When Soho House, the chic members-only creative club, was founded in London 25 years ago, Macbooks didn‘t exist. The “gig economy” wasn’t a thing, let alone a well-known term. Adam Neumann wasn’t WeWork’s Adam Neumann. But over the next two decades, the 9-to-5 workday died, and the traditional office was dealt a significant blow—in 2019, a report found that 40 percent of millennial workers freelanced, as did 53 percent of Gen Z. (In total, 57 million Americans are now part of the independent workforce.)
At the same time, Soho House founder Nick Jones noticed that his clubs, originally meant to be stylish social havens , began serving as work spaces.. Sure, members flocked there for happy hours and Cecconi dinners. But for every group chatting around cocktails, there was a guy posted up with a pair of Beats headphones and a laptop. (This writer—who is, full disclosure, a member—can corroborate said scene.)
Enter Soho Works.
This week, Jones and Co. open their first U.S. co-working space in Brooklyn, at 55 Water Street. (They initially debuted the concept in London three years ago, but paused a larger launch in favor of opening more membership club locations.)
It’s in the same building as Dumbo House. All Soho Works, according to Jones, will be in close proximity to their existing clubs, and all new properties will automatically have a Soho Works built in.
“We’re seeing how the world changes and adapting to it,” Jones tells Vogue. “We wanted to offer our members a place where they can work—in the same ethos of Soho House.”
They used the same in-house design team that oversees their normal clubs—which means a space full of warm woods, brushed brass, and earth-tone velvets, a mixture of American Craft and mid-century modern design, with a little “I’m a 1970s heiress and this is my impossibly chic New York loft” mixed in. “We wanted to make them feel very domestic. So it doesn’t feel like a workspace,” says Jones.
That said, all this fashion is mixed with function: a television-slash-presentation screen is hidden by a painting. The podcast studio has plush chairs. The printing room has not one, but three chandeliers. And outlets! There are so many outlets! To get around the potentially garish nature of charging stations, they created a line of custom furniture: all the desks and tables have plugs, couches and credenzas have charging pads. There’s an open studio space that can double as a room for networking events, or a workout class: a representative for the company says 55 Water was planning an upcoming Barry’s Bootcamp class.
There are three levels of membership: lounge, desk, and office. Lounge gives you access to the communal areas, whereas with desk you can pay for a permanent, assigned space. An office is meant for burgeoning companies or start-ups.
You also don’t need to be a member of Soho House to join. Prices will vary slightly by location, but a lounge membership at 55 Water Street is $450 a month, whereas a desk membership is $800. (In comparison: a desk membership at NeueHouse in Madison Square is $1,500. One at WeWork’s Dumbo location is $520.)
This year, the company will open more Soho Works properties in New York, London, and Hong Kong. Jones tells Vogue that Berlin and Barcelona are also on the horizon. Will freelancers trade the comfort of their home for a haute coworking space? He’s bullish: “We’re creatures who want to be surrounded by people.”