Black & White Building

The Black & White Building is a coworking space based in Shoreditch on super hip Rivington Street. Who doesn’t want to work a stone’s throw from Cargo?! Amiright?! Ok no, but really… here’s the scoop.
I needed a short-​term coworking space very near my flat while I was making the transition back to work from maternity leave. As I was running back and forth several times a day it was necessary that my commute be walkable and also, very short. Also, I wanted it to be inspiring and cool and creative. Not an easy order, actually!
B&W is a building run and managed by The Office Group — and they have many other spaces throughout London and beyond. I only needed the one in Shoreditch for a specific amount of time (3 months or so) — so I just stuck to that and used it as I needed.
The pros:
Location. Space. All gorgeous. In the nice months they have outside space, a beautiful roofdeck with picnic tables, etc. The space is well maintained, very stylish and built for working and collaborating.
Access — key card access so late or early meetings were not an issue and actually the best time to work here as it wasn’t busy! Great area with cool shops, restaurants and bars nearby.
Amenities: coffee and tea, flatware and glassware all provided. Also strong wifi. Alll good stuff for a coworking space.
Staff — mostly helpful and friendly, responded to issues quickly.
The negs:
I was a bit put off by the expectation setting. Early on they told me (before I even began coming) in not so many words, «don’t be here too much.» I never really understood that. Why not? What’s too much? It was always a bit stressful and that was what I was trying to get away from. If I am paying £300/month…if I needed to be here daily, why not? I felt it was a bit strange and got us off on the wrong foot. For what its worth — I spent about 10 hours a week there and definitely figured out there were MANY people using it daily for many hours. This sort of miffed me because we were all paying the same thing. Just a bit strange. Hopefully they’ve gotten their messaging a bit better on that front!
Also, the behavior of other co-​workers became an issue a bit. People would «claim» one of the very nice solo desks (about 10 along the wall) — and then leave for many hours for lunch or meetings or whatever, but leave all their things there. Kind of lame, right? Very. It really turned me off and no one seemed to be enforcing any sort of tact when people clearly had no adherence to social norms or politeness. It was one of the reasons I opted not to renew my contract.
Return of deposit — I had to chase my security deposit return (250 quid!) for several weeks. It wasn’t a huge deal but an inconvenience I wish I hadn’t had to deal with given my responsible use of the space and that I’d turned in my key card 30 days prior. It felt protracted and bureaucratic.
Drop-​in options — I had really wanted a drop-​in option as I was familiar and liked the space. As a former member there are no drop in capabilities. I of course was willing to pay by the day, etc — but not an option. Seems very inflexible and unfortunate that they can’t accommodate different working styles and needs as changes
In the end, I have a very good outlook on the B&W coworking space. I found it very well set up for working and it fit my needs at the time. As my needs changed it didn’t really change with me, so unfortunately I can’t utilize it anymore. I felt it was a moderate value for the money but was often stressed about what was too much time to be there. If I worked solo or as a freelancer I’d definitely think about signing up for this space (or one nearby your location).