podcasts Episode 39: Burnout
Sam Abrams and Alex Hillman talked about burnout. Recognizing Burnout Burnout can take different forms depending on the person and time. When burnout starts to happen, there is a sort of shut down in communication that occurs. People do not know how to help when you tell them what is wrong. When there is no communication, you start to assume people know what you need and then get frustrated when they do not deliver. This causes even less communicate and…
Alex Hillman Episode 38: Career Change
Alex Hillman answered question pertaining to his own decision to switch careers. Why did you switch your career path? If you are looking to leave your day job to start a coworking space, it would be very helpful to keep some consulting on the side. This way you can make sure there is an ecosystem you can work in. You have the ability to be in control of your income while building the coworking space. If the space is not…
Alex Hillman Podcasts Episode 37: Government Involvement
Alex Hillman discussed what coworking spaces offer a city and how it's value can and should be shared with those investing in them. Government Involvement Whenever cities want to get involved with coworking, it is usually because they see economic growth being generated by them. The trouble is that they do not understand why. There are patterns that bring people together and make it different from other businesses. The problem with large, funded innovation centers is that when governments want…
Alex Hillman Podcasts Episode 45: Adapting Culture and Space
Alex Hillman talked to Raechel French, a K-12 educational space planner. She gave her insight into the collaborative process she uses to design innovative schools which can be applied to coworking. Humans and the environment have a symbiotic relationship. Raechel focuses on how the architecture impacts teaching and learning. Goal Her goal is to transform every square foot of a school into a space for learning. This really breaks beyond the four walls. There is a huge shift towards…
