In a hybrid city, people not only communicate in a different way, there are also opportunities to change your way of working. Xindanwei (latterly ‘new work unit’) is a collective workspace in Shanghai where individuals can work together.
According to Liu Yan, founder of Xindanwei, work in the hybrid city will be more decentralized and individualized.
workers in the old days
The future of work will be about coordinating, cultivating and collaborating: Coworking. Wiki:
Coworking is a style of work which involves a shared working environment, sometimes an office, yet independent activity. Unlike in a typical office environment, those coworking are usually not employed by the same organization. Typically it is attractive to work-at-home professionals, independent contractors, or people who travel frequently who end up working in relative isolation.[1]
workers in the new days (attending the conference)
So what does Coworking in the hybrid city look like?
- It is flat: the location of work does not longer matter, it is about communication
- It is dynamic and on demand
- It is measurable, so it will lead to a better productivity
- It is a community, so it is about participation and peer-to-peer
Popoever from Brandigg explains why the concept of Xindanwei works.
- Its capability to let people work independently and alone
- People can try to startup their company
- It responses to the raising unemployment
- The young generation has a more open mind.
The basic concept behind Xindanwei is sharing. To share can be translated as fenzi, which actually means being a shareholder.
The sharism philosophy is based on the notion that sharing leads to a new form of social capital.
Participants in Xindanwei can gather shares through checking in, participating in an event or contributing to an online discussion. The website of Xindanwei shows the shares of each participant. According to Popover, Xindanwei is not a so-called SOHO (small office / home office); he likes the term MOCO, Mobile Office City Office better. The advantages for him are clear: social activities, meeting interesting people, real connections with people, saving energy, sharing of knowledge and getting rewarded – all in the presence of beautiful women.
Video below: talk by Liu Yan at ‘Designing the Hybrid City’
Video below: talk by Popoever at ‘Designing the Hybrid City’