The importance of the area has always been in the technical excellence, which was developed here. The AEG built here in 1890 a factory for accumulators, from 1895 the electricity company Oberspree and then other factories. The result was an industrial conurbation of 25 large companies and a large number of small businesses, workshops and laboratories. One third of the companies belonged to the electrical industry. The next strongest branches were the metal industry and mechanical engineering. At that time, the Oberspree power plant was the first large power plant outside Berlin and the first “Drehstrom” power plant in the German Country. The power plant became the precursor of today's electricity generation, because for the first time, electrical energy was fed into a utility grid and redistributed to everybody. During this period, about 25,000 workers worked in Oberschöneweide and the region was at that time the world's highest in the themes of: telegraphy, car and motor vehicle construction and recording technology.
In order to stabilize and revitalize the area for the future in a sustainably way, architecture also needs a conscious approach to history. The history must be recorded and carefully transferred to the present. Details must be maintained and traditional materials must be visible. New materials have to be flexible and "healthy" in order to complement the existing stock meaningfully and purposefully.
