Exploring The World's First Flexible Workspace In The Metaverse

Imagine it’s a typical Monday morning. You make a cup of coffee and sit down at your desk. But instead of turning to greet the co-worker sitting next to you, you put on a virtual reality headset or open up the app on your desktop to enter your digital workspace. You can chat with employees at their desks and head into a private meeting room, all without having to commute beyond your home office.

This is the metaverse. Specifically, it is Clockwise Campus, the world’s first flexible workspace in the metaverse. Launched in November 2023, it has been designed as the ultimate Clockwise building, Chief Operating Officer Alexandra Livesey said.

“A huge part of our offering at Clockwise goes beyond bricks-and-mortar,” she said. “Connection and community is a key element that often leads to real business results, including partnerships, investment or mentorship. There was an obvious use case for the metaverse to help us join up our existing members and grow the community beyond our buildings.”

Clockwise Campus was created in response to the growth in hybrid work models and increased reliance on technology for collaboration. In the last 12 months, solutions such as ChatGPT have made artificial intelligence less of a mystery and more of a usable tool, Livesey said. The operator was keen to find a way to use the metaverse to support its physical network of flexible workspaces, as well as create a tool to support hybrid working.

“The metaverse gave us the opportunity to be truly innovative in how we help our members to connect,” she said. “It offers all the benefits of in-person interaction and a sense of proximity to others, but with the flexibility to access the space wherever you are. For the real estate sector, it’s a real opportunity to evolve with how people want to work today.”

Across a digital footprint of 150K SF, Clockwise Campus has four main rooms and a variety of zones for different working patterns, much like its brick-and-mortar locations. These include a contemplation space, an amphitheatre for events, collaborative desk spaces and three long-table meeting rooms. 

Users each have an avatar that represents their physical presence, taken from concepts used in gaming. They can enter Clockwise Campus using a VR headset or via desktop and communicate with others through voice chat or direct messages. 

Clockwise Campus was designed by architecture and design studio MoreySmith. It is based on elements of Clockwise’s physical locations, which focus on bringing in natural light and elements of biophilia. 

In Clockwise Campus, the light has been designed to appear as a “beautiful dawnlike day,” Livesey said. It has an endless horizon of water and a lot of greenery to maximise productivity and wellness. 

“Without the confinements and barriers of physical space, it’s been designed as a sort of Clockwise utopia,” she said. “In our physical hubs, we ensure the light, sound and design is stimulating but calming, we ensure lots of biophilia to promote energy, and we are careful to consider those who are neurodivergent with our wayfinding, colours and features.”

Feedback from members and Clockwise staff so far has been positive. They have been impressed by the execution of the digital design, as well as the avatars they adopt. Connecting with the community across Clockwise’s growing number of physical locations has also proved useful, particularly as the operator expands into Europe.  

Livesey said Clockwise Campus provides an alternative to connecting with colleagues through other platforms such as Microsoft Teams, as it enables closer interaction. Using an avatar gives a greater feeling of proximity to others. Clockwise has brought wellness aspects of its physical locations to the metaverse by providing a safe space for closer interaction.

“We’ve already noticed that people interact more in the metaverse,” she said. “I think we’re going to see this more and more, and in the same way that our buildings become a community for members, so too will the metaverse, only it will not be restricted by location or individual working patterns.”

While Clockwise is continuing to grow its physical presence, the operator is looking to expand Clockwise Campus and its amenities. Members will be offered the opportunity to join a programme of events with a range of speakers.

“We'll have fireside discussions with business-growth experts, workshops with mental health specialists and well-being champions, and presentations delivered by innovators in the digital space,” Livesey said. “We’re committed to securing a really strong lineup of experts and providing a platform for some of the most interesting thought leaders.”

This article was produced in collaboration between Clockwise and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to [email protected].