Protospace - Calgary's Brand! Spanking! New! Hackerspace

The latest addition to Calgary's tech community just opened last week. Tucked in an old tattoo parlour, conveniently located on Macleod Trail, Protospace is already full of every gadget this girl can imagine. A few words with some of the guys confirms that my imagination isn't nearly big enough...

I asked some of the founders Paul Brodeur, Wil Knoll and Gordon McDowell how Protospace came to life.

Paul, how did this come about?

The inspiration came from meeting people who were part of other hackerspaces around the world while at the Chaos Computer Congress in Berlin. The work that was coming out of these places was fantastic and something I wanted to be a part of in my own community. I suggested the idea of a hackerspace in an open letter to Calgary hackers and there was strong interest, so we did what it took to make it happen.

How did you guys decide on the name, why not just "hackerspace"?

Protospace was suggested by a member and everyone agreed. It stems from Prototype + Hackerspace -- partially because we want to do some prototyping and partially because we are the first Calgary Hackerspace and therefore a prototype.

Wil, what was the draw to Protospace?

People can come and build stuff or mess around with things they don't have access to at home. They can also lean on their fellow hackers and meet new people. I love the idea of bringing different types of people together. I really want to get the arts community involved. I see so many parallels between the two. Hackers and artists are one and the same.

How big is it and can anyone join?

Protospace currently has 23 members and is invite only Everyone is welcome to come down and check it out on Tuesday evenings. Each week at 7pm we have a few discussions on topics that we find interesting and knock back a drink or two.

Gord, are you happy with the opening?

There's a few obvious things that are missing. Like, we have far too many of one thing and then nobody thought about a wireless router...but we're getting there. I think we'd like to see it bigger with more equipment. It would be cool to have a photography area in the basement and maybe another floor on top of this.

What makes you excited about Protospace?

My wife won't let me keep all of this junk at home.

Well said, Gord. Well said. I've been assured that if I were to join, I would be more than welcome to "blow stuff up."  I'm looking forward to it.

The details:

What is Hackerspace?

Hackerspaces are community-operated physical places, where people can meet and work on their projects.

What kind of projects?

Anything in science, technology, digital and electronics arts. The interesting thing about hackerspace is that the more diverse the group of people, the more interesting it gets. All are welcome.

Where can I find more information about Protospace?

http://protospace.ca This link includes a list of events and contact information, should you be interested in becoming a member.