Coworking in Antwerp, now free for every HOC tenant

Home is the first place. Work is the second. For most people in a city like Antwerp, the two have always been separated by a commute, a lanyard and a slightly different version of yourself.

Coworking in Antwerp usually means a desk you rent somewhere else. From Monday, for everyone who lives with HOC, it means a door you already know how to open.

From Monday 9 November, Work of Co is open to every HOC tenant at no cost. You can work there, grab a coffee, or simply change rooms for the afternoon. For everyone else, nothing is taken away: Work of Co remains a coworking space where people can book seats and offices.

It is the same Work of Co that has been running as a normal coworking space until now. The difference is that, from Monday, living with HOC comes with a workspace.

Tenants will be granted a Tapkey for the Work of Co entrance, the same way they get access to their houses. One key, two doors, and the second one leads to a place built for focus.

It changes the shape of a working day. The kitchen table stays a kitchen table, and the sofa stays a sofa. A call, a deadline or a long afternoon of writing can happen somewhere with a proper desk and other people quietly working nearby. Then you close the laptop, leave the work there, and go home.

Ray Oldenburg, the sociologist who named the third place in 1989, split everyday life into three: home, work, and the informal place where you simply go to be around people. We wrote about the third place moving into the first, and how a shared lounge or a kitchen at 11pm can do the job a corner pub once did.

Opening Work of Co to tenants carries that thought one step further. If home can hold the third place, it can hold the second one too.

Not a perk on a list, and not a reason to work longer. A room you can use when the day calls for it, and leave when it doesn't.

Friday Unwind is a monthly HOC evening at Work of Co, built to switch off after the working week. The November edition is on Friday 20 November at 18:30, with board games, painting and drinks. HOC covers the costs, and you RSVP through the poll at the start of the month.

The format is simple on purpose: board games on the table, paint for anyone who wants it, and a room full of people who share a community but rarely the same schedule. A date that returns every month is also how rituals begin. It gives shared space a rhythm.

Federica Rita Terra, a tenant, described HOC's events in her Google review as "not the typical meet and greet", with "a nice atmosphere where you could feel comfortable and interact with other tenants." That is the atmosphere we are aiming for.

If you're choosing between coliving options in Antwerp, HOC now includes a coworking space in the stay. Tenants get a Tapkey for their house and for Work of Co, plus a monthly evening to meet the rest of the community.

We have written before about the step from coliving to coworking. From Monday, tenants take that step with a single key.

Three things to take from all this. Work of Co is free for every HOC tenant from Monday 9 November. One Tapkey opens the house and the workspace. And Friday Unwind, starting with the November edition on the 20th, gives the week somewhere to end.

If you're new to Antwerp and wondering where the work, the people and the evenings will come from, you can find your people at HOC. And if you'd like to see what a room looks like with all of this around it, you can book a room with HOC.

Home was always the first place. Perhaps it was always going to make room for the other two.

Is Work of Co free for HOC tenants?

Yes. From Monday 9 November, Work of Co is free of charge for all HOC tenants. They can work there, grab a coffee and join the Friday Unwind evenings.

How do HOC tenants get into Work of Co?

Tenants are granted a Tapkey for the Work of Co entrance, the same kind of digital key they already use for their house. From Monday 9 November it works like a second front door.

Can people who don't live at HOC still use Work of Co?

Yes. Work of Co continues to operate as a coworking space where people can book seats and offices. Tenant access is an addition, not a replacement.

What is Friday Unwind?

Friday Unwind is a monthly HOC evening at Work of Co, designed to switch off after the working week. The November edition takes place on Friday 20 November at 18:30, with board games, painting and drinks. HOC covers the costs, and tenants RSVP through the poll at the start of the month.

Where is Work of Co?

Work of Co is on Lange van Sterbeeckstraat 25 in Antwerp's 2060 district. It is open to HOC tenants from Monday 9 November, and it remains a coworking space for everyone who books a seat or an office.