The Building

Characteristics

Address	Newtonstraße 15, 12498 Berlin Adlershof, Germany
History	The building resulted from an architectural competition held in 1997
Architects	Georg Augustin, Ute Frank, Berlin
Landscape Architects	Stefan Tischer, Joerg Th. Coqui, Berlin
Construction Period	1999 - 2003
Builder / Owner	Land Berlin, represented by the Senate for Urban Development, Department V. The project received financial support from the Federal Republic of Germany as a joint initiative for the construction of universities.
Realization	Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung, Abteilung V
User	Humboldt University of Berlin, Institute of Physics
Usable floor area	9.700 m²
Total ground surface area	19.000 m²
Total interior volume	74.000 m²
	Received the Berlin Architectural Award in the year 2003

The Institute of Physics of the Humboldt University Berlin is an exceptional project of ecological urban development featuring various innovations of sustainable construction. The focus of the project is on a concept of decentralised rainwater management, building greening and elements for cooling and ventilation.

Rainwater is stored in cisterns and used to irrigate a façade greening system and to generate evaporative cooling in air conditioners. Extra water is collected in a pond in the building's courtyard allowing the water to either evaporate or drain into the ground.