Dutch brand Zoku has unveiled two new co-working hotels in Vienna and Copenhagen, complete with ‘live-work’ lofts and communal office space. Jenny Southan reports
After opening its debut property in Amsterdam in 2016, Zoku is finally expanding with two new sites in Austria and Denmark. The hospitality company was one of the forerunners of the remote working trend, designing hotels with rooms configured to the needs of longer-stay digital nomads, in addition to communal workspace.
First to be unveiled was Zoku Copenhagen in May 2021, which has been designed in collaboration with Dutch design agency Concrete, offers a “relaxed place to live, work and socialise with like-minded people while getting wired into the city”.
Located on Amager Island, Zoku Copenhagen has 160 Lofts in five different sizes (from 22 sqm to 40 sqm). 
Instead of a bed, the central feature of each room is a four-person table that can be used to work, dine or entertain, but the customisable interiors also have pull-up rings for workouts, raised beds that can be hidden behind a sliding door and steps that retract to increase living space.
There are also neatly designed kitchens and bathrooms, alcoves with office supplies, extensive storage spaces, and furnishings from Danish design brand HAY. Zoku guests can even choose their own artwork to hang on the walls, making the space more personal, which is a nice touch when staying for more than a week.
The property also has WorkZoku “social spaces” for co-working, dining, hosting meetings and events, and socialising, that are all located on the fifth-floor rooftop, along with the Living Kitchen restaurant.
Spearheading the “work from anywhere” revolution, Zoku says they will also attract “internationally minded locals looking for community building and networking within communal work areas”.
Nikolaj Tamakloe, general manager of Zoku Copenhagen, says: “In the digital era, offline interactions have never been more important, and we actively facilitate these human connections at Zoku. We’ve worked closely with our target audience to put people at the center of our design so we can deliver maximum value and relevance to our guests.”
With the same interior design and amenities, the Zoku Vienna opened in June 2021, in the city’s Leopoldstadt district. This property has 131 Lofts in four different room types (measuring from 24 sqm to 28 sqm), some with balconies.
This time, WorkZoku and Living Kitchen are positioned on the seventh-floor rooftop, which has views of the Prater amusement park. Private WorkLofts can also be rented by the day.
Martin Oesterreich, general manager of Zoku Vienna, says: “The opening of Zoku Vienna represents an attractive new hybrid concept in Vienna that will become a favorite place for guests to stay and the local Viennese public to connect within an international community.
“The concept responds perfectly to today’s needs, especially as the boundaries between work and private life are increasingly blurred and can be used as workplaces facilitating working from anywhere.”
Marc Jongerius, Co-founder & Managing Director at Zoku, adds: “We want to grow internationally, help build the cities of tomorrow, and push the world forward by creating and operating mixed use buildings designed specifically for our target audience.
“This is what we have focused on since the launch of Zoku, and the recent pandemic further confirmed the need for this.”