Berlin Brain

Library Berlin, Germany

"The Brain of Berlin", that is how an English architect Sir Norman Foster called a new philological library of the Free University of Berlin in 2005. The building resembles a colossal glass egg put on one side. It is actually hollow inside, and the stories are made by four tiers of undulating galleries whose pattern looks like brain convolutions. The climate system in the building meets all environmental requirements: fresh air intake through the vent lights is computer controlled, and the heating system uses the heat of the warm surfaces, so the microclimate inside the building is good for readers.

The construction contributed to the existing college building of the Humanitarian Institute built in 1967-1979. Its project was developed by German architects together with Jean Prouve. The Free University of Berlin is one of the main educational institutions in the city. Today 35 000 students study there. The main building of the university was opened in 1973. In 2000 it became evident that the building needed extensive repairs. In order not to prevent studying it was decided to preliminary make a new structure of the library where a lot of students would be able to study. The originality of the construction is first of all in the cellular construction of the "shell" made of steel, glass and aluminum. The second "shell," made of glass fiber, covers the very kernel of the building that has a dome shape.