Every building has a first. For Digital Forum, that first is Octavius, who have taken Studios 2 and 3 and become the founding tenants of Colchester's newest home for digital and creative business. It's a milestone we've been looking forward to since the building opened earlier this year.
A business built on connection
Octavius are a transport infrastructure specialist, working across the UK's rail, highways and regional civil engineering sectors. Their own description of the work is about bringing people together, which sits rather neatly in a building designed around exactly that idea.
Why Digital Forum
Digital Forum sits at 43 Queen Street, in a former bus depot that spent decades moving people around Colchester before it was transformed into workspace. More than £6 million went into the redevelopment, and the result keeps the industrial character, the exposed brick and the sense of scale, while adding ten gigabit fibre, 5G infrastructure, private studios and rack space for data heavy work. For a business running projects across the country, that combination of connectivity and a central location does a lot of the heavy lifting.Why Digital Forum
Studios 2 and 3
The studios are built for established businesses and growing teams who want their own space without taking on a long lease or a building of their own. Octavius have taken two, which gives them room to work as a team and room to grow into. They also get everything else the building offers: meeting rooms, the board room with its wrap around balcony, hot desking when they need extra capacity, and the café in the thoroughfare for the conversations that happen away from a desk.
Setting the tone
Being the first tenants carries a bit of responsibility, and we don't say that lightly. The character of a workspace gets set early, by the people who are there before anyone else arrives. Octavius will help shape how the shared areas get used, what the networking looks like, and what sort of place Digital Forum becomes for the businesses that follow them in.
What happens next
We've more space available across the building, from studios to co-working and hot desking, and conversations under way with several other businesses. If you've been curious about what's inside, come and have a look. The thoroughfare and café are open to anyone, so you can get a feel for the place over a coffee first.
For now, a proper welcome to Octavius. We're glad you're here, and we're looking forward to seeing what you build from Queen Street.
Want to Join the Digital Forum Co-Working Community?
Find out more here - https://www.digitalforum.uk/hot-desking/
Share this post: