Vienna is known for its long-standing coffeehouse tradition. However, the city is also renowned as a modern metropolis with a very vibrant and innovative economic scene. Historically, Austria’s capital has served as one of the first major coworking centers worldwide: For decades, famous authors, artists and intellectuals like Helmut Qualtinger, Ernst Fuchs, Georg Danzer, Alfred Hrdlicka or Friendensreich Hundertwasser have gathered in coffeehouses such as the legendary “Café Hawelka” in Vienna’s First District to discuss their works, exchange ideas and coordinate projects.
Today, Vienna is home to many “Coworking Cafés”, all of which are equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure, functional furniture and, most importantly, cool and hip atmospheres. Susi Seidl works as a freelance event manager and hails from Gmunden am Traunsee – about one hundred kilometers from Vienna. Despite the distance, she drives into the capital four times a week to open up her laptop and work in different Coworking Cafés: “At home, I have a great view of the lake from my kitchen table, but I’m missing the exchange with people who tick like me – in a fun environment. At Coworking Cafés, I find many people with the same interests as me, folks who work in creative fields, and during breaks we sit together, talk about our projects and find out what we all do. I love it. Often, my coworkers happen to be clients at the same time, they do visit concerts and shows that I manage. That way, they turn into great critics, something I cherish very much. I could never find that if I worked from home alone all the time or sat in an office with colleagues that share the same viewpoints.”
Demand for Coworking Cafés is rising steadily, and while Vienna has gathered a reputation as the leader of the pack with more than 50 such cafés within Europe’s major cities, other urban areas are following suit. In Germany, Düsseldorf has seen the opening of several such Coworking Cafés as well. One of them is called “Manko” in a part of the city called Flingern. “Manko” features two areas: one, set in the back of the room, is reserved for people who need a quite work environment; the other, set in the front part, is livelier with the hum of conversation and the occasional rumbles of different coffee machines, plus some low-key music. Pavlina Paskova and Frank Schüler are fashion designers, they visit “Manko” regularly to work there as a team. “I love to work in cafés,” explains Pavlina Paskova, “it’s inspiring, people come and go, there’s a constant flow of motion, the music’s great and the spirit’s always easy-going.”
Florian Arndt is a self-employed IT specialist, he has worked in Vienna for several years – Coworking Cafés aren’t new to him. He lives in Düsseldorf today, and sets up shop at “Kaffeerösterei Tenten” on Ostrasse in the city center. “It has all the important elements I need: Sockets, high speed Wi-Fi, great coffee, nice people. The atmosphere is quite and creative at the same time,” observes Arndt.
André Helf, CEO of Collection Group, constantly monitors the market – he knows: Coffee and tea rooms are very important structural elements for business centers as well: “In our business centers, clients meet in common space areas like our coffee bars – those places are extremely well-liked for creative small talk, the exchange of ideas or just some relaxed chatting at break times. We certainly know how popular those areas are and have focused on their open, spacious design as well as the luxurious furniture so that our customers can enjoy the relaxing and inspirative atmosphere. It goes to show that coworking spaces are definitely becoming more and more important in modern work environments.”
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