In a Harvard Business Review article on the rise of co-working spaces, writer Piero Formica dispelled the myth that these contexts, which facilitate the sharing of infrastructure, ideas and knowledge, are new. They are, in fact, very old. The Renaissance bottega, or artist’s workshop, of 15th-century Florence saw master artists invite artisans, craftsmen and other artists to collaborate on projects. Skills were shared, talents were nurtured, and new techniques and artistic forms were developed in this immensely innovative transdisciplinary environment.
Six centuries later – and 100 years since a tea warehouse was built in Buitenkant Street – this sense of creative collaboration is flourishing in one of Cape Town’s trendiest quarters. In addition to its address in the East City Precinct – a diverse, gritty, Brooklynesque area with historical ties…
