2. Collaborative Sustainability and Eco-innovation:
The Potential of Co-creation Spaces to Contribute to
Sustainable Development on the Case of Berlin
Alexandr Iscenco
alexander.iscenco@ioew.de
alexander@megageneration.com

3. Today‘s Menu
• Research results on Collaborative Sustainability in Open Workshops
• Potential of open workshops in Berlin to support sustainability in the city
• MEGA Generation collaborative platform for eco-innovation
• Exclusive invitation to participate in the first test of the platform
• Questions and next steps

4. Collaborative Sustainability in Open Workshops
Goal:
How can the collaborative innovation and commons-based peer production
in open workshops be linked to sustainable development of a city
on the case of Berlin?
Objectives:
•Identify, classify, and map all existing open workshops in Berlin;
•Analyze the governance structure, business model, social environment, and
technological potential of every type of open workshops;
•Assess how each type operates in relation to sustainability;
•Identify good case practices of open workshops performing sustainable
collaborative innovation;
•Evaluate the positive and negative effects of collaborative innovation and
peer production in open workshops.

5. Collaborative Sustainability in Open Workshops

6. Collaborative Sustainability in Open Workshops

7. Collaborative Sustainability in Open Workshops
• Co-working space: co.up, Moabiter Werkstätten, and Impact Hub Berlin
• Hackerspace: c-base and 3D Berlin Headquarter / YOUin3D
• Makerspace: Betahaus and Open Design City
• Fab lab: Fab Lab Berlin
• Specialized workshop: Nadelwald Co-Sewing Space
• 3D Printing Café: Dimension Alley and Teptec Studios
• Repair Café: Repair Café Berlin-Schöneberg / BUND Berlin

8. Collaborative Sustainability in Open Workshops

9. Collaborative Sustainability in Open Workshops
Open workshops
•Verbund Offener Werkstätten (2014): Collaborative spaces with equipment
and tools available to all technically and artistically active individuals
(hackers, makers, crafters, tinkerers, and artists) and their groups for them to
work on their software, hardware, or art projects
•Kostakis, Niaros, and Giotitsas (2014): Physical places working on the basis of
the community created around them, where individuals are immersed in the
culture and ethics of each place and are able to engage with meaningful and
creative projects

10. Collaborative Sustainability in Open Workshops
Open workshops
•Real physical places, where people can come and work on projects
•Welcome both to amateurs and professionals
•Collaborative relations and common accountability based on mutual trust
among members of open workshops
•Focus on independence and autonomy of open workshops
•Community-driven functioning of open-workshops

12. Collaborative Sustainability in Open Workshops

14. Collaborative Sustainability in Open Workshops

15. Potential of open workshops to support sustainability
+ Reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from manufacturing and
transportation of products
+ Increased resource efficiency and reduced waste generation due to the
fact that modern machines in open workshop use no more raw materials
than they need
+ Shift away from overconsumption, planned obsolescence, and
disposability of goods
+ Sharing of open knowledge, designs, and manufactured creations
+ Projects and initiatives to integrate the circular flow of materials in the
activity of open workshops

16. Potential of open workshops to support sustainability
- Relative ease and freedom of personal manufacturing may result in
overproduction of unnecessary items
- Modern desktop manufacture machines, such as 3D printers, CNC mills,
and laser cutters, require large amounts of energy to operate
- Local fabrication of goods in an open workshop does not guarantee their
usage in the local area

17. Potential of open workshops to support sustainability
Primary reasons for starting and running an open workshop

19. Potential of open workshops to support sustainability
The most common motives for people to visit and work in open workshops

24. MEGA Generation collaborative platform

25. MEGA Generation collaborative platform

26. MEGA Generation collaborative platform

27. Exclusive invitation to participate in the first test

29. Thank you for your attention!
Alexandr Iscenco
alexander.iscenco@ioew.de
alexander@megageneration.com