In an era where co- is king and everything seems to be cooperative, collaborative and co-founded, coworking (no hyphen) has quickly become part of the business scene. This term was used by Brad Neuberg, San Francisco engineer and software developer, when he set up a shared, collaborative workspace for his startup in 2005 to meet his own work and lifestyle needs. Today, coworking is a growing global movement and Spain has seen its share of action contributing to the phenomenon.

According to coworkingspain.es, Spain counts with over 200 spaces of the kind in over 36 provinces and is the workplace of over 4,000 entrepreneurs, freelancers and self-employed professionals; in Spain this workstyle is believed to duplicate by 2014.

These commonly open floor plan spaces are meant to foster collaboration and keep ideas flowing for people to really brainstorm, create and innovate; it's no wonder Barcelona, with a strong entrepreneurial, innovative, creative streak, takes the lead with over 80 listed coworking spaces, followed by 67 in Madrid and 14 in Valencia.

A welcoming chat with Venezuelan expat Andrea García, architect and interior designer, cofounder of 021Espai in the Barcelona 22@ Innovation district sheds some insight to some of the values and dynamics of coworking.

BcnIn: When did 021Espai open its doors and who were the founders?

Andrea García: 021Espai opened November 2011, founders are Jerom Tomàs, catalan photographer and professional graphic designer, head of 021Studio and myself, architect and interior designer.

BcnIn: Are there many foreigners currently coworking at 021Espai?

AG: Around 80% of our coworkers are foreigners.

BcnIn: What do you consider to be the most valuable thing a coworking space offers?

AG: Sharing experiences and knowledge, being able to create work through professional collaborative bonds by joining forces between entrepreneurs and freelancers, is the most valuable part of coworking; and of course belonging to a community even when you work independently is priceless.

BcnIn: From what you have experienced for the past eight months, could you describe a typical coworker?

AG: I think a typical coworker does not exist! 021Espai has been like a colorful mixed salad bowl: French, German, Dutch, English, Argentinean, Venezuelan, Estonian, North American, Rumanian, Spanish and Catalan all together spicing up the coworking center. Everyone has different personalities and habits, but they are all open-minded, they like to collaborate with each other and love to laugh!

BcnIn: Describe a day at 021Espai.

AG: Every day at 021Espai is different, our doors are open from 9 to 19h and each coworker has their own schedule, some like to work in the morning and others in the afternoon; it's a dynamic place with professionals from different fields coming and going... On weekdays we usually have coffee on the terrace and on Fridays we always try to have lunch together.

We thank Andrea for making time and opening the doors to 021Espai together with Jerom for us. Coworking seems as close as you can come to having the best of both worlds – being independent while together in a group and contributing to a sustainable, collaborative, community driven workplace.

Welcome to the era of coworking.