COWO Tirol – Coworking at New Heights

16 October 2016

Post originally written in: English

Located at Patscherkofel (1,963 meters), COWO Tirol is elevating the concept of coworking. Their aim is to create a digital village that will cater to locals, digital nomads, universities, and start ups. It’s currently in testing phase and much is uncertain about their future, but this crew is aiming high with this project.

COMMUTE

Reaching COWO Tirol is a breeze. The J Line, also known as the “Peak to Peak”, stops throughout Innsbruck and arrives at the Patscherkofelbahn in 15 – 20 minutes depending where you board.

Peak to Peak bus connects Nordkette to Patscherkofel

Once at Patscherkofel, the cable car departs every 30 minutes and arrives a few steps from the COWO Tirol door. The Gondola is one of the oldest around Innsbruck, slightly resembling the old-school New York subway cars. The Patscherkofelbahn will be renovated to a modern lift next year, possibly taking the current COWO Tirol building with it.

COWORKERS

On this particular day, the coworking crew consisted of a psychologist working on her website, a sports scientist doing the same, MCI’s Head of Research, Innovation & Entrepreneurship writing a book, and students working on projects.

Coworkers developing their ideas in a productive environment

In true coworking nature, people mingled a bit and connected on different topics. The individuals working on their websites discovered that someone else present could help them with web design. The MCI Professor gave me a sweet tip about “Open Saggen”, a community based project being developed to promote what they think is the most beautiful neighborhood in Innsbruck. You can find more info on it here.

Coworking is more than sitting at a desk and working on your projects. It’s a great way to meet people that have similar interests and/or different skill sets that may contribute to your project’s development.

COWO Tirol FACILITIES

For ages, working at a café was the only option for digital nomads, self-employed trying to get out of the house, writers and study buddies. Some cafés cater to these people, but you can never plan for the crying baby, rowdy dudes, and walk in traffic that may make it an uncomfortable experience. Coworking offices have thought of everything you need to feel comfortable and productive. Outlets at every seat. Relaxed music at a volume that isn’t distracting. Chill areas with entertainment for breaks. A presentation area with pro audio visual equipment. A small buffet of snacks and coffee – of course coffee. It’s all here! If you’ve never been to a coworking space, think of Google or Facebook headquarters. COWO Tirol even has a dog, Bella, you can play with when you need a break.

The facilities include many of the perks offered at Google offices

Patscherkofel itself is included in the facilities at COWO Tirol. I’m thrilled at the opportunity to take a break from work and go for a hike, bike or shred down the slopes. This setting is perfect for this concept and I for one, would be a regular if this is something that sticks around. I’ve wanted to work from other ski areas, but not knowing if I can store my computer equipment has been a huge deterrent.

COWO Tirol Concept

At the moment, COWO Tirol is merely a pop-up coworking space compared to what they have planned. The crew is currently gauging demand from locals and visitors to determine feasibility. This is just the tip of the iceberg for COWO Tirol. Their real goal is to develop a “Digital Village”, think coworking travel destination. Their vision will develop coworking hotels and hostels, like already exist in Amsterdam, Munich and Berlin. Since opening in early October, they have already attracted Asian Startup visitors from the Global Incubator Network (GIN). If COWO Tirol’s vision becomes a reality, it can be a major economic boost for the region and even inspire more entrepreneurship from locals.

I would love to see this project develop and couldn’t leave without buying one of their t-shirts to show support.