Software In News

Exchange of ideas the key to new beginnings

19.05.12

ÁINE KERR

IN A deserted ground-floor office in a once bustling, award-winning building, George Boyle had her Jerry Maguire “who’s coming with me?” moment.

About 40 people gathered around her in the sparse office space for a “manifesto meeting” in May 2010 after a round-robin email by Boyle. The manifesto motto sparked the curiosity of those struggling in recessionary times: “Making Work Together”.

The associate director at Murray O’Laoire Architects for 15 years had been made redundant after the practice went into liquidation in April 2010. The impact was all the more acute because her husband also worked there. Only two months earlier, they had had their second child.

The three-month-old soon became the “mascot in the car seat” as Boyle’s new creative quarter, called Fumbally Exchange, took shape from that night in May 2010.

The idea was simple: a deserted open-plan office in the heart of the Liberties in Dublin 8 could be rented from the landlord for a small fee and could in turn become a collaborative community and hive of activity for small businesses, sole traders, start-ups and entrepreneurs. It would be an alternative to working at home alone with no human interaction, no brainstorming, no collaboration, no networking, no new opportunities.

Source: Irish Times