Shoreditch Platform is redefining the office space with yoga, gigs and tech masterclasses

Phoebe Luckhurst spends a day at London's newest hot desk hub
Evening Standard features writer Phoebe Luckhurst pictured at shared working space 'Shoreditch Platform' in east London
Daniel Hambury

Today everything is a something slash something else. People, venues and events multitask deftly — you aren’t that surprised to learn that a restaurant becomes a nightclub at 10pm, for example, or that your local coffee shop is also an “exhibition space”.

Still, there are some hybrids that, even now, surprise you. Sure, the restaurant-club makes (some) sense but the office-club is a more extraordinary proposition. Think of your office and try to summarise its “vibe”. “Pretty similar to a nightclub” is not likely to be one of your tentative descriptors.

But that crossbreeding is the story behind Shoreditch Platform, a new space at 1 Kingsland Road, at the junction with Old Street. It’s a two-storey building: the first floor is a co-working office, the second a coffee shop/bar where you can also work, and which becomes a “multi-purpose venue” by evening, with a programme of events from skills-building classes hosted by Women who Code to trance DJ nights. It can also be rented for private parties.

Co-founder Yuval Hen explains that he hopes his visitors treat it a bit like a “members’ club” — the idea being that you set up shop there at 9am and then stay for the rest of the day, moving between floors, finally getting the Night Tube at 3am after the whole place has turned into a pseudo-club. “We don’t just want it to be a boring office,” says Hen. “It’s a work-and-play concept.” It serves breakfast, lunch and dinner (so you have no reason to leave), and there are yoga and Pilates classes.

I’m a bit sceptical, mainly because the last time I tried a work-and-play concept was at university, and I spent the last month there breathing into a paper bag and rueing the time (three years) where I forgot the work part. These days I work from home two days a week and periodically install myself in a coffee shop, where I invariably find myself distracted by other people’s drink orders. So I settle in for a day at Shoreditch Platform.

Certainly, like a café, the set-up is appealingly flexible. There’s no membership fee or desk rental contract. Instead, you pay by the hour. It’s £5 plus VAT: you are given a card which can be topped up online or at the space. You can bring one guest for free. The work area accommodates 27; there’s room for 42 people sitting upstairs in the bar/café area, and 150 standing when it pivots into a party space. From the wall-to-ceiling sheet windows on the second floor you can watch the Overground trains trundle into Shoreditch High Street station.

London's modern private members clubs

1/10

The working area centres on a large wooden table and reminds me of a classroom or library — albeit one daubed in black-and-white graffiti. It was designed by Alex Meitlis, who worked on the interiors for all the Ottolenghi restaurants, including Nopi. “You are renting desk space within an art installation,” says Hen.

This floor also has a meeting room for six people, built of Perspex, and three small booths. “We want to give people a working environment where they feel proud to host their meetings,” explains Hen. “Even if it’s just for an hour.” On a Tuesday afternoon it definitely looks like people are doing so: the Perspex box is packed, and at tables upstairs groups pore over MacBook Airs.

Essentially, then, it functions well as a working environment. The crowd is mainly freelancers: producers, photographers, though one girl has an e-sports business and another trio are the small staff of a fashion start-up. No one is wearing shoes. The venue is also broadcasting tinny Sims-style music over a Sonos speaker, which reminds me of trying to do homework in front of the television.

There is constant chatter: a pair are brainstorming merchandise for their opaque start-up: one of them suggests temporary tattoos. Someone else is talking about “face meditation”.

By contrast, upstairs is an oasis. The view of the Overground tracks is distracting, in a good way, and the room is light and open. There’s a hot barman. I order a third coffee and curl into a seat in the corner. It’s like working in a coffee shop but calmer. There is a gentle, rather than distracting hubbub.

By about 5pm I’m eyeing up the Chase vodka at the bar. The “after-work” concept still seems a little dissonant: after working there all day I covet a change of scenery. Saying that, the passionfruit martini — with a shot of prosecco delivered on the side in case it’s too sweet — is very good.

I stay for a few hours. Certainly, the clientele is not sworn to a nine-to-five routine, and considering it’s a Tuesday night the place is quite lively. Tonight it’s hosting Lucy’s Disco, a regular club night — with its own special pink cocktail — and next Thursday it’s Afrocentric, a monthly afro house night. On December 1 it’s Rhythm Sister, a “female-focused music project, created to promote female-identified/gender queer individuals”. On Wednesdays there are regular Platform Sessions, providing a stage for live music and spoken-word artists.

Shoreditch Platform makes light work of office hours.

Follow Phoebe Luckhurst @phoebeluckhurst

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in