Design Secrets That Make Coworking Spaces Boost Mental Health
- Lavinia Lamenza
- Oct 22
- 6 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
At 34, Vivek confessed he seems to have the attention span of a 7-year-old on a good day. He procrastinates more and more and feels the need to have everything figured out while he pushes himself towards his next big plans. He’s starting a new business in AdTech and is wondering if he can do it on his own even though he has the combination of technical, business and marketing expertise to do it.
Some days, his anxiety can feel crushing, and he wonders if he’s not in over his head. He can’t stay seated for more than 20 minutes at a time before he needs to take a break. Zoom meetings cause him to squirm.
Aisha divulged that she didn’t expect to feel so isolated working from home every day as a digital product designer for a large-sized company located in downtown Toronto. She had liked it at first but missed the interaction with colleagues more and more. When she did go into the office, it was anti-climactic. There weren’t a lot of people there and rarely did she see people from her team. At least it gave her a reason to get out of the house and put some effort into her appearance. Lately, she noticed she had started craving certain foods and wax getting worried she was becoming too sedentary.
Coworking Space in Mississauga
When we were dreaming up the idea of flexible office space, we thought of how a workspace specific to this city, Mississauga, could actually help people meet their workplace needs: focus, exploration and ideation, collaboration and co-creation, rest and reflection, and social connection.
We wanted a coworking space that you couldn’t find anywhere else, that would make entrepreneurs, freelancers, creatives and content creators who live in Mississauga feel like they belong because of the work they do and how they live.
We researched design principles that evoked this philosophy – a coworking space that refreshes focus, inspires motivation, facilitates connections, and promotes collaboration. Here’s what we came up with:
Implement daylighting: We didn’t know ‘daylighting’ was a thing, but it is. The idea was to remove any tall barriers, bring in natural light and reduce the need for artificial light especially on the lower level.
Maximize air quality: Our design brings in as much fresh air as possible. We wanted good corners to have greenery throughout the space. For example, we designed to place plants in larger areas such as near the hot desk areas, lounge areas and kitchen areas.
Create flow: We created easy, intuitive wayfinding so members can move from zone to zone, private to shared space, with minimal interruption and minimal frustration. This includes having clean paths through the furnished areas, targeted lighting to highlight social spaces, and signage and cues that funnel people traffic.
Create spots for chance meetings: At its most basic level, a coworking space provides somewhere else, outside of the home, where serendipitous interactions can occur. But these interactions don’t always happen in open flexible coworking space for startups and freelancers — just as many introductions and chance meetings happen in kitchens and stairwells. Designing these less-obvious elements of shared space is key to enhancing these social collisions.
We leveraged the opportunities to interrupt the flow of the space to create paths or spots for chance meetings. Like a rest area on a highway, we provided opportunities for members to pull over and develop productive conversations where interruptions in flow do not interfere with the overall circulation. For example, members might congregate in the common area on the upper level near the windows that face the street, so providing bar tables and lounge chairs maximizes the effect.
Inspire movement: We designed CoLab Mississauga to be a creative coworking space that encourages members to circulate and take the stairs. We’re also planning to provide walking paths around the exterior of the building that could encourage use of the building’s outdoors, for example, for walking meetings which have been shown to increase creativity.
Maximize use of outdoor space: Outdoors is likely to be the next new workplace. This requires more than furnishing a table and chairs. We’re creating an atmosphere out back where members can go to work and feel refreshed while managing glare and providing seamless connectivity to the internet.
Maximize environmental sustainability: We incorporated sustainability principles in the space to reduce the negative environmental impact. So, we designed elements for energy efficiency, low environmental impact, waste reduction, longevity and flexibility, and a healthy environment.
Ensure accessibility: We ensured the barriers to accessibility were removed and that we adhered to accessibility legislation. This was important to us to have an inclusive space.
Have private to shared space: We have a range of spaces with minimal interruption and minimal frustration. This includes having clean paths through the furnished areas, targeted lighting to highlight social spaces, and signage and cues that funnel people traffic.
Impact of Workspace Design on Mental Health
For Vivek who struggles with maintaining his focus while he stresses about taking on too much and meeting his standards of perfection, when he walks into CoLab, the sounds of traffic and city life coming from Dundas Street fade. He’s put at ease right away. He passes the reception desk and uses the west door to enter the space, walking from zone to zone past the bar tables and chairs by the south-facing big windows, past the comfy lounge area, towards his dedicated desk. The community manager has put chill YouTube music on the big tv which he kind of likes because it gives him a sense of calm and emotional recalibration. He puts his things down on his desk and heads to the kitchen area for a coffee. People are scattered throughout the space, some doing work at a desk and some chatting or meeting with others.
Vivek avoided meeting new people because he felt like he needed to be in a better place first, his new business more developed. There are so many spots to chat with people at CoLab that he has started to be open to chance experiences as they happen instead of making everything fit into a goal.
For Aisha who isn’t sure what social interaction she’s looking for, when she walks into CoLab, she uses the east door to enter the space, walking past the steps leading to the lower level, and the big plants that keep the indoor air clean, towards the hot desk area. She picks a desk, puts her stuff down and says hello to the other hot desk members, all from Mississauga like her. The hot desk area on the upper level is free from the distractions and interruptions she has at home helping her be more productive. She likes that at CoLab, she can choose from various spaces tailored to her needs, whether she wants to sit in a lounge area alongside like-minded others doing focused tasks, or in a place where she can make a private call like one of the phone booths, or in a private space to clear her head like the meditation room.
She’s discovered a diverse range of coworking members that can provide her with immediate access to expertise across various disciplines, helping her generate ideas. The social interactions help mitigate her feelings of isolation by offering supportive, professional relationships. The flexibility at CoLab is appealing to her.
Unlike the traditional office her company has in downtown Toronto, with fixed hours, with the support of the Community Manager, she’s able to set her own schedule. She likes the positive work environment at CoLab free from the office politics and hierarchy she found at her office downtown.
We wanted to design CoLab Mississauga for resilience, well-being, and cognitive thriving. The design prioritizes “we” space, shared environments that encourage collaboration over “me” space such as individual workstations.
CoLab Mississauga has flexible common areas that meet five different workplace needs: focus, exploration and ideation, collaboration and co-creation, rest and reflection, and social connection.
A well-designed coworking space can truly help members such as Vivek and Aisha stop taking on more than they can realistically handle which ends up wearing them down and affecting their productivity. It can help them use their time and energy more wisely and allow them to focus on what really matters.
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