Architecture

After the Research Unit Potsdam had started operating in 1992, it soon became obvious that the existing buildings at Telegrafenberg were insufficient. As early as May 1993, the design of a three-story laboratory and office building was initiated. Major demands, both scientific and architectural, would have to be placed on this new building.

Integration of architecture and state-of-the-art building technology

On the one hand, the new building had to meet the technical demands of laboratory operations while, on the other hand, it should fit into the architectural landscape of the historically evolved Telegrafenberg site. The Cologne architect Prof. Oswald Mathias Unger was appointed to the planning of the new construction. In 1986, he had already designed the main building of the Alfred Wegener Institute headquarters in Bremerhaven.

The new laboratory construction of the AWI research unit at the heritage-protected Telegrafenberg faced the double challenge of meeting functional requirements, as well as considering the specific terrain with existing structures. Hence, the Lenné Landscape Park became the basis of the conceptual framework for the new Potsdam building. Finding a compromise between architectural demands and functional spaces with highly modern building technology became a top priority. The inside structure of the building followed the requirements for laboratory and administrative uses. The clear outer semicircle geometry is continued inside. At the centre of the building lies a semicircular, top-lit lobby, connecting to all rooms through a series of galleries. The semicircular building represents a steel construction with a central lobby and glass roof. It houses physical-technical, as well as chemical laboratories of the working groups ‘Atmospheric Physics’ and ‘Periglacial Research’.