Brain Gain. The Philological Library designed by the British architect Sir Norman Foster was opened in 2005. Located in the Rostlaube complex, from the outside it looks like a brain. It contains the holdings of thirteen sublibraries including 750,000 books. Some examples of particular foci are Byzantine studies, Dutch studies, and philosophy.
Sources and additional information
“The humanities at Freie Universität have always been outstanding. So far, however, there has been a lack of a center that also embodies the demands and self-confidence of modern humanities. This is exactly what the Foster Building achieves,” said Klaus Wowereit, the Mayor of Berlin at the time, in his keynote at the official opening of the Philological Library on September 14, 2005.
- Website: Philological Library
- Documentation of the opening ceremony (in German)
- Article in campus.leben about the grand opening after refurbishment, posted September 30, 2021 (in German)