The sky was scattered with clouds when I pulled into Livit Hub’s parking area one morning during my first week. They were white and wispy, so I didn’t think there’d be a chance of rain.
I hung my helmet on the rear vision mirror of my bike and stepped into the Hub, greeted by Sukma’s warm smile at the front desk.
A few hours later on the second floor, as I gazed at the ferns hanging from the ceiling and wondered who keeps them so feathery and lush, big drops began spattering the windows. Within seconds, rain was falling in sheets. My helmet would be instantly soaked; there was no point running down to grab it.
By the time I packed up the sky had cleared. As I approached my bike, I noticed my helmet was no longer hanging on the mirror; in fact, there weren’t any in the parking area at all. I returned to the Hub and found my helmet on the ping pong table along with several others, sitting together neatly like a clutch of eggs. The security guard on duty must have rescued them when the sky began to darken. Since then I rest my helmet on the wall racks, right next to the stands for rain jackets.
Little acts of kindness
To some, a dry helmet may not seem so significant. But to me, this little act of kindness has come to epitomize the services I’ve experienced while working on a Pro Coworking membership at Livit since early March. Like the security guard’s simple yet caring gesture, the Livit team has carefully considered every element of what enables members to be as productive and comfortable as possible.
The Hub itself I’ve described to friends and family as “four floors of coworking heaven,” which of course is more than a little hyperbolic, but I do feel that way. The second floor, where I like to work, is spacious and cool and filled with natural light. Like the rest of the Hub, it’s meticulously clean, and most surfaces gleam. My favorite seat is at a flex desk facing south, and when my eyes wander from my laptop screen, they usually rest on the rippling fronds of a lontar palm far beyond the building, or on the hanging gardens above our heads.
Having never had a dedicated workspace at home, I still get a little thrill stepping into the small air conditioned glass-walled meeting room just behind my seat whenever I’ve got a client call or interview. There’s just enough greenery to position strategically in my background, which looks great against the bamboo blinds — call it tropical minimalism.
The daily surprise
After setting up my workspace I head straight to the snack station at the floor’s northern end, which is far from the standard box of black tea bags and jar of powdered coffee. I prefer arabica over robusta but appreciate that here we have a choice between them, and that the black tea sits alongside green and jasmine, and sometimes peppermint and cocoa for hot chocolate too.
I love a buttery biscuit or three with my morning coffee, and when needing extra sustenance, I sprinkle some granola or trail mix into a mug then slosh on some creamy Vitasoy (there’s whole milk too, of course). Or, if it’s been one of those days, I reach straight for a chocolate bar. (Tell me, how many coworking spaces provide chocolate bars!?)
Finally, right when energy levels start plunging at around 3pm, a little plate of fresh fruit — a different kind each day — is delivered to everyone’s desk. I’ve chatted with another member about how much we love the fresh fruit — “It’s like a daily surprise!” he said.
360 degrees of Sanur
On the ground floor is Livit’s Kitchen House Cafe, where the chefs prepare à la carte breakfast and a lunch and dinner buffet, which can also be served in a box if you want to take it away. Though the convenience is tempting I like to cook my own food, which at lunchtime I bring up to the rooftop.
With the near-constant easterly breeze ruffling the bougainvillea, the 360-degree view of Sanur is exhilarating. Last week, while gazing toward the coast, I spied the dips and arcs of a kitesurfer. A couple of weeks earlier I overheard someone say, “I would be very, very happy if I came to work here every day.”
The rooftop hosts weekly yoga and pilates classes, which I wish I could attend but haven’t yet been able to due to childcare needs. Livit’s calendar is packed with networking and professional development events, but so far I’ve only made it to the fifth birthday celebration back in April on that beloved rooftop.
Almost as soon as I’d arrived, Livit’s Managing Partner Lavinia introduced me to Dinda Hervi, who co-founded Impactura. I’ve just started blog writing for an impact and innovation company, so the name of hers was immediately intriguing. Over the course of the evening — which featured a rollicking set by Bali’s iconic rockabilly band, The Hydrant — Dinda told me about Impactura’s work in providing purpose-driven companies with tools to effectively measure their impact. Very cool.
Meeting Dinda, an extremely impressive young professional and genuinely lovely person, has, like the rescued helmets on that rainy day, also come to epitomize my experience of working at the Livit Hub. This is a place where you’ll meet people creating real impact, and hopefully you’ll also get to know them as friends.
Julia Winterflood is a freelance copywriter, journalist, editor, and Indonesian to English translator. She has contributed to campaigns from National Geographic Traveller, BBC StoryWorks, and The Economist, and has bylines in Nikkei Asia, The Diplomat, The Jakarta Post, Inside Indonesia, and Mekong Review. julia.winterflood@gmail.com
