Symphony Workplaces: Singing A Different Office Tune

Remember “the office”?

Not the TV show — the actual place. People (usually men) came in at 9. They had assigned spots — size and location directly proportional to their status — along with a “secretary.” They did some work, had lunch, came back, and left at 5.

In 2015, nearly all that has changed. People (men and women) work in all kinds of locations, in all kinds of ways, at all kinds of hours.

Even the name has changed. “Offices” are now “workplaces.”

Which is why Symphony Workplaces is an idea whose time has come. And it’s come to Westport.

The setting is 55 Greens Farms Road. Symphony — which offers flexible workspace and meeting rooms by the hour, day, month or year — occupies 18,000 square feet of the 2nd floor in that odd, often overlooked 2-building complex next to a cemetery.

55 Greens Farms Road: hidden in plain sight, across from I-95 and next to a cemetery.

There, Symphony offers a handsome reception area; 35 offices, ranging in size from 1 person to 24; 7 meeting rooms; a conference/training center, and the “Hub” — a gathering spot to socialize, network, and eat.

Each office has furniture and a phone. One office features a standing desk. There’s a special “phone booth,” for private conversations.

High-speed bandwidth and natural light is everywhere. There’s a gym in the building. And a generator — with a 7-day supply of diesel. I know where I’ll go when the next blackout hits.

Like everything else at Symphony, this board room can be rented out by anyone.

Symphony even offers a “virtual address” program. If a client or vendor plugs your address into Google Maps, the office complex pops up — not your house.

Symphony Workplaces is the brainchild of Nick Logothetis. He developed his 1st shared office space — for attorneys only, complete with a law library — 25 years ago in Morristown, New Jersey. Quickly, he realized the concept could move beyond specialized professions.

Nick Logothetis, in the reception area. He took every photo in the entire place.

“Work has changed,” Logothetis explains. “People no longer need to be in a fixed place, at a certain time. But they still need offices. They still have to meet clients, get away from interruptions and interact with other people.”

Logothetis added a 2nd Symphony site in New Jersey, and is building one in Palm Beach. This is his 1st in Connecticut.

He searched for 10 years before finding the perfect Fairfield County spot. Since opening in October, Symphony has attracted a mix of users: branch offices, solo businesses, and an attorney. (There’s no law library, unfortunately.)

They’re impressed with the quality of the facility. “It’s a million-dollar look, for $700 to $800 a month,” Logothetis says proudly.

The “hub,” for socializing, networking — and eating.

But why is it called “Symphony”?

The original name was “Symphony Suites,” Logothetis says. “The idea was to bring together groups of different instruments — businesses — all in harmony.”

Now — as business has evolved — “Suites” has given way to “Workplaces.”

Symphony’s Greens Farms Road site is music to many Westport workers’ ears.

An added attraction: visitors’ names, opposite the elevator doors.