Digital 52 1️⃣ - Life post-pandemic at 1724.
Remote and Rural Spaces - Positive Impact - Value Creation
Read the story of 1724 on page 181 of "Around The World in 250 Coworking Spaces".
👋 Welcome to Vang, a small village of 400 inhabitants located in the mountain valley of Valdres, 3h30 from Oslo in Norway. Well known for its beautiful mountains, hiking, and skiing spots, Vang is also home to... an incredible coworking space by the lake: Kontorfellesskapet 1724.
COVID-19 has accelerated the spread of remote working and "work-from-anywhere". Since the release of the book, we wondered if it impacted Kontorfellesskapet 1724 and the village of Vang, and if so how? To figure it out, we chatted with co-founder Eirik Høyme Rog.
*In the upcoming sections, we've shortened Kontorfellesskapet 1724 to 1724, its nickname given by the community.
➡️ A little refresher
Who’s behind the featured space?
As a start, let us refresh your memory about 1724 a coworking space featured on page 181 of "Around The World in 250 Coworking Spaces" that started in May 2013 in Vang, Norway 🇳🇴. The coworking space was founded by four local businesses that met regularly and often discussed the need for better working facilities in the village. What were those businesses you wonder and were they related to coworking in any way? Well, not really!
- Vinjerock, a local mountain and music festival.
- Outtt, a hiking app company.
- Leodesk, an IT consultancy company.
- Innovangsjon, the local business development organization of Vang.
➡️ Key Figures
- Opening year: 2013
- Size when they started: 250 sqm
- Number of members: 30
- Occupancy level: 100%
➡️ Who works from 1724?
Some of the companies you'll meet at 1724 work on:
- publishing books on health and food,
- organizing a local music festival
- photography,
- consulting,
- app development,
If you are curious to discover the companies based out of 1724, check out their website here.
➡️ A little tour around 1724
➡️ Behind-the-scenes
Things you didn't read in aw250cs
"Since the last time we spoke, we've seen a big increase of people moving to the mountains and bringing their jobs with them. The last year and a half of remote work has definitely opened new opportunities for a remote coworking space like ours."
Eirik Høyme Rog, Co-Founder at 1724
➡️ 1724 Today
On a sunny and windy day at Vang, we (virtually) sat down with Eirik to discuss what had changed in 1724 following the release of "Around The World in 250 Coworking Spaces". Besides seeing more and more people moving to the region, Eirik adds: "A lot of other things have changed for us although and due to our location, we didn't feel the pandemic as much as in other larger cities."
💫 4 Major Changes
"We are a small mountain village so there is no big space available for rent around us. Hence, we are looking at building a bigger one ourselves, which is a big step to take. It's also a great opportunity to draw attention to what we do."
"More and more members come to the space when they are in the region so they can have a place to work when they come to their cabins."
Continuing our interview, we looked back at the story we wrote together and a few questions popped up in our minds:
💬 In our initial interview, you guys said “Coworking spaces are extremely valuable also outside of the big cities – maybe even more influential and important for their local communities than their more urban-located counterparts.” Can you expand on that?
"1724 plays an important role in helping people relocate themselves to the mountains in a small village like ours. Especially for those who have their own business or bring their jobs wherever they want to go. It's so important for people to have a place where they can meet others. It's a good way to integrate within the local community as well.
We've seen so many examples of our members chatting over lunch one day and ending up starting a new business together a few months down the line. Our role here is to keep developing an environment where we can facilitate the happening of things.
Today we are fully booked and can't take any new members which is a pity but also the reason why we are trying to work on the new location. Even though we are a quite small coworking space with 25 to 30 members, the impact of such a space in a village of 400 inhabitants compared to a 400,00 city is quite significant. We make the village more active."
➡️ Reflections on Buildingwhich 1724
💬 What has been your biggest learning out of bringing to life and growing 1724?
🛋 Make an impression through interior design
"We invested quite some money and resources in building a nice working environment. The idea behind it was that if we were to be successful with our idea of building a coworking space, we needed to make an impression beyond regular office space. And it paid off. Early on we got attention from national media, like the biggest Norwegian newspaper which came to make a piece on the interior design of the future workplaces and chose us as an example."
👯 Find your one community event that works
"In Norway, we have this tradition to bring our lunch at work, but, at 1724, we make it a community thing by sitting down together to eat and talk with each other. This is where members get the most value out of working together because they are all fully present and not at their desks working. The lunch is really where social gatherings are created and new ideas are born."
💬 What would be your one piece of advice to someone thinking about opening a coworking space?
🕺 Onboard the local culture and twist it in cool ways.
"Our approach would also have been quite different if we would have opened 1724 in one of Norway's largest cities. But, for anyone thinking about building a remote coworking, we really believe in the importance of interior design. How can you blend into the local culture while also being innovative enough so people feel attracted?"
💬 If you could chat with coworking operators now, what would you like to ask them?
If you wish to reply to 1724's question, share your answers in the comment!
💬 Last but not least, what's your biggest dream for 1724?
🔥 "We want to get to the next step in some form within the next 5 years and be able to include creative workers from many more kinds. We'll have an even more incredible community to grow along with."
Member discussion