In the modern working world, most people will have heard of coworking, if not have experienced it for themselves. But if you turn the clock back ten years, the picture was very different. When did we all suddenly become aware of coworking, and where did it come from? We tracked down the history of coworking.

A few years ago Deskmag collated the history and growth of coworking on their website. Here’s a summary of what they found:

Pre 90s:

Way before the 90s gave us the modern conception of coworking, the term meant something very different. The idea of working in a community was documented in a number of books in the seventeenth century, all of which were religious in nature.

1995:

Mid-90s saw the creation of the first hackerspaces – places where tech-lovers can come together and share ideas. Today there are over two-thousand hackerspaces dotted around the world, including one in Bristol.

1999:

In the late-90s, the modern definition of ‘coworking’ was coined by DeKoven. The new phenomenon entailed business people ‘working together as equals’, an idea that would support collaboration and innovation. Shortly after, the first office space offering flexible terms popped up in New York City.

2005:

2005 saw the opening of the first ‘official’ coworking space in San Fransisco. The organization was non-profit, in aid of boosting the social lives and wellbeing of local businesspeople.

Coworking also came to the UK during 2005, with The Hub opening in Angel, London.

2007:

By 2007, coworking had increased by a factor of 20 in Google search, and the term became popular enough to merit its own Wikipedia page.

2011:

Larger companies began to catch on to the trend in 2011, a number of which launched their own coworking spaces. This list included TUI, one of Europe’s leading travel businesses.

2012:

By 2012, the UK had taken the lead for the most responsive European country to the idea of collaborative working, with a special focus on London. Over 2000 coworking spaces existed worldwide, and (most importantly) Meanwhile Creative opened its doors in Bristol with the launch of Bridewell Space!

2013:

The folllowing year, councils across the country began to encourage government departments and other bodies to share buildings among staff. This meant less wasted property and more collaboration. The high demand for shared workspaces led to us opening our second development, Bristol Bridge House.

Today:

In 2016, there are now an estimated 300,000 coworking spaces in the UK alone. We are happy to be offering four buildings of them.

The Future:

The future of coworking is likely to contain extensive growth until at least 2020. We hope to follow suit with the launch of coworking spaces in Cardiff and beyond.