We got word that WeWork is making too much noise, literally…and also metaphorically.
The coworking magnate has received some noise complaints from members in its NoMad, New York location.
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Thread on WeWork’s internal social platform
Though we all appreciate big windows and natural sunlight, WeWork mightโve forgotten to think about sound and noise when making office design decisions. This is what we gather from the complaint, which blames the amount of glass in the space as the culprit for generating more noise than necessary.
Unfortunately, NoMad isnโt the only WeWork location suffering from this evil. Comments in the thread state that WeWorkโs Berkley location, as well as Fort Point in Boston also have had some noise issues.
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To be fair, however, this is an issue thatโs affecting many coworking spaces.
Noise has been a topic of debate surrounding the industry ever since the open-space designs became the norm when designing coworking spaces.
While weโve seen architects, designers, and workers in favor of this trend defending that noise can be managed through material use and layout, weโve also had several warn us against much too open spaces.
Regardless of which side youโre on, the fact remains that itโs an issue that many are having to address and emerging operators should learn from these situations.
Coworking is booming: more people in coworking spaces = higher noise levels, and operators will need to ensure that noise levels will not prevent clients from successfully working.
Unfortunately, if youโre a WeWork member, ensuring noise levels donโt distract or bother you will be up to you.
From the comments we can deduce that WeWork is going to give you some suggestions on how to deal with this, but theyโre not going to take care of it for you (at least–we think–they wonโt be redesigning anytime soon). ย
As for the other type of noise, WeWork has been buzzing in the news over for several weeks now.
Theyโre raising $750 million in debt financing and they displaced an anti-eviction group to make room for more startups in their space. Rumor also has it that they might have their eyes set on Shanghai, that theyโre expanding in Downtown Brooklyn, that they took 110,000 sq. feet from Colgate to increase their space in NYC, and that theyโre conquering London by adding another 1 million sq. ft. to its portfolio with locations on City Road, Waterhouse Square, and Docklands.
So not all noise is bad noise, right?
Headlines mentioned from Business Insider, the Real Deal, Workplace Insight, and Commercial Observer.
