Individually or in a team, with complete freedom or a structured workspace. Whatever your preference, you can feel at home at any time of the day or night and… always with a flexible contract! Collab, a new brand of flexible office space created by the Torus development group, has opened in Format office building in Gdańsk. The first floor of the building has been equipped with 260 workstations available in various arrangement options, in addition to one larger space for nearly ninety people. Collab will soon appear in other locations in the Tricity.
- Collab is a higher level of flexible office space. We are taking advantage of the experience and success of the Neon Flex project, which we initiated in early 2021 in Neon office building, and are now setting sail heading into the wide waters of the flexible office space sector – says Sebastian Rączkowski, Managing Director of Collab. The pandemic significantly accelerated the development of this sector. Space as a service – a space and work station, is today a service being utilized by more and more companies, and not only freelancers, micro and medium-sized companies, but also corporations that are creating new work models and smaller, satellite branches – he adds.
Flex lab
Collab was launched at the beginning of September. It is located on the ground floor of Format office building, where 260 workstations have been prepared, with the modules of various sizes ready to accommodate from two to as many as thirty-seven people. A special dedicated space with its own entrance and server room has also been designed, which will eventually accommodate eighty-six employees – in the flex segment, this is an offer for a large customer. Collab provides a reliable business-class IT infrastructure with symmetrical connectivity, while offering dedicated solutions for entities with their own IT provider. Roark Studio prepared an unconventional interior design inspired by Dexter’s Laboratory series, and this atmosphere of a laboratory can be felt literally everywhere. Furniture of premium and Swedish design – desks with height-adjustable tops and the state-of-the-art ergonomic chairs – was provided by Kinnarps. Individuals – entrepreneurs or business entities – can register their in-building-run business address.
In a minute at the office? – why not!
Format office building, where Collab has been opened, is located in the business district of Gdańsk, on the border of Oliwa and Przymorze. The building has five overground storeys, and its total leasable area amounts to nearly 16,000 sqm. It is well connected – located in the vicinity of the PKP/SKM Oliwa train station, providing a comfortable and fast commute for residents of Gdańsk, as well as Sopot, Gdynia, and the neighbouring towns. Long-distance train services, such as Pendolino, are also provided there, making the area easily accessible from other cities in Poland, too. Torus is planning to build an additional direct passageway to the train station platform, which will further increase the comfort of commuting and traveling. In practice, this will mean that when getting off the city commute train, you will reach the office in less than a minute.
The office building has a large number of parking spaces available – a total of 396, as well as an extensive infrastructure for cyclists (parking spaces outside the building and specific areas in underground parking lots, along with locker rooms with showers). There are also plans to create an outdoor sports zone with basketball and volleyball courts. The building was designed by the Tricity branch of APA Wojciechowski Architects studio.
Recharge your batteries, look for inspiration
Collab offers also an area for relaxation and exchange of ideas with other “tenants.” No matter what you need at the moment – a break from work, a moment of peace and quiet with a good cup of coffee, or broadening your horizons among interesting people – all these needs can be easily satisfied in the collab space. Visitors and local residents will also be very welcome to enjoy a delicious cup of coffee in the open-to-public café.
Neighbourhood with potential for development
Torus has recently purchased a neighbouring area, where it plans to develop a mixed-use investment on a post-factory site, further enhancing the attractiveness of the location.
- Collab does not only constitute a great offer of offices and workstations, but also a unique location, with a neighbourhood that will be changing in the coming years. Torus' next investment, right next to Format, will further increase the attractiveness of the location and create more opportunities for development, including the perspective of flexible office space – Sebastian Rączkowski adds.
There will be more Collab
The Collab brand will be gradually developed. The next “flex points” will appear in selected Torus office buildings. Early next year, Neon Flex will turn into a Collab work space.
- Although Collab will be a Torus group brand, we will analyse each location separately, creating an individual offer tailored to the specific location, the specifics of the office building, and the respective potential of the neighbourhood. So even Collab itself will be flexible – says Marta Burak, Collab commercialisation director.
