Change is a word that is thrown around A LOT! But what is actually changing…? Gas guzzling cars are still being produced and sold, the amount of garbage we produce through consumption is still on the rise and clean drinking water that isn’t out of a branded plastic bottle is getting harder to find.
A quiet revolution is happening in small pockets around the world. Around the world young people (at the tender age of 24 I guess I’d fall into that category) are beginning to rethink the way they work. The shift is not only about WHAT we’re working on (industrial chores to social innovative) but also HOW we’re working (9 to 5 ivory tower to virtual and sustainable spaces).
One such pocket of social innovation is Green Spaces in New York. Roberto Rhett, director and eco-entrepreneur, has spent the last 18 months building ‘work spaces to launch 
green entrepreneurs’. These spaces are generally used by 1-3 person eco-companies that see the immense value in working side by side with other creative thinking environmental start-ups. Simply put, the main value of this space to many is the ability to bounce ideas off each other, solve problems ‘out-loud’ and grow together. Here the days are numbered for the dreaded cubicals and silos of solitude that so many companies continue to build around each other. Instead these are replaced with vintage/reused desks, communal work benches and rooftop gardens.
After only two weeks of beginning to build his second Green Spaces in Tribeca, Downtown Manhattan, Roberto and the team are thinking big without neglecting their strong connection to the environment. At Green Spaces environmental sustainability takes many shapes and forms such as sticking reused carpet samples under each desk to act as a noise dampener (a trick Roberto picked up in his previous life in the restaurant scene). Or investing in a rooftop garden which not only provides much needed insulation to reduce heating and cooling bills but also produce fruits and vegetables that can be eaten by those working at Green Space. Even converting blank wall space into vertical gardens that give the hard working green entrepreneurs the food their brains need, oxygen!
Fluid multi-functional spaces are also a big part of what makes Green Space unique compared to so many of the fluorescent lit corridors of the corporate world. By having a communal work area by day and function area for events, workshops and launches by night, Roberto and his trusty team of interns can spark the meaningful conversations and collaboration between members of Green Space. Enabling the next generation of entrepreneurs to launch their sustainable businesses and careers.
Nevermind 5 years in the future…where would you rather work tomorrow?!
This article was produced for Jody at CultureofFuture & one of her clients Steelcase.
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It is the little things, that make the big difference. I really like the idea of the roof top garden, not only environmentally good but does serve up some tranquility when you work in a city full of cement. I wonder what New York would feel like without central park?
[...] In case you didn’t know Green Spaces is all about…READ THIS! [...]