A new model campus is being built in the south of Berlin

At the business location Berlin-Mariendorf, not far from the subway station Alt-Mariendorf in the Berlin district Tempelhof-Schöneberg, a new Berlin place is being created where the future is being shaped: In the new collaborative Gründer:innen center of the ringberlin model campus, innovative companies, start-ups and talents will in future work in a Makerspace on the impulses for tomorrow's technologies, concepts and solutions. For this purpose, a listed factory hall is currently being modernized and expanded by ringberlin in a manner befitting a listed building. Supported by the Berlin Senate Department for Economic Affairs, Energy and Industry as well as Berlin Partner, GRW-funded partial areas below market rent will be made available here in the future for interdisciplinary use at the interface between science and industry. With direct access to local transport, e-mobility services and sharing concepts, more than 5,000 people should be able to get to the campus in the future, as car-free and environmentally friendly as possible.

With the start of the tender for the operation of the new Makerspace as a Gründer:innen center, the transformation of the industrially dominated, 100,000-square-meter site into a CO2-neutral, open and green real laboratory, an innovative cooperation between science and private industry that promotes mutual experimental exchange, now also begins.

Sponsors of Gründer:innen centers now have the opportunity to qualify as operators of this Makerspace in a Europe-wide tender. The operator is to be found by the end of the year. Construction is scheduled to start in the fall of 2023.

The ringberlin model campus

With the modernization and expansion of the factory building of the former Askania-Werke in accordance with the preservation order, ringberlin has begun the development of the Schindler site at the German headquarters of the elevator company into an impulse location for the capital: The historic buildings, which were still used for production and manufacturing until the late 1990s, and the sealed existing areas are now gradually being transformed into an open, park-like and ecologically certified model campus.

"With the ringberlin model campus, we want to help make Berlin's economy more adaptable and resilient. As an interdisciplinary campus, we are open to all topics from science, business, industry and culture," explains ringberlin Managing Director Matthias Menger. 

Already today, ringberlin is a transfer area in the mobility2grid research project with TU Berlin and HTW Berlin, among others, to develop solution approaches for the intelligent combination of mobility and energy.

For Franziska Giffey, Mayor and Senator for Economic Affairs, Energy and Operations, the project is also an important contribution to Berlin's economic and sustainable development: "Berlin is the German start-up capital and one of the most popular metropolises for founders worldwide. We want to remain that way, which is why we continue to improve the framework conditions for start-ups. Young companies urgently need space and places like this new campus, which brings business and science together in a targeted manner and provides the necessary space to develop and implement new ideas. With the funding of 36 million euros from GRW funds, we are strengthening the local economic structure and ensuring that future founders will find attractive conditions at fair prices here. Mariendorf, the Tempelhof-Schöneberg district and all of Berlin will benefit from this."

"The Makerspace on the model campus ringberlin offers great potential and the chance to give innovative and future-oriented actors space to find and develop ideas. This can provide important impulses from the symbiosis between science and business, which can strengthen and further develop the entire economic structure in the district but also in the state of Berlin. Furthermore, the new innovative location ringberlin is a successful example of a circular and sustainable project development that reverses the former sealing of large areas. We are pleased about the transparent and cooperative partnership at this new innovation location, which will fit perfectly into the entire future area of Mariendorf," says District Mayor of Tempelhof-Schöneberg Jörn Oltmann.

"Under the name ringberlin, an environment is being created for the interaction of science and research, innovation and entrepreneurship. In this way, a hybrid, livable and flexible working world can be created here," says ringberlin Managing Director Matthias Menger and is convinced: "The model campus offers research and university institutions, cultural institutions and small to medium-sized innovative companies the opportunity to remain in lively exchange and make optimal use of synergies - a breeding ground for flourishing growth."

From the idea to the prototype

From the idea to the finished product - bundled in a single location. The Makerspace is designed to make the cross-industry synergies on campus visible and usable for everyone. With space for workshops with machine infrastructure, coworking and office areas, Maker Garages and test areas, one of Europe's largest Makerspaces offers optimal start-up conditions. 

Dr. Stefan Franzke, Managing Director of Berlin Partner: "With ringberlin and the planned Makerspace, we will have one of Europe's largest Gründer:innen centers in Berlin in the foreseeable future. Here, another place is being created where business and science grow together, where research, start-ups, companies, universities and culture meet, exchange ideas, enter into cooperations and create synergies. Impulses and innovations will also emanate from here and further distinguish Berlin as an international industrial location."

The future campus users will benefit from attractive rental conditions thanks to GRW funding. With an investment volume of more than 60 million euros, the State of Berlin is providing GRW funds of around 36 million euros through the Senate Department for Economic Affairs, Energy and Operations to promote the regional economic structure, which will directly benefit the construction of the subsidized subareas of the Gründer:innen Center.

Circular, low-emission and sustainable

The fact that sustainability requires innovative and creative solutions, especially when building in existing structures, is demonstrated by the conversion of the historic factory building for the future Makerspace. The listed building is being converted in close coordination with the district, the Lower Office for the Protection of Historical Monuments and the State Office for the Protection of Historical Monuments. The current design thus provides for an expansion of the space by partially raising the roof with atriums. On the roof of this addition, a combination of a biodiverse green roof for lounging and a PV system will be created. The entire project is conceived in a circular way.

ringberlin also has the highest standards in terms of circular economy and ESG compliance: the sustainability certifications DGNB, Wired Score, Well and Goodmobility are being sought for the Makerspace.


For further information about the growth industries, economic development, business and technology support for companies, investors and scientific institutions in the Airport Region Berlin Brandenburg please contact:

Sandra Koletzki ​​​​​​ | sandra.koletzki(at)airport-region.de

(Source: STÖBE. Die Agentur für Kommunikation GmbH, 07|06|2023 | "A new model campus is being created in the south of Berlin: ringberlin launches with tender for the operation of a makerspace for innovation, science & business")