Red telephone boxes to be transformed into mini-offices

Britain’s red telephone boxes are to be transformed into mini-offices for workers to use whilst on the go.

Bar Works Inc is a US company that provides co-working space, and its Chief Executive Jonathan Black announced plans to launch Pod Works, a project that will see Britain’s red telephone boxes being refurbished and refitted in several major cities.

Privacy

Black stated that the project, which will provide workers with office facilities and free coffee, is “an alternative to, say, Starbucks but obviously it provides you with total privacy.”

The kiosks will be fitted with scanners, printers, Wi-Fi and 25-inch screens, providing workers with a fully equipped office that they can use whilst on the go.

Bar Works Inc is planning to launch the mini-offices in five major UK cities and has so far leased 15 of BT’s telephone boxes in London and Edinburgh. The company is planning to make the workstations available to the public in the upcoming months.

Workers will be able to have access to any of the workstations for a monthly membership fee of £19.99.

Black stated that he is expecting the project to gain at least 10,000 members by the end of the year due to the workstations being available in prime locations.

Demand

Many of Britain’s red telephone boxes are no longer used as a result of mobile phones growing in popularity. However, a report by the Daily Mail showed that Britain’s red telephone boxes are in high demand, with damaged call boxes being sent off to a “telephone box graveyard”, restored and then sold for as much as £10,000.