Tearing down the walls that can block creativity

Big names such as EY are now renting shared office space beside Millennial start-ups. We look at what makes it a win-win situation for both
Rohan Silva, co-founder of Second Home: ‘It’s our job to keep stirring the pot’
Rohan Silva, co-founder of Second Home: ‘It’s our job to keep stirring the pot’
NIGEL HOWARD

Late autumn sun slants through the atrium of the former textiles factory. Young entrepreneurs mingle, picking up free tea and coffee from a circular bar. Transparent plastic walls mark out individual offices, adorned with plants and mid-century Danish furniture. In an area known as the garden, workers adopt the lotus position for their daily meditation session.

Welcome to the world of shared office space. Second Home is a 20-minute walk from the heart of the City, but it may as well be on another continent. According to its co-founder, Rohan Silva, this is a glimpse of the office of the future.

“Our investors see it as the future of work,” said Silva, 35, as he bounded through the wide-open four-storey complex east of Spitalfields market.