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Cushman & Wakefield
Co...working
@factoryberlin
Adjacent to remnants of the Berlin Wall stands Factory Berlin, a 16,000 square metre campus and self-described
‘stage agnostic accelerator’. Factory hosts some of the world’s largest technology brands including Twitter,
SoundCloud, Uber, Zendesk and Google Campus Berlin alongside some of the smallest. By having several
established companies in the campus, 85% of people who work in Factory are employees rather than freelancers,
dispelling the view that Coworking applies to the one-man-band alone. Founder Simon Schaefer in fact broke the
mould with a Coworking model that accommodates both startups and multinational companies together and the
results have been exemplary. Schaefer explains, “we’ve applied the Coworking concept to all stages of business in
Factory. Having SoundCloud next to Twitter and Twitter next to lots of startups helps everybody involved. Universally,
big companies want to be around startups and vice versa due to the opportunity to learn from one and other.” The
model will be truly tested next year when Factory expands to six new locations.
“Artists and bohemians have been flocking to Berlin since the wall came down in 1989. Affordable rents and
vacant spaces allowed room for experimentation, as diversity in numbers created a dynamic infrastructure
for cultural exchange. Today, coworking spaces are helping advance this infrastructure by creating vibrant
environments for startups and established companies alike.”
Sophy Moffat
, Cushman & Wakefield London