Kyiv Coworking Space Rocks!
Published on August 5th, 2014
by Zachary Shahan
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August 5th, 2014 by Zachary Shahan
Originally published on CleanTechnica.
On a cleantech speaking tour of Ukraine, I was introduced to a wicked awesome coworking space in Kyiv, Chasopys. Pictures below.
Ukrainian green incubator Greencubator and solar company Activ Solar hosted me on a cleantech speaking tour around Ukraine last year. Lucky for me, this was before all of the political turmoil there and I got to spend time in Crimea as well as Kyiv. I’ve already written ~10 articles about different aspects of my trip here on CleanTechnica, but there’s one story I’ve been meaning to share for a long time and am finally finding the time to write. As the subheading above notes, it’s about a coworking space in Kyiv that I got to visit and speak at, Chasopys (which means “coworking”). (Here’s the Ukrainian site for Chasopys if you happen to read Ukrainian.)
Coworking is nothing new, but it’s still not that widespread. The idea is that you can go use a space in a shared room or facility and work alongside strangers. Of course, if you use the space enough, many of them might end up becoming friends or actual coworkers. Naturally, there are social benefits that come from such arrangements. There are also big environmental benefits — shared spaces and facilities require less land development and more efficiently using the resources and energy present. (That’s why this is on CleanTechnica.)
Chasopys does things a bit differently than most, however. It has several rooms, each with very different and interesting themes. It’s hard to paint the picture simply by describing them, but hopefully my pictures are decent enough that you can get the idea. Check them out and if you are ever in Kyiv, be sure to visit Chasopys!
“Library”
Chair table on speaking stage.
Roman Zinchenko, co-founder CEO at Greencubator
“Board Room”
One entire wall is a blackboard, making it easy to get up and draw or write something during a meeting.
Lounge
Beanbag Room
Movie Room
“The Park”
This may have been my favorite room. I love the idea and I love the mural on that wall. However, the bench seats aren’t the comfiest for hours of work.
This is actually a balcony next to “The Park” where people can come and smoke (Note: I don’t condone that).
“The Bathroom”
Clearly, one of the more interesting/creative room ideas.
And there’s an actual shower closet in there…
… “lady” and all.
Back to the Library, and Cafe
On one end of the library is the speaking/performance stage that I shared at the top. On the other ends is a little cafe which you can now see in this picture.
And right at the front, across from the cafe, is another blackboard which includes a note about the most important matter of all: WiFi.
Very cool place, imho. If I lived in Kyiv, I have a feeling I’d be spending a lot of time at Chasopys.
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About the Author
Zachary Shahan is the director of CleanTechnica, the most popular cleantech-focused website in the world, and Planetsave, a world-leading green and science news site. He has been covering green news of various sorts since 2008, and he has been especially focused on solar energy, electric vehicles, and wind energy since 2009.
Aside from his work on CleanTechnica and Planetsave, he’s the founder and director of Solar Love, EV Obsession, and Bikocity.
To connect with Zach on some of your favorite social networks, go to ZacharyShahan.com and click on the relevant buttons.