Work starts on new university building at Henkestraße 42
Major developments are set to change the face of the city of Erlangen over the coming years. One of these developments is the new research and teaching building for Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) at Henkestraße 42 – a modern architectural calling card for the whole of the university. Now that the architecture competition and planning stages are completed, the Nuremberg State Construction Office is taking the first steps to prepare for the demolition of the existing building in August.
The first excavation works along Henkestraße began in spring this year, and the demolition of the former Organic Chemistry building from the 1960s is planned for the coming months. The department moved to FAU Campus Erlangen (South) in 2018.
Open and airy construction
The architect’s office a+r from Stuttgart submitted the winning design for the new building at Henkestraße 42. The jury, which convened in 2022, was impressed by how well it was integrated into the urban setting, its open and airy construction and the winning combination of technical features. The new building will not only offer lecture halls, an experimental theater, exhibition areas and a departmental library, but also house the new FAU Audimax. The building is planned to provide approximately 9,600 square meters of floor space, and construction works will begin once the demolition is complete. The Free State of Bavaria is investing more than 250 million euros in this modern gateway to the university, with the whole of the FAU family set to reap the benefits. Together with the Himbeerpalast, the new university building in Henkestraße belongs to the “axis of knowledge” stretching all the way to the University Library and the Schlossgarten.
A building for students, researchers and the general public.
There are plans for a total of ten lecture halls seating between 80 and 800 students from the humanities, social sciences, law, sciences and medicine. The event and exhibition area will include two large function rooms for choir and orchestra practice, concerts, workshops and conferences. In addition, it will also provide a new home for the experimental theater. A special highlight for the general public are the exhibition areas for FAU’s teaching and research collections. The Institutes of Theater and Media Studies, Classical Archaeology and Prehistory and Protohistory will all be based in the new building. Plans are in the pipeline to provide students and staff with offices and meeting rooms, workshops, laboratories, stack-rooms and archives, as well as media and recording studios and a digital lab. The departmental library for archaeology will also be housed here.
Two billion euros in funding for FAU
The new university building at Henkestraße 42 is another cornerstone in the large-scale modernization of FAU. Approximately two billion euros will be invested over the coming years on large-scale construction projects at FAU, Bavaria’s third-largest university.
Detailed information on site development at FAUFurther information:
Blandina Mangelkramer
Communications and Press
presse@fau.de
State Construction Office Nuremberg
poststelle@stban.bayern.de