Yesterday’s post was written in the co-working (/lobby) area of Junction House. I wrote about this space nearly a year ago when it was under construction, but now it’s complete and people like me are using it:

I spent a few hours working in the space yesterday, and it was amazing to see residents and guests coming and going. Some people were waiting to meet someone. Some people were just playing on their phones. And others, like me, were jumping on and off calls and writing blog posts. Later in the evening, it transitioned to guests carrying bottles of wine and flowers.

This was always the intent of this “amenity.” We wanted to create a social space for residents and guests, replicating a bit of the feeling that you might get in a hotel lobby bar. But ultimately, this is the kind of space that will almost certainly evolve over time, depending on how residents choose to use it. It’s not rigidly defined; it’s more of a flex space.

It’s also worth mentioning that this space was designed well before COVID. A lot of people have asked us if this was in response to that, hoping to identify tangible ways in which design has responded to the pandemic. But honestly, we didn’t change anything. Gathering spaces were important before, and they remain important today.

I guess in many ways this is a space that sits somewhere in between a “first place” and a “third place.” It’s almost a first place in that it’s in a building that people call home. But it’s also a more public social environment that isn’t technically home or work. So I’m really looking forward to seeing how it settles in and evolves over time.

I’ll report back.