Amsterdam brings us a new twist on coworking

Cisco, in cahoots with the city of Amsterdam, recently opened a new variation on the ever-morphing coworking theme. This time, a corporation worked together with a city to create the Smart Work Centre, a space that serves both public and private sector workers working independently or in groups.

In a recent press release, Cisco outlined SWC specs:

The SWC concept offers multiple applications depending on the user groups it supports. Its innovative combination of technology and services includes providing access to collaboration platforms such as Cisco TelePresence for high-quality virtual meetings, as well as child day care, high-end catering services and financial services, supplemented by good access to highways and public transport. The SWC is also equipped with open lounge work spaces and larger public area.

Officially located in Almere, on the outskirts of Amsterdam, SWC was conceived in large part as a means of protecting the environment. But the folks behind the project were also well aware, going in, of the many other potential benefits, including better work-life balance.

But it was spurred initially, according to the press release, as one of a number of projects to have emerged from Cisco’s pledge made in 2006 to support the Clinton Global Initiative’s objective of reducing carbon emissions. Launched at the end of 2006, the Connected Urban Development program (CUD) is a public-private partnership aimed at addressing the unique environmental problems confronted by urban areas, and at developing replicable information and communications technology (ICT) solutions for cities around the world. In its first phase CUD has built partnerships with three cities, namely San Francisco, Amsterdam, Seoul, announcing four new cities joining the program in February 2007 of Madrid, Lisbon, Hamburg and Birmingham.

Here’s a great 3:30 video with an overview of SWC.