Third spaces

3den (pronounced “eden”) is reimagining the exclusive members’ club and high-end co-working concepts for the public by providing luxury amenities at an affordable, pay-as-you-go price. Launched in March 2019 in New York City’s newly opened Hudson Yards development, the self-described “urban sanctuary” offers respite from the hectic city with a roster of services catering to “the in-between moments of the day.” At an entry of $6 per 30 minutes, visitors can take advantage of Casper nap pods, soundproof phone booths, private showers, meditation rooms, work stations, couches for lounging, distraction-free alcove seating, charging stations and refreshments, with future plans to integrate yoga.

“We’re an aggregate of the best parts of the coffee shop, the hotel lobby, elements of a gym and various other resources,” 3den founder and CEO Ben Silver tells JWT Intelligence. “We’re not reinventing the wheel when it comes to consumer behavior; these are things that people are already doing, but they’re doing them in a very disparate and dysfunctional manner. We’re aggregating them into a much better consumer experience.”

Silver came up with the idea when he was traveling between San Francisco and New York for business and would find himself stranded between meetings. “There was no default place for me to go,” he says. “You start to look at the landscape of what’s available to you and it’s actually pretty limited – it’s very fractional.”

But, Silver insists, 3den is not catering exclusively to the sleek corporate jetsetter – the space is designed for a wide variety of needs. Weekdays draw a more professional crowd, while weekends attract everyone from families to tourists to locals. “We have a lot of different demographics that use the space,” says Silver, “and that’s the beauty of what we’ve created…it has so many different uses and so many different utilities.”