One space. Endless possibilities.
We connect local businesses with people looking for flexible spaces, turning unused hours into new opportunities.
Starting in Rotterdam, we're connecting independent cafés with teachers and workshop organizers looking for recurring spaces.
Rotterdam works in shifts. The hours in between sit empty.
Darker means more venues open
Cafés and bakeries 25 venues
Restaurants and bars 71 venues
Unlock the hidden hours of your city.
Every day, commercial spaces across the city sit unused for hours, while people and small businesses struggle to find affordable places to bring their ideas to life.
Cafés close. Restaurants wait for their next service. Shops sit empty after hours.
- 65of 71
restaurants and bars are closed from 7:30 to 10:00 on at least four days a week.
- 13of 25
cafés and bakeries are closed from 18:30 to 21:30 on at least four evenings a week.
- 46hours
is how long the typical venue is closed each week between 7:00 and 23:00, while the rent runs every day.
These are closed hours, not confirmed availability. A closed venue may still be cleaning, prepping or storing stock, so every slot is agreed with the owner first.
The space already exists. The opportunity is to use it differently.
noma connects unused commercial hours with new activities, creating extra income for space owners and more accessible places for everyone else.
Your rent runs 168 hours a week. Your doors are open for about 66.
A typical independent venue in Rotterdam Centrum and Nieuwe Binnenweg (median of 96 venues). Night hours are left out: noma only works with daytime hours.
Where the quiet hours are
The glow adds up the hours that independent venues are closed between 7:00 and 23:00. The deeper the blue and the larger the dots, the more closed hours the area has. Locations are rounded, so no single business is singled out.
How it works
For space owners
Make more from the space you already have.
Turn unused hours into extra income, without changing your core business.
- Share your availability. Tell us when your space is not being used.
- Find the right match. We connect you with activities that fit your venue.
- Agree on the details. Together we set the schedule, the conditions and the practical arrangements, like keys and cleaning.
- Earn from quiet hours. Your space works beyond its usual opening hours.
Join our Rotterdam pilot. No commitment required.
For space seekers
Your next idea deserves a space.
Whether you're running a workshop, teaching a class or building a community, find a space with character without signing a commercial lease.
- Discover independent local venues.
- Use them during their quiet hours.
- Book a recurring slot or a one-off session.
- No long-term rental commitment.
Tell us what you're looking for and help shape noma's first spaces.
Same room. Different hours.
A café becomes a drawing workshop in the evening. A bar hosts a language class in the morning. A bakery turns into a pop-up market after closing.
Nothing is rebuilt. The furniture that's already there is rearranged for a few hours, and the room is back the way it was before opening.
Why I'm building noma
Cities are constantly changing, yet the way we use commercial spaces remains surprisingly fixed.
I'm an architect from Buenos Aires, living in Rotterdam. Working across different cities and cultures, I've become interested in how the same type of space can serve entirely different purposes depending on the time, the place and the people using it.
noma started from a simple question: what if our spaces could adapt to the rhythm of the city? We're starting in Rotterdam, connecting local businesses with new activities.
Agustin Ros
Founder, noma
Starting with three cafés. Building for entire cities.
Our first pilot focuses on recurring workshops in Rotterdam.
Our vision is a new infrastructure for flexible commercial space, where existing venues support several activities, businesses and communities throughout the day.