For decades, bank offices have been places of passage: functional spaces, designed to resolve specific procedures and exits. However, in a context where work, professional relationships and the way of creating community have profoundly changed, the spaces we inhabit have also changed. Today, some places aspire to be more than just a point of attention. They want to become environments in which to work, connect and share.
This transformation includes the opening of the 100th Work Café in Spain, a step that confirms the consolidation of a new generation office model promoted by Santander. The space, located on Cea Bermúdez Street in Madrid (in the bustling Chamberí neighborhood), encapsulates a clear intention: to integrate financial services, coworkingmeeting rooms and a specialized cafeteria, with free access for customers and non-customers.
We want more people, more professionals and more businesses to benefit from spaces where they can find personalized attention and collaboration and where they can form a community.
Alejandro Cecchi, Director of Retail Banking and Transformation at Santander Spain
“A new stage begins. A phase of expansion,” comments Alejandro Cecchi, director of retail banking and transformation of Santander Spain. “Because we want more people, more professionals and more companies to benefit from spaces where they can find personalized attention and collaboration and where they can form a community. And because we are convinced that the best way to grow is to be closer,” he affirms.
Far from the traditional concept of agency, these spaces are intended to continue. Shared tables, unlimited Wi-Fi, free meeting rooms and a design that encourages interaction make the Work Café a common meeting point for professionals, students, entrepreneurs and small businesses. The new center has more than 500 square meters, 18 positions coworking and three meeting rooms, in addition to extended and uninterrupted hours that facilitate its use throughout the day. The office will be made up of a team of 12 people: 10 managers and 2 baristas, a term of Italian origin which defines a person expert in the preparation and service of coffee and other high-quality drinks. Because the Work Café is not in contradiction with the after work.
With this opening, Santander strengthens a model born in Chile in 2016 and already present in eight countries of the Group: Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Portugal, United Kingdom, United States and Spain, the first inaugurated in 2018. In total, 233 Work Cafés are operational.
The growth of this network is not anecdotal. Since the opening of the first Work Café in Spain, in Plaza Sagrados Corazones in Madrid, the model has expanded to 100 spaces, including 35 located in urban centers and 65 on university campuses. Only the urban centers have 132 rooms and 885 positions. coworkingwhich represents the largest network of colleague free in the country, used by thousands of people who particularly appreciate the environment and the feeling of community that comes from it.
This commitment responds to a broader vision of the role of physical offices in the digital age. Instead of disappearing, these spaces are reinventing themselves as places where things happen: informal meetings, training, conferences, professional meetings or even solidarity projects. Alongside the physical deployment, the workcafe.es platform strengthens this community in the digital environment, allowing you to reserve spaces, consult activities or locate the different centers available.
Beyond the figures, the model reflects a different way of understanding proximity. It is not just about offering services, but about creating contexts that facilitate opportunities, the exchange of ideas and the connection between people. In an increasingly hybrid world, where digital and face-to-face coexist in harmony, these spaces demonstrate that the bank has also been able to adapt to new ways of working and communicating, becoming an active player in urban and professional life.
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