Station F, Paris
Change at an ever-accelerating pace is the new normal. The world’s largest start-up campus opened this August operating a whole entrepreneurial ecosystem under one roof.
With Emmanuel Macron and the project’s billionaire founder Xavier Niel at its opening, Station F is located in a 1920s railway depot the size of the Eiffel Tower and has room for 1000+ companies. There will soon be a housing extension with 100 co-living apartments, 1 sports center, 1 café, and 1 private lounge bar.
This is no longer a periphery industry. WeWork was deemed to be worth $20 billion at its last investment round. NeueHouse, known for its art and design installations, opened a co-working office in NYC 5 years ago and quickly attracted members from film, fashion, design, publishing and the arts. Members of its second venture in LA will have access to repurposed sound stages and recording studios. The Wing, a co-working space for women, is opening 3 new locations in addition to its flagship near NYC's Flatiron Building.
The success of co-working concept is indicative of a whole raft of economic, cultural, and social changes. The World Economic Forum predicts that 65% of children entering school today will work in new job types that don’t yet exist. Alongside amenities such as public green spaces, we will get more used to seeing innovation spaces everywhere.
Sources: WIRED (June 29, 2017) | Monocle (Issue 108) | World Economic Forum (The Future of Jobs) | Image: Station F | Patrick Tourneboeuf