If you’re like the hoards of other workers who have been displaced from offices in the last few years, you’ll be familiar with the hunt to find the best alternative places for you to work. Alternatively, you might have already embraced the life of a digital nomad and continued to spend the last few years cruising between locations. In either case, Berlin at the beating heart of Germany's tech startup scene offers a range of solutions to all of those in search of coworking spaces.
While many people know they have an obvious need for a workplace finding one that is right for you requires a couple more calculated questions. For instance, where do you work best? What kind of community are you looking for? And, what kinds of specialised services do you require? In response to these questions, Berlin has an array of options.
Small Offices
Neukölln, Prenzlauer Berg and Wedding
When considering these questions many people often find that they miss the social aspects of working in an office, such as building relationships through regular face-to-face contact. In this case, many of Berlin’s smaller coworking spaces offer a plethora of options to help people rediscover sociability in the workplace. Often this takes the form of coworking spaces that offer lots of locally organised events, involvement with local businesses and organisations, and host active events calendars, all of which aim to develop a sense of social cohesion tailored to particular needs. A great example of these kinds of places is Workish in Neukölln which offers a small space dedicated to a DIY focus with a vibrant events calendar and community Slack channel.
Sometimes people seek out smaller coworking spaces because they cater to specific needs. This is particularly true of Jugglehub located in Prenzlauer Berg which offers professional childcare options designed to accommodate the needs of working parents. Similarly, Tuechtig in Wedding offers an inclusive space that caters especially well to people with visual impairments and physical mobility issues as well as providing psychological support.
At other times people seek out smaller workspaces because they would like to work somewhere quieter. Perhaps they have family commitments or live in a particularly noisy area and or apartment. For people who are therefore looking for a more relaxing environment CU.Office in Wedding offers a perfect coworking space for people looking for a small friendly environment where they can work peacefully and make connections with the local neighbourhood.
Medium and Large Offices
Gesundbrunnen, Kreuzburg, Mitte, Moabit, Schöneburg and Wilmersdorf
Beyond searching for small offices other people search for medium or large-scale offices that offer different aspects of office life. These larger offices are often attractive to people for a number of reasons. They might be easier for people to access based on where people live due to transport connections, or they’re located in cool areas, where people want to spend their time. Medium-sized and larger coworking spaces also tend to offer greater facilities and more services to users, such as cleaning, printing, and more telephone and conference rooms with soundproofing. Additionally, not everyone using coworking spaces necessarily has a regular job in which case larger spaces can often be useful for people looking for work. Larger coworking spaces inevitably have a larger pool of people using bulletin boards that frequently list new jobs.
In terms of medium-sized coworking spaces, Berlin has several excellent candidates. Space Shack in Schöneburg offers a futuristic-themed office that plays host to a variety of companies and offers seven different events rooms and various team offices for up to twenty people. Engelnest, also in Schöneburg, is located in an old pallet factory that has been converted into a modern coworking space. This medium-sized location provides an excellent work environment and also access to a wide array of fantastic food options due to its location between the Bergmankiez and Akazienstrasse. In Moabit, House of Clouds is one of the city's oldest coworking spaces and caters to the needs of individuals and larger companies alike with a mixture of offices and individual workstations. Tuesday Coworking is another great choice which now has three locations in Schöneberg and Wilmersdorf. These offer a range of facilities from specialised podcasting booths, kitchen, lounge spaces, and A3 printing.
For those in search of Berlin’s biggest coworking spaces, there are a whole bunch to choose from. Ahoy Berlin located in Gesundbrunnen has a great selection of offices featuring rooms with three desks and larger spaces for teams of over thirty people. Betahaus at the heart of the city between Kreuzberg and Mitte is one of Berlin’s most famous coworking spaces. Its facilities include an events room for up to two hundred people, weekly community breakfasts, and regular community events ranging from music to language learning. St Oberholz has twelve locations spread across Berlin that offer a range of coworking, fixed desk, and virtual office alternatives, with high-speed internet and 24/7 access. Mind Space is another great option with five locations in Berlin. These feature private pet-friendly office spaces with up to twenty workstations each and larger office suites with up to a hundred workstations.
All in all, Berlin has a wide range of coworking spaces to suit the needs of everyone. These aim to address what works best for you, what kinds of social and community interactions you are interested in, and what kinds of specialist needs you require.
