Our tour in Lisbon got so much attention from the north of the country, that we just had to do another one in Porto, the second largest city in Portugal (still 2123 km further south than Helsinki).
Porto breathes history (this ancient port later gave its name to the whole country), but it is also full of fresh modernity. It has been awarded as the best startup-friendly city in Europe.
Looking for love in all the right places
We started the planning in the same way as with the Lisbon tour; with a Facebook post to connect with people, spaces and good projects between Caldas da Rainha (our basecamp) and Porto. This time we also made sure to interview our hosts and make a video in each space we visited, to give you a better idea of the spaces.
One thing that unites our team is the love for riding bicycles. However, Pedro is the one who goes crazy with it, and so he had the great idea of riding all the way to the north ( the rest of the team chickened out and followed by car) and visit coworking spaces on the way. He was warmly welcomed by tens of people, and got to visit and work from five very cool spaces — Base cowork in Leiria, Nest Collective in Coimbra, Fusion Cowork in Aveiro, Porto i/o in Porto and Dinamo10 in Viana do Castelo.
In the meanwhile, Jyri, a friend of ours, was also traveling by bicycle, to Portugal from Finland. To celebrate his arrival, we welcomed him in Viana do Castelo (~75 km north of Porto) with the good people from the collaborative space Dinamo10 before hitting the actual Common places tour in Porto.
At the Base cowork in Leiria (image: Pedro Reis)
Entering into a market where the freshness doesn’t refer only to the vegetables and fish, but also to coherent, up-to-date design is so exciting.
In this fish market, we found our first pit-stop - The New Digital School. Next to it, you can find more creative startups and workshop spaces, all open with glass walls to peek into.
The contemporary, color-spotted space makes curious people knock on the door to know more (yes, this really happened while we were visiting them). TNDS is a 12-month program with a student-led approach to digital design. There are no requirements for degrees before applying, you just need a passion for design and a thirst for learning by doing.
Right after our visit, they moved into even more amazing premises - the Founders Founders house - a former criminal court in the city center, that has today been renovated to be a kind of hub for companies and projects and also an event location. (You are ought to behave well while visiting; they kept the old cells in the basement…)
Video: https://youtu.be/X1yCGckg9G4
Matosinhos market place (image: Ana Varela)
The New Digital School (image: Ana Varela)
It’s not about work anymore
One of the three Porto i/o coworking spaces, Porto i/o Seaside, is located in the middle of Matosinhos near to the sea and the beach, the cycle path and all the services. Our host’s — Ruba — big shining smile welcomed us right at the door. The completely renovated building has industrial looks leaving the wooden beams, floor and ventilation tubes exposed by the side of enormous windows. Big, open shared space swallows inside of it another little house that offers more private workstations for the ones looking for more privacy. Downstairs is a cozy kitchen with the perfect lounge for relaxed meetings or checking the email. For the sporty commuters, there is a shower to pop into. The community in these workspaces is small and intimate forming one large family, especially for the foreigners living in the city.
Video: https://youtu.be/OI6FippnvBA
Porto i/o Seaside (image: Ana Varela)
The sweetest coworking space in town
At the time of our visit, a brand new coworking was under construction, and we got the privilege to peek in the building site. An ambitious couple (that’s how we like it), Helder and Inês, from Synergy coworking, have built a very interesting concept that is divided into three amazing floors. The street level with a big terrace in the back is an ice cream haven where they produce their own handmade produce (If you’re not into collaboration, drop by at least for a cone). The second floor down is more traditional, open coworking space with tables on one side and some private offices for meetings/teams on the other side. The bottom floor has a fully equipped workshop. The other side is an open area for multi-use, for example for classes and workshops, screenings, gaming events, yoga, theatre rehearsals etc. The back of the space opens to a surprisingly quiet, green grassy garden for relaxing (the street where the space is located is very busy and loud).
Video: https://youtu.be/lBJQdns8IBU
Construction site of Synergy coworking space (image: Ana Varela)
Black sparrows on the patio
Once you open the door of CRU in the heart of the art-district (Bombarda Art District), you’ll find a little shop with curated Portuguese art and design products from stickers to clothes. But it certainly doesn’t end here. Once you hit the back of the shop, you will see a long space that is divided into several sections (shared tables, tables for residents, ateliers, fully-equipped kitchen) with different uses. Wooden storage shelves divide the space clearly and make the space warm (important to add that this space actually was really warm, which is definitely not normal in Portugal during the winter months). An amazing big patio in the back lets you have a refreshing rest or maybe a herb to add to your lunch. The space continues in the basement as multi-use areas (meetings, photography, workshops…) As a cherry on top of the pie, this space is pet and bike-friendly!
After all the visits in coworking spaces, half of our team returned to Porto i/o Seaside for meeting up with other coworking heads on the Cowork Buzz, the Portuguese event dedicated to all things coworking. Two days full of learning by sharing in an intimate small group. The main idea of this event is to bring the community together, share experiences, unite and grow the fields of coworking and coliving. Our Pedro got the chance, to share the stories from his bike tour and to talk about the state of coworking in Portugal.
Coworking Buzz at Porto i/o Seaside (image:Pedro Reis)
The magic potion in making a great space
We had the opportunity to test one more (free) workspace; the Municipal Library “Almeida Garrett” in the gardens of Palácio de Cristal. It’s a very nice open space with a lot of movement (talk about the interesting use of third spaces; we saw a group of yogis heading out from the library after their class) by all ages (plenty of students), and the best is the walk in the garden when you need a break.
It is always extremely inspiring, to see new spaces and talk with new people. Learn about the differences and similarities in this type of projects. Once again, as on our Lisbon tour, or throughout the years we have been working with spaces for collaboration, we confirmed the component that makes great spaces great; the people. The one that sits next to you every day and the ones you meet occasionally. The people, not the walls nor the fancy furniture, nor the free coffee. The people.
At Cru coworking space (image Pedro Reis)
Written by the people from Komuhn
http://www.basecowork.net/
http://www.nestcollective.co/
https://fusioncowork.com/
http://thenewdigitalschool.com/
http://www.founders-founders.com/
https://www.facebook.com/foundersfounders/
http://www.synergy-coworking.com/
http://cru-cowork.com/en/
http://bmp.cm-porto.pt/bmag
