When I first laid eyes last week on the buildings that will house the Caroline Collective, a new co-working space I wrote about last month, I was not impressed. Rice University graduate students Matthew Wettergreen and Ned Dodington hope to have a “soft opening” in May and a grand opening June 1, but they’ve got a long way to go. Put simply, the place is a mess.
In a blog post, software developer and online marketing guru Ed Schipul called it “uninhabitable“.
Ed Schipul
The Caroline Collective: Not much to look at right now, but just wait. |
Indeed, Wettergreen and Dodington have been hesitant to let many people see it, but I’m glad they finally let Houston Chronicle reporter Corilyn Shropshire and me in for a quick tour. The physical aspect of the Collective’s brick, ’70s-era building may be a work in progress, but the idea is intriguing, and even more interesting is the support it has received from Houston’s online community.
In fact, it’s more proof that online relationships can have powerful results in the 3D world.
The building at 4820 Caroline used to house a medical supply company that specialized in prosthetics. It’s actually two buildings — one will be a place for more traditional workers; the other will feature studios and spaces for artists and musicians.
While the smell of mold is pervasive, wires dangle from the ceiling and trash is strewn on the floor in many rooms, you can see lots of evidence of work having been done. There’s fresh paint on many of the walls, and some rooms have been cleaned and cleared. And when you talk to the principals about the project, there’s plenty of energy — clearly, it’ll get done.
The north building will have two primary areas — a row of offices, all but two of which have been spoken for, and an open area where people can work together. Dodington, who is an architecture student, has designed desks on wheels that can be rolled together to make a group workspace in the open area, or set apart for individuals.
But this is not your father’s office space. Wettergreen calls it a “hippie executive suite”. The concept: It’s a place where people who normally work in isolation can come together to brainstorm, feed off each other’s energy, maybe even make a deal or two. It’s networking, collectivism and, when the working day is done, a party.
There will be movies shown on the outdoor patio some evenings, spirits stocked in the kitchen, and “rocking out” after hours, he says. During working time, though, decorum will be enforced.
Anyone can drop by, open up a notebook computer and use the Wi-Fi to work, for free. But paying $175 a month will get you access to more services (and the booze in the kitchen). For $300 a month, one of Dodington’s desks can be reserved for you. Want one of the remaining offices? Negotiate that price with Wettergreen and Dodington.
Many of those who have already done so are part of Houston’s dynamic Web 2.0 and blogging communities. According to Wettergreen, the tenants include Christine Tremoulet, the Big Pink Cookie blogger and wedding and lifestyle photographer credited with giving WordPress its name; social media consultant Erica O’Grady; and Web designer Tracey Lee Wallace.
All these folks know each other from their online presences, Twitter and through blogging meetups. Twitter, says Wettergreen, has been a big factor in helping build the relationships needed to get the Caroline Collective project moving forward.
“Twitter quickens friendships,” he says.
In fact, after a meetup of Houston Twitter users on Saturday, several trekked over to Collective to take pictures, and you can see pictures taken from that field trip on Flickr.
You can see that, at the moment, it doesn’t look like much, but don’t let that fool you. What you’re actually seeing is an online community coming together in the physical world, hoping to turn a good idea into reality.
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