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Mapping of Young Professionals Introduction Dharavi is home to many industries, from the recycling of plastics to the manufacturing of leather products. These industries employ most of the older generations while the youth have been encouraged to pursue professional education. Today, there are a growing number of young professionals in Dharavi. Although a thriving space for industrial, artisanal businesses, access to pro- working environments in Dharavi is almost nil. This is where urbz sees an opportunity to provide young professionals/ entrepreneurs access to a work- space that Dharavi millennial project sparks collaborations as well as individual growth. Proposal INTERVIEWING In our time working in Dharavi, urbz has for networking and collaboration in order 33 come to believe that the addition of a co- to support enterprise and the exchange of working space can be of great benefit to the expertise amongst the young professionals of MILLENIALS community. Currently, the homes of Dharavi Dharavi and beyond. The project would achieve have just enough room to support the basic this through the creation of flexible, dynamic functions of a household. These spaces are co-working spaces that can truly accommodate ingeniously designed to be open and flexible, the needs of Dharavi’s skilful young accommodating up to 5-6 people within 150 professionals. These individuals deserve a space sq.ft. Unfortunately, these homes do not have like this; they are proven to take initiative and space or features to support the myriad new will be sure to make the best of the provisions professions being taken up by the youth. We at and adopt the co-working space to fit their urbz would like to expand on the possibilities needs. 48% 24% Flexibility to Openness Service Business Taking inspiration from the ingenious spatial genuinely reflects the mosaic of these disparate The service sector The businesses arrangements of Dharavi, we propose a communities. Consequently, the co-working includes professionals range from the co-working space that is highly flexible and space will have the potential to become a working for IT sector supplying of leather open to adaptation by the users. Movable melting pot where people are welcomed to such as Hotstar, to Interior designing. furniture and partitions, along with a broader share ideas and practices through proactive Hospitality sector and Many start-up functional fixity in terms of a dedicated debates, discussions and workshops. as corporate lawyers. businesses are also cafeteria and work environment, combine slowly emerging . well to offer the flexibility of use. Space can be made more productive by enabling use for recreational and entertainment purposes post working hours. Thus also serving the need for community spaces in the neighbourhood. In essence, we want the building to be able to 15% accommodate diverse professional users and 4% 9% activities. Students Freelancing Education sector Besides creating a space dedicated to serving the enterprising residents of Dharavi, we hope The age of students in Professionals working Most people in space can act as an attractive venue for young Dharavi is between as rappers or DJ’s at Education sector are professionals outside the locale as well. Mumbai 18-22 years. The events come under either teaching in is a large cosmopolitan city housing a multitude students interviewed the catergory of schools or taking of diverse communities, and in creating an have opted for com- creative professonals tuitions at home. inviting co-working space for the professional merce. youth we hope to co-create a setting that Program Collaborative The idea of a co- working space in Dharavi is interesting since we do not have a dedicated space to work at our homes. Work environments need to offer both spaces Spaces for collective use will consist of rooms for collaboration as well as contemplation. that are mainly reserved for small meetings My team and I usually visit a co-working space Canteen is a in Oshiwara since they Through a sensitive design approach, we hope and gatherings. Possible uses of these spaces good idea for us travel all the way from to create a balance between private/semi-private could include meetings for startups or other to invite our Thane, Wadala and clients for Borivali hence location and communal ambiences. collaborative efforts, music/dance practices, meetings is a crucial aspect for us. tuition classes etc. Once again, the flexibility For client meetings, people might be a little hesistant to call The organization of the spaces for this project of these rooms will play a significant role outsiders to Dharavi. The location such as T- junction is easier to communicate and reach however within Dharavi, it will prioritize three different categories: since the room will have to adapt to the needs could be a little tricky to navigate, hence the SoloPro, Collaborative and Collective. of the different users that will take up space. hesitation I have friends who Collaborative activities like brainstorming, want to begin a start-up, but there is sharing presentations and ideas will be enabled no such space for An idea like a It should be open overnight them. It’s about time business park would by white-boards, drawing boards, projectors and too during exam we bring these ideas be very attractive preperation days. to fore- front. for people like me. screens. The room partitions can be designed to move or collapse to create larger enclosures As an interior design rm, it will help us if we are able to conduct client meetings in such a space, have our personal oce and also help us in making Professional connections. The space might require a storage I will be using the space. But, to begin with maybe you space for my political SoloPro Collective should provide only the basic meetings. For a month amenties and then add services I can aord a space accordingly. upto Rs. 2000- 3000. A good working This environment will facilitate individuals The collective space will need to accommodate space, a to develop their solo professional projects. community events and gatherings, both spacious one . A space that has access to books These spaces would accommodate individual professional and recreational such as banquets, will be much more benecial. It should encourage the youth of work-stations in a quiet environment. Anyone live music, large community meetings, etc. Dharavi towards academics such from students to artists to entrepreneurs could When needed, this space will emerge around that a culture of reading is In Dharavi there is no library developed. I would need a space make use of these spaces. These individual the cafeteria and amass the surrounding spaces to conduct tuitions which I currently lack at my home. The canteen/ cafeteria workstations are not fixed but movable and to maximize functionality. This will be the most is a good idea, it will be open to various arrangements. layered, adaptable and flexible space of the better if it has a separate place all project. together, like zones. Rs. 200-300 Extra curricular for a day and The co-working space will be provisioned activities such as yoga Rs. 50-100 with good natural lighting and ventilation, is essential for the hourly is a people of Dharavi, good deal Air Conditioning where appropriate and wifi and we do not have coverage to deliver a comfortable working a place for it. The cost for the utilisation of the space would vary from person to environment. person. If the start- up is fresh, you could provide them with some concessions however, groups of people who are well established can pay a hefty amount upto Rs. 10,000 or so Business Model for Co-working space In order to develop an effective business model suit the Dharavi Millennial model as the risks for a co-working space in Dharavi, sensitivity within the business can be taken collectively. towards the socio-economic conditions of the neighbourhood will go a long way. Along with In the first year of operating the model, the a dearth of space, the other pressing issue is fees should be subsidized in such a way that it its affordability. urbz would like to address can meet 75% of its cost at 80% occupancy. this by proposing a business model that makes If this idea is a success then fees should be this co-working space available and affordable gradually increased at a rate of 10% per year. for the young professionals of Dharavi. The Extra facilities like the conference rooms inherent flexibility and adaptability of the space (collaborative) should have a premier rate. will not only make the space available but also Usually, co-working spaces generate their affordable. revenue by a membership model, in the case of the Dharavi millennial project this is partly true. We foresee two types of users, the first are While members will contribute to revenue, the young professionals from Dharavi that can pay larger chunk of revenue will be generated by the a subsidized monthly membership for a quiet floating user base from other parts of Mumbai, desk space, small storage, wifi, printer, coffee warranting additional promotional activities to (solopro). The second type will be a floating be undertaken beyond Dharavi. user base, not necessarily from Dharavi, that can rent AC working/meeting rooms by the hour or by the day (collaborative) or pay an hourly rate to chill, work and socialize in an open space - coffee, water and wifi provided (community). Other modes of revenue generation can be through selling merchandise like t-shirts, music, notebooks, etc to visitors. All of this ensures affordability (subsidized rates) for the members while also attracting people from other parts of Mumbai that would be willing to pay a competitive rate for a central location.

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