I GET MY BEST results over coffee or in a quiet corner of a pub with a Moleskine and a pint. I define my “third place” in those contexts.
Even in recessionary times, we need affordable luxury where creatives can share and enjoy a cuppa and conversation. This is a known social funciton. Sociologists I follow chat about the need for waterinng holes in large cities, beyond home and office. It's what makes Shoreditch the creative oasis that it aspires to become.
Within two miles of our most creative campus, several coffee shops have started to reflect a vital community essence. One caters for pensioners. Another offers iPads and free wifie. McDonald's gives me free and open wifi so I go to download my Kindle content there.
When I walk Thomas Street in Dublin, I see men and women sitting at coffee counters with their laptops open and workflow pulsating through more free wifi inside the shops. Starbucks knows this kind of customer service well. Starbucks is part of the hipster landscape across the world.
I want a similar third space configured for creative third level students where I work. It will be a challenge because there is a cost factor involved. But in my mind, those creative third spaces involve big windows, light boxes with oversized images, comfy chairs, USB power points, and free sheets. It's a literary third space and a model worth embracing. I will do my part by continuing to snap and share the creative moments I enjoy in my third spaces.
[Bernie Goldbach is the senior creative multimedia lecturer in the Limerick Institute of Technology.]
