Cross-Collaboration: 8 Projects That Exemplify China’s Co-working Revolution

Last year, over 500 co-working sites existed in Shanghai and Beijing alone. As the phenomenon shows no signs of slowing down, developers and investors remain keen to build desirable co-working hubs that offer members flexible space for idea sharing. With more and more independent workers and small businesses craving environments far superior to the historically drab and isolating office, emerging models for co-working space offer alluring alternatives.

In designing such spaces, architects must grapple with a tricky set of prerequisites and deeply consider how productivity, cooperation and happiness are fostered through built form.The following projects offer an exciting glimpse into what may be possible in such a challenging realm. Not only do these spaces allow workers to get vigorously wrapped up in their own tasks, but they also allow them to view, survey and engage with the exhilarating work of others nearby.

Jingyuan No.22 Transformation by C+ Architects, Beijing, China

For this project, C+ Architects transformed an old cotton warehouse into a flexible office space for two young internet finance companies. The architect sought to create possibilities for interaction and varying narrative scenes through furniture partitions and natural light control. With three large skylights, framed snapshots of the blue sky outside allow programmers to temporarily disengage from their working reality.

Beijing Yuanyang Express We+ Co-working Spaceby MAT Office, Beijing, China

In preliminary planning states, MAT Office introduced a research-based design method in which they used case studies and analysis to discover a strong flexible space-sharing model. The final design provides a library-like experience while also acting as an exhibition space. As most occupants are in the startup phase of their businesses, display walls allow them to share and present their products in house.

UP Co-working Factory by DL Atelier, Beijing, China

Previously a tofu factory in midtown Beijing, the owner wished to reconstruct this space into an incubator where entrepreneurs, freelancers and startups could access affordable shared space. The resulting UP Co-working Factory blurs the boundaries of a traditional workspace, using indoor terraces, various textures and vibrant foliage to create a synergistic atmosphere.

WeWork Weihai Lu by LINEHOUSE, Shanghai China

Located in a former opium factory, LINEHOUSE and WeWork created this grandiose space, which transports members on a thrilling journey of “whimsy, voyeurism and festivity.” The central atrium, which is encased by a heritage façade, provides members with endless vantage points and opportunities to act as spectators.

Gingko Co-working Spaceby DL Atelier, China

The architects at Gingko Co-working Space stress how co-working spaces must house a diverse bunch of individuals and practices. As a result, “co-working space should be like a rain forest where diversity naturally grows, people in here should feel transparency, inspiration and freedom.” Facilitating maximum flexibility, DL Atelier designed 30 seats in five clusters that can be altered to be private and isolated or shared and connected.

Waimatou Co-working Loft by Naturalbuild, Shanghai, China

Located in a converted warehouse, Waimatou Co-working Loft houses the operations of Naturalbuild, a multidisciplinary architecture and design firm founded in 2011. The resulting design celebrates the historically worn elements of the building, while also using new materials and finishing to create a modern, minimal atmosphere.

SOHO Guanghua Rd 3Qby AIM ARCHITECTURE, Beijing, China

SOHO approached AIM with a challenge: take 270,000 square feet of space already built for retail and transform it into a community for ambitious entrepreneurs and companies. AIM decided to enact a visually bold design, incorporating strong colors and patterns that would inject life into the often-drab mall setting. The final design draws people in, facilitates connection and exhibits the true potential of co-working.

Coworking space tech temple Beijing by johan sarvan, Beijing, China

Previously an office for an old IT company, the main idea for this transformation was to uproot the traditional organization of an office space, with meeting rooms located in the center and work spaces around it. The central tropical garden reverses perceptions of the entire space, creating an inviting common area.