AN ASTONISHING use of 360-degree photography allows Daily Echo readers to see the transformation of our former print hall happen around them.

The room where giant presses once thundered out copies of the paper has become a working environment for some of the most exciting businesses in town.

Corin Messer, the Echo’s head of digital imaging, used a 360-degree camera to record the refurbishment taking shape over weeks.

THIS Workspace has been turning unused parts of the Richmond Hill building into a co-working and shared office space for start-ups, freelancers, creative and digital companies.

Distinctive features of the former print room have been kept and restored, including its 7.3metre (24ft) high ceilings, Art Deco windows, black-and-white floor tiles and the balcony where compositors once surveyed the scene as papers rolled off the presses.

Joshua Winterton, partner in THIS Workspace, said: “It was the space for communicating news and events to people in Dorset and the south coast. Now we’re housing some of the most interesting and exciting businesses from Dorset and outside areas, who are creating their own stories.”

The workspace allows individuals and businesses to rent anything from a single dedicated desk space to a private office. The print room, now called the Foundry, includes breakout space for collaborating and hosting events, with free beer on tap in the evenings.

THIS Workspace is also home to Virgin StartUp, the support and mentoring service for new businesses. A recent Virgin StartUp event with Ted Baker founder and chief executive Ray Kelvin attracted 250 people.

Mr Winterton said many businesses were already growing thanks to the relationships they had formed in the building.

“A lot of our members are starting to work with one another. That’s the intangible value of the workspace – the fact that you could be literally sitting next to someone who is essential to your business,” he said.

“We’ve already started to see our member businesses working with each other and getting more business from being in the workspace.

“Businesses are growing from one desk into four, five and six.

“A lot of businesses in Bournemouth are starting to change their mindset from the conventional way of working, i.e. in their own office, away from everyone else, furnishing it themselves, on a five-year lease etc. They now want to be a part of something bigger, with everything workspace related handled for them, as well as having the ability to pull fellow workspace businesses into a project when they need. It’s a huge asset.”