Oliver Schlink and Sebastian Blecke, CEOs of GSG Berlin

1. Describe your company.   

GSG Berlin is the most significant private provider of office and commercial space in our city, with nearly 1 million square meters of space. Most of this consists of historic industrial courtyards built in the typical brick style of Berlin’s Gründerzeit era. In addition, we have developed modern office buildings as project developers: most recently, the FRAMEZ in Kreuzberg, a particularly sustainable building, and the glass cube JULIUS on a Spree riverside property in Charlottenburg, with a rooftop terrace offering views of the water. Both are now being offered for lease for the first time.


2. Why are you involved as a Berlin-Partner? 

We truly see ourselves as a partner to Berlin’s economy. Entrepreneurial ideas need suitable physical spaces, and we aim to provide those spaces—whether for a craft business, an auto repair shop, an advertising agency, an AI startup, or a coworking space that in turn attracts agencies or startups. We believe that good spaces support good work—and we act accordingly. 


3. What drives your company, what are you currently working on?  

GSG Berlin has always had to respond to change and disruptive events—and has done so successfully! In times of remote work and the transformation of work through artificial intelligence, we naturally ask ourselves what kinds of activities will take place in our spaces in the coming years and decades. Fortunately, our portfolio is highly adaptable to changes in demand, so we are exploring various usage concepts beyond the traditional office or “normal” commercial space—always keeping economic and ecological sustainability in mind.

4. What do you value about Berlin as a (business) location?  

For example, we have many office spaces on Oranienstraße in Kreuzberg and appreciate the vibrancy there. But we also have properties in Charlottenburg along the Spree and equally value the different kind of liveliness found there. We’re also present in the eastern and southern parts of the city—and everywhere, Berlin presents itself differently, attracting different people and industries. Berlin is a unified whole, but you can still feel that many of its districts were once independent towns and villages that were incorporated over time. This contributes to the diversity and polycentric structure that make Berlin so unique.

5. What distinguishes your company in terms of sustainability at the Berlin location?  

GSG Berlin operates one of the largest photovoltaic systems in Berlin when considering all the rooftops of our industrial courtyards. We were pioneers in this area, having started large-scale installations over ten years ago. For comparison: ESG has only become a widely discussed topic in the past five years. We also installed our first electric vehicle charging stations early on, at a time when many car manufacturers were still dismissive of the topic. You really can’t start too early with sustainability. After all—and we should always keep this in mind, even if it sounds cliché—there is no Planet B.