Highly anticipated and hyped Berlin startup campus 'Factory' finally opened its doors yesterday after two years of delays and unexpected construction surprises (including the discovery of "grenades and bunkers" at the site).
Factory – which is supported by Google for Entrepreneurs – is home to some of the most prominent names in Berlin's startup scene, including SoundCloud and 6wunderkinder, and also hosts international tech companies, such as Twitter, Zendesk and Mozilla.
Situated at the heart of the German capital, the 16,000 square-metre space is only a stone's throw away from a memorial site of the former Berlin wall. The campus, which used to be a brewery, is slated to house 22 tech companies and will offer seminars, events and tech know-how for those in the startup community.
In honor of the launch, Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit stopped by the startup hub and stood alongside Factory co-founder Simon Schaefer during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Later in the evening, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt also made an appearance for a keynote talk.
Here's our snapshots of Berlin's newest startup campus, from construction to opening festivities:
A look in and around Factory's construction site in January of this year.
An (unfinished) view from the top at the beginning of this year.
Guests (mostly press) begin to pour into the Factory space yesterday in anticipation for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit speaking about his hopes for the Factory's role in Berlin's startup scene and beyond.
Some Factory startup residents setting up shop outside the building for the day to showcase their products.
SoundCloud PR Manager Emma Young and SoundCloud co-founder and CEO Alexander Ljung standing in the middle of startup fair action.
The reception area of SoundCloud's offices in Factory.
Surrounded by press, SoundCloud VP of Community David Noël speaks about the design of its new headquarters, which will house over 200 employees.
Meeting rooms are dedicated to cities and areas in which SoundCloud has an office.
Large work areas that "sound really nice" because, obviously, it's SoundCloud.
A view of the startup fair from Factory's fourth floor.
Image credit: 'Before' images by Robin Wauters, 'After' images by Charmaine Li.
