Link to more information in German and pictures for downloading: www.fu-berlin.de/presse/neubau. The images may be used free of charge for reporting on the building in the context of this press release and provided that the photographer is named.

"The new building will play an important role in linking various subdepartments of the university and will greatly facilitate interdisciplinary cooperation," says the president of the university, Prof. Dr. Peter-André Alt. After the smaller departments have completed the move to the new building, the university plans to give up eleven of the villas that are scattered across the campus and up to now have housed smaller institutes and subdepartments. Some of the villas will be sold to help Freie Univesität meet its obligations in contributing to financing the new building. Of the approximately 52 million euros it cost to construct the building, Freie Universität will cover 33.5 million euros, while the German federal government will contribute 18.5 million euros as a means of promoting the integration of research. The university's Director of Administration and Finance, Peter Lange, noted that the university not only completed the construction work according to schedule, but also within the allotted budget.

The Department of History and Cultural Studies at Freie Universität Berlin covers a broader range of subjects than any other university in Germany. The time periods covered range from antiquity to modern times and geographically from Europe to Asia. The 14 subdepartments that moved into the new building include Iranian studies, Turkic studies, Jewish studies, Islamic studies, Korean studies, prehistoric archaeology, and ancient Near Eastern languages and civilizations. The disciplines are clustered in four major areas: antiquity, the Middle East, East Asia, and religion. "Various institutes dealing with subjects that are closely related are now physically close to each other and share common space for teaching and research in the central library," says Prof. Dr. Karin Gludovatz, the dean of the Department of History and Cultural Studies. This facilitates academic exchange among researchers and students. The students often have various combinations of majors and minors in these subjects and previously had to cover great distances to attend class and use the separate libraries. The new proximity will help them save time and improve their conditions for studying and learning.

Another advantage is that students and researchers will have access to the entire library holdings in one central location. The libraries of the various institutes that were previously housed in the separate villas are now consolidated in the new Campus Library. Structurally it is connected to the fully renovated departmental library of the Department of Education and Psychology, whose holdings are now integrated in the Campus Library. Altogether the holdings of 24 separate departmental libraries, including five disciplines from math and science, were consolidated in the Campus Library.

During the past months a total of 30 kilometers of books were moved. More than a million books are now available for users in the Campus Library. In addition to group work spaces, there are 950 individual spaces for reading and work. "The new Campus Library is not only intended to bring together books, but also people," says the director of the library, Martin Lee. To expedite the check-out process, each book is equipped with a chip for a self-checkout system, in the hope that long lines at the check-out desk can be avoided. A unified classification system called Regensburger Classification facilitates orientation for users in the open stacks, which is particularly useful for cross-disciplinary research.

In addition to the library, the new building has 220 offices and working rooms for researchers, 12 seminar rooms, and 3 lecture halls. The architecture of the one- to three-story building extending around landscaped courtyards is an extension of the existing structure. The façade is paneled with cedar. Many public areas provide opportunities for communication. "In between there are small-scale units, where each institute can develop its own identity," says architect Florian Nagler and continues, “The institutes that were previously housed in separate villas will not disappear in a uniform, faceless megastructure.”

The new building is fully accessible and complies with the latest environmental standards. "The natural ventilation of the building is a special energy-efficient feature," says Uwe Meising, the head of the Engineering and Utilities Division at Freie Universität. Weather louvres in the offices make it advantageous to leave windows open overnight, so that the cool night air can be used for ventilation. The windows in the library can be opened by an electric motor for night cooling, and the heated air can flow out through opening wings in the skylights. The ventilation system is controlled by wind and rain sensors dependent on the outdoor and indoor temperatures. A newly designed plaza in front of the entrance on Fabeck Street is welcoming for students and staff, offering them an opportunity to linger under the ornamental cherry trees.

Facts and Figures about the New Building for the Small Departments:

Official opening: May 29, 2015

Floor area: 12,650 square meters (including the library)

Construction time: 2.5 years

Total construction costs: approximately 52 million euros

Federal grant: about 18.5 million euros

Contribution by the university: about 33.5 million euros

Lecture halls: 3

Seminar rooms: 12 (incl. PC seminar rooms)

Offices: 220

Builder: Freie Universität Berlin

Architect: Florian Nagler Architekten GmbH, Munich

Technical equipment: Büro Ingenieurgesellschaft W33, Berlin

Structural engineering: Büro Leonhardt, Andrä und Partner, Berlin

Landscaping: Häfner / Jiménez Büro für Landschaftsarchitektur, Berlin

The new building includes:

The Campus Library, the Dean's Office and Administration of the Department of History and Cultural Studies, and 14 institutes and subdepartments of the Department of History and Cultural Studies:

• Egyptology
• Institute of Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology
• Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology
• Institute of Classical Archaeology
• Institute of Korean Studies
• Institute of Chinese Studies
• Institute of Islamic Studies
• Semitic and Arabic Studies
• Institute of Iranian Studies
• Institute of Turkic Studies
• Institute of Jewish Studies
• Catholic Theology
• Institute for the Scientific Study of Religion

Facts and Figures about the Campus Library:

Holdings: About 1 million volumes from 24 institutional and departmental libraries (a total of 30 kilometers of books)

Floor area: 5580 square meters

Individual reading and working spaces: 950

Group rooms: 12

Classification system: Regensburger Classification

Opening times: Mon. - Fri. 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. / Sat. - Sun. 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The following departmental libraries were consolidated in the Campus Library:

• Education and psychology
• Women's and gender studies
• Japanese studies
• Chinese studies
• Religion
• Protestant theology with religious history
• Jewish studies
• Catholic theology
• Comparative ethics
• Islamic studies
• Semitic and Arabic studies
• Iranian studies
• Turkic studies
• Prehistoric archaeology
• Classical archaeology
• Egyptology
• Ancient Near Eastern archaeology
• Ancient Near Eastern languages and civilizations
• Pharmacy
• Chemistry and biochemistry
• Biology
• Physics
• Mathematics and computer science