Presenting a model for assessing architectural flexibility in co-working spaces (by reviewing previous definitions)

Document Type : Origional Article

Author

Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Technology and Engineering, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.

Abstract
Background and Objective: This paper has confirmed that coworking spaces, as one of the emerging spaces, require flexibility. However, the models presented for assessing flexibility in architectural design face two problems. The first problem is that such models have been presented for other uses such as housing, etc., and the second problem is that little effort has been made to modify and improve existing models. This paper seeks to present a model for assessing flexibility in the architecture of coworking spaces.
Methodology: This research, which is descriptive-analytical in nature, adopts an inductive approach and seeks to extract components for flexible collaborative work units by reviewing and analyzing existing written sources on flexibility. These sources were collected from various Persian and English fields in various disciplines (from Google Scholar and Magiran) and comparison and rational arguments were used to analyze them.
Findings and Results: The results showed that this research has shown that flexibility in the architectural design of collaborative work units can be assessed at three levels: general flexibility (through the ten components of changeability, ease of change, non-disappearance, consideration of uncertainty, the existence of multiple options, coordination with new requirements, no need for permanent changes, reversibility, the need for a force for change, and its solution-oriented nature); general architectural flexibility (through the three dimensions of internal/external; micro/macro; physical/spatial) and architectural flexibility related to collaborative work (at dual organizational and temporal scales).

Keywords

Subjects

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Volume 7, Issue 2 - Serial Number 24
Summer 2026
Pages 453-473

  • Receive Date 19 July 2025
  • Revise Date 27 July 2025
  • Accept Date 26 October 2025
  • First Publish Date 27 October 2025
  • Publish Date 23 August 2026