Design completed for new lecture hall complex on Henkestrasse

The winning design in the competition was submitted by architecture firm Ackermann + Raff from Stuttgart.

Swabians are well known for their house building skills, began science minister Markus Blume in his speech praising the design of architects Ackermann + Raff from Stuttgart, which has won first prize in the design competition for a new lecture hall complex for FAU on Henkestrasse in Erlangen. He swiftly added however that the dimensions of this building mean we can hardly call it a ‘house’. According to Blume, the design is in fact more like a temple situated on the new route between the University’s locations in Erlangen and Nuremberg and will serve as a modern architectural statement for FAU. When looking at the design, it is easy to understand why the science minister is praising it so highly. The winning design has been skilfully integrated into its surroundings, and it successfully combines its open and airy spaces with its various functions ranging from lecture halls and exhibition spaces for FAU’s collections and the experimental theatre to the spaces for the Institute of Theatre and Media Studies.

‘We need cutting-edge infrastructure for the university of the future. The magnificent design of Ackermann Raff Architects will provide an open, transparent and inviting building as a new gateway from the University into the city. We will be further strengthening FAU’s position as the academic heart of our Franconian Silicon Valley with the investment of over 100 million euros for this construction project,’ said science minister Blume.

17 March 2022 is a good day for FAU according to Chancellor Christian Zens: ‘Our new lecture hall complex on Henkestrasse will be one of the central hubs for student life – not only for the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology, but for all subjects. At the same time, the new building will have a positive impact on FAU’s image as a university which offers the entire spectrum of academic disciplines, as well as on the cityscape of Erlangen. We are very pleased that in the future generations of students and teaching staff will be able to study and teach in a modern and attractive atmosphere.’

Central contact point and gateway to the University

The new lecture hall complex will be a central point of contact for the entire University. It will provide around 8,500 square metres of floorspace for lecture halls and seminar rooms. In addition, as a ‘gateway’ to the University, it will provide space for holding admissions examinations, graduation ceremonies, conferences and congresses as well as all large lectures for all subjects. Furthermore, there are plans to hold talks and events geared towards the general public, as is the case with the exhibitions by FAU’s museum collections.

The new lecture hall complex with ‘Audimax’ is another cornerstone in the large-scale modernisation of FAU. A total of 1.5 billion euros will be spent during the next three years on large-scale construction projects at FAU, Bavaria’s third-largest university. Planning has already begun for renovating the ‘Himbeerpalast’ building and the second construction phase of the new Chemistry building. A call for applications has already been made for the new campus for teacher education in the north of Nuremberg. Construction work for two new timber frame lecture hall buildings will begin in summer 2022 and work on the new building for the Technical Chemistry department is due to start in 2023.