Places between architecture, nature and art

The eastern courtyard of the Old Main Building is part of a series of courtyards between the buildings on the Stadtmitte campus and is accessible via the reading courtyard of the University and State Library. In the course of the planning and construction work, which took just under two years and cost around 1.1 million euros, the TU renovated building structures and the underground pipes. At the same time, the inner courtyard underwent an upgrade: the new design connects the various façades of the surrounding historical building wings. Green spaces in the centre of the courtyard, paths, tables, seating, lounging platforms and a rest area in the former water basin characterise the atmosphere and are just as suitable for quiet work as they are for a rest break.

Sustainability, nature and art are the focus. The new planting was selected so that blossoms and greenery can be seen almost all year round; a division into a “shade garden” in the north and a “sun garden” in the south takes account of the incidence of light. Rare existing specimen trees were preserved and three new trees were added. In addition, care was taken to use resources sparingly: where possible, existing building materials, some of them historic, were reused and historic components such as natural stone stairs and landings on building doors were preserved.

The artwork “Raumbewegung” (spatial movement), created by the Freiburg sculptor CW Loth on behalf of the TU, has also found a place here and matches the brick walls, old and new trees and plants as well as the modern seating, also made of wood, in form, colour and structure. The special thing about the sculpture: Loth made it from a single tree trunk without using any other materials.

Science in the harmonious glass cap

Just a few metres away from the inner courtyard on Hochschulstraße is another highlight of the campus, albeit at a height of more than 20 metres: the modern rooftop of the clock tower, which was also inaugurated on 23 March. The translucent cube, discreetly illuminated at night, was designed by Sichau & Walter Architekten from Fulda. It consists of artistically designed laminated glass. Since 2020, it has given the building ensemble back the proportions and harmonious image that the architect Friedrich Pützer created with the clock tower in 1904. Pützer's tower dome was destroyed in the Darmstadt raid in 1944. Since then, the tower existed as a stump until the TU, on the initiative of Chancellor Manfred Efinger, undertook the modern, deliberately non-historicising completion. The clock tower building itself had already been fundamentally renovated by the TU; the costs for the entire clock tower construction project amounted to around 800,000 euros.

The cube is open at the top and houses the TURM Observatory of the Department of Physics. Four telescopes, which were purchased from donations, observe the sun and the starry night sky from here. Thus, the new tower dome not only closes a gap in the architecture, but also continues a tradition with its scientific use: The original dome housed a transmitting station for communications technology – high-tech of the early 20th century.