Secrets of Zoku

Zoku is like a person – it takes time to get to know all of its layers and fun, quirky secrets. You might only be staying with us for a short while and we’d hate for you to miss out, so here is a top ten of Zoku facts you should know:

1. Teamwork (and mostly research) makes the dream work

To build Zoku, we researched, we dreamed, and we lived the lifestyle – but most importantly, we had actual people help us with feedback and testing throughout our development. More than 400 real living humans were involved in creating our concept (this is not the norm, by the way) – and we’re so grateful they were!

We interviewed 150 people from our target market from business travelers to short stay guests to understand their needs and wants, and then built 5 prototypes of our Zoku Loft from them to test (we even used fancy EEG scanners to measure their emotions). The end result is the end of the serviced apartment or apart-hotel as we know it – a spacious, smartly designed Loft fit for work, life and play.

2. An actual ‘Living’ room

We discovered in our research that a ‘need’ was to have space truly suitable for living, so you could feel like yourself even whilst away from home. This means that our Zoku Lofts are meant for real life activities like drawing, jumping, singing, cooking and gathering.

You’ll find a Pantry at the end of the corridor on every floor. It contains everything you’ll need for living, and everything you’ll need to host your very own Loft party, from extra cutlery, plates and wine glasses, to cookbooks, soap and towels. Don’t forget to check it out!

3. Meet the Pets

When you visit Zoku, be sure to look out for our pets! Our dog, Timmy, can often be seen around our living area. Don’t worry, he’s been trained not to jump on the sofas (…because he’s plastic). But our other pets are very much real – Toby, Leroy and Harold are our resident goldfish and can be found swimming around next to the Zoku bar. Feeling lonely? They’re all great listeners!

4. Binge on cake or candy (or fruit)

Look out for the big jars of candy dotted around our 6th floor and help yourself to a handful (or two, or three… we don’t judge!) At 3:30pm every weekday, we also host Fika – a Swedish break-time ritual with free tea and cake, designed to help you take your mind off your work and converse with the other residents and our local WorkZoku co-working members.

Not feeling the sugar rush? No worries – there’s always an abundant supply of fresh fruit sat about for you to help yourself to.

5. Print in another dimension

Get crafty in our communal working space and quite literally elevate your work on our 3D printer. Previous masterpieces have included a Buddha, a portable chess board and an Eiffel Tower – but our goldfish Toby loves to have little floaty things to play with as well. Just ask one of our Sidekicks to help you start it off!

6. Let’s go Lego

To prepare for our new Zoku in Copenhagen (just kidding), we’ve invested in a substantial quantity of Lego, which you’ll find in fishbowls around our Social Spaces. Help yourself to the bowl and build us your finest plastic brick masterpiece – if we appreciate its aesthetic value (i.e. if it looks cool) we might even display it on a shelf for a while!

7. Zoku loves Music

Just through the door on the 6th floor, you’ll find our music corner filled with all kinds of instruments (we even have a triangle and maracas for musically un-inclined). We know that it’s easy to miss your instruments whilst you’re on a short-term assignment, so they’re free for you to practice with during your stay. Play us some sweet sounds and if you’re lucky you might even earn yourself a treat from our Sidekicks!

8. Zoku really loves music

If you happen to be in our Social Space at 23.30, you might notice our Sidekicks enjoying a little music jam to end their evening shift – feel free to join in! It’s a great way to shake off the stress of the day before settling into your comfy Loft bed.

9. Community building, community built

Zoku was built on the principle of co-creation and community building, which is why we made the decision to use crowdfunding in order to raise the €300,000 necessary to build our Meeting and Events space. After going live to our community, we raised the money in only 18 minutes!

10. Pretty Plants

Greenery and nature are part of Zoku’s DNA – we have plants of every size in almost all of our spaces. In our Zoku Loft XLs, you’ll even find plants living inside jars – these are Pikaplants which are grown and bottled in the Amsterdam area! Don’t open these – they’re packed in a special closed ecosystem with oxygen and water, and opening them will make them die.

If you Live Zoku for a long/extended stay up to a few months long, you might (not) notice our greenhouse and rooftop garden plants change every once in a while. No, it’s not magic – with our partners HRBS we select new plants, herbs and other greenery to match the weather and create the right feel in our spaces.