SSP Rüthnick Architekten

A longtime urban development deficiency is solved by the new building with a prominent and central location in opposite to the Museum Island Berlin. The voluminous buildings of the cultural heritage and the small structured listed buildings on the western bank of the Spree River, determine the urban situation and form the contextual starting point for the design.

The new façade design refers to the historical plots of the urban block by six single houses. Different materials and changing eaves height emphasize the design. The western half of the building is used by the Institute for art history and visual cultures of the Humboldt University Berlin. Large lecture halls and event areas are on the ground floor. On the upper floors are seminar rooms and offices for the different professorships. The buildings encircle two glass-roofed atriums in the midst, used as exhibition space as well as a multifunctional area.