Every Workbar member knows how to reserve conference and meeting rooms through the internal digital platform, but few souls know the origin story behind all of the reservable room names. By any other name they'd still be the same, but since they reflect the values and culture of the coworking space, Workbar put a lot of thought into them.
As a nod to the collaboration intrinsic to coworking, the first reservable rooms in Workbar Boston and Cambridge were named after famous partnerships and collaborations. Here's the back story:
Workbar Boston Reservable Room Names
"Wave Machine"
Amar G. Bose and William R. Short changed the speaker industry forever when they partnered to create the Waveguide loudspeaker system. Bose founded the Framingham-based company in 1964, and the duo's innovation won the Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation's Inventor of the Year award in 1987.
"Ringer"
"Mr. Watson - come here - I want to see you." Thomas A. Watson came running around the corner at Alexander Graham Bell's behest, proof in action that their telephone invention worked. This message, the first ever canyouhearmenow?, was entered into Bell's diary on March 10, 1876 and transformed the future of communication. While Bell gets much of the credit and fame, the telephone was actually the result of a collaboration between the two men - Watson was an accomplished mechanical engineer that designed significant portions of the early telephones.
"Jazz"
The 1956 Jazz collaboration of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong produced one of those albums you've got to hear before you die, Ella and Louis. The collaboration had such chemistry that they recorded two follow-up albums in 1957 and 1959, the classics Ella and Louis Again and Porgy and Bess
"Thunderbird"
"Thelma & Louise" made cinematic history in 1991 with its portrayal of two daring heroines going off the deep end in a - you guessed it - 1966 Ford Thunderbird. Both Thelma and Louise and the team that created the first Thunderbird were famous for collaborating.
Workbar Cambridge Reservable Room Nom de Plumes
"Radioactive"
The husband/wife team of Marie and Pierre Curie shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics for their pioneering research with radioactivity. Part of a Curie family legacy which would win five Nobel Prizes, Marie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, and the only person to win twice in multiple sciences.
"Bon Appetit"
The Bon Appetit room honors the Cambridge couple Julia and Paul Child. He was a civil servant, diplomat, and poet; she was the charismatic celebrity chef. Tossed together and lightly seasoned they made a gourmet power couple.
In addition to writing poetry about Julia, Paul drew the illustrations and took the photographs for Julia Child's early cookbooks.
"Flyer"
All successful airplanes have included the design basics developed by brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright in 1903. This quote from their letter to the Smithsonian stands as a timeless monument to mankind's lofty pursuits: "I wish to avail myself of all that is already known and then if possible add my mite to help on the future worker who will attain final success.”
"Big Bang"
In 1932 Albert Eistein and Willem de Sitter proposed a model of the universe wherein Time commences with the Big Bang and the galaxies recede forever, but the recession rate (Hubble's Constant) coasts to zero as time advances to infinity. They say time moves differently inside the Big Bang Room.
"Pintura"
In 1929, to the chagrin of at least one set of parents, painters Frida Khalo and Diego Riviera entered into the partnership of marriage.
Stunning artwork would endure as a reflection of their productive, yet notoriously tempestuous relationship.
"Stooges"
Larry, Moe, Curly and sometimes Shemp, the forgotten Stooge, comprised the legendary slapstick trio, The Three Stooges. From 1928 to 1970 their wildly successful physical comedy and farcical vaudeville act paved the way for Jackasses the world over.
"Zen"
One of the core ideas in Zen is collaboration; specifically, Buddha-nature refers to the deconstruction of one's self in order to serve others. With beanbag chairs, exercise balls, Ideapaint, yoga mats, and soft lighting, the Zen Room is conducive to deconstructing a traditional meeting or just finding some quiet time for work wellness.
Anyone can sign up for it, but priority goes to breastfeeding moms as a lactation room.
Dave Gentry is a fan of progress and recess. He believes in Olde English, new fortune cookies, and he answers to #davertido.
About Workbar:
Workbar operates coworking locations throughout greater Boston (Boston Back Bay, Boston South Station, Burlington, Cambridge, Arlington, Brighton, Danvers, Norwood, Salem) and several other partner locations throughout the state. Want to keep up with the world of Workbar? Subscribe to our mailing list for the most up-to-date information about our upcoming events and community news. You can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
