Emerging workplaces in the post-functionalist cities

This paper explores new types of workplaces that are emerging due to the growing flexibility in work arrangements as well as the use of information and communication technology. In addition to home and office, third places, such as libraries and coffee shops, are increasingly used as temporary workplaces. Moreover, there is a proliferation of co-working spaces that are designed as temporary working locations. Thus, the boundaries between traditional urban functions have become blurred; different functions co-exist in the same spaces, and new functionalities emerge as people take spaces into new uses. In this sense, we may call our cities ‘post-functionalist’, ones that are no longer based only on predetermined and designed functions. However, there has been little research on the spatial characteristics of these new workplaces within the city, as well as on the social and relational features within these places. These phenomena have been empirically studied by conducting observational studies and spatial analyses of Café Köket, Meetingpoint and Helsinki Think Company in the city center of Helsinki. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the teleworkers that were found in the three places, as well as with the directors of those public and semi-public spaces. The results reveal new forms of appropriation of public and semi-public spaces for working purposes that have not yet been analyzed in the context of existing urban policies and practices. The findings provide input for future visions and the planning of new workplaces