As part of the upcoming renovation of the Natural Sciences Center (NWZ), the Department of Physics will receive a modern replacement building on Campus Vaihingen. Flexible laboratories, innovative lecture halls, and collaborative spaces create ideal conditions for cutting-edge research and excellent teaching.
The groundbreaking ceremony took place on Thursday, attended by Minister of Science Petra Olschowski, State Secretary for Finance Gisela Splett, Rector Prof. Peter Middendorf, Chancellor Anna Steiger, and representatives from the Department of Physics and the State Office for Property and Construction.
World-class research and excellent study conditions all under one roof
“With the new Physics building, the University of Stuttgart will gain not only state-of-the-art research and teaching facilities but also an architecturally prominent center for physics,” said Minister of Science Petra Olschowski. “With this building, we are investing in Stuttgart as a strong STEM hub: It is here that the highly sought-after specialists and educators of tomorrow are being trained. In the future, world-class research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and top-level study conditions will all be brought together under one roof.”
State Secretary for Finance Gisela Splett emphasized: “The University of Stuttgart is receiving modern spaces for science, research, and teaching.” The new building, with around 20,000 square meters of usable space, is being constructed to allow the extensive complex of Natural Sciences Institutes to be renovated in the coming years. This is part of the renovation strategy for the University of Stuttgart campus.
Putting people first
The building is conceived as a creative, integrated research facility, where theory and experimentation merge seamlessly. Thanks to its flexible design, it can accommodate future developments in quantum technologies - one of the university’s strategic focus areas - as well as the increasingly interdisciplinary networking of research.
“The University of Stuttgart is grateful for a new Physics building that meets the highest scientific, technical, and architectural standards,” said Rector Professor Peter Middendorf. “We look forward to a place for encounters, curiosity, and exchange, and to the dawn of a new future for interdisciplinary research and teaching - both in physics and across the entire University of Stuttgart.”
At the heart of the design are the people in the department: students, researchers, and staff will be able to collaborate in an inspiring environment. Communication areas, rooftop gardens, whiteboards in the corridors, and an open foyer with a cafeteria provide space for informal meetings and creative exchange. Each institute floor has a seminar room, a kitchenette, and shared spaces for at least two departments, ensuring close integration of research and teaching.
State-of-the-art spaces for teaching and experimental research
The new building provides excellent study conditions: Short distances between lectures, tutorials, and practical laboratory courses make daily student life easier, while student workspaces in the foyer promote interaction and exchange. A technical feature of the building is two lecture halls with integrated rotating stages. They ensure optimal use of space: while a lecture takes place at the front, new experiments can be prepared simultaneously at the back. This allows dynamic demonstration experiments to remain a central part of teaching, without having to close lecture halls for setup.
The planned laboratories open up new opportunities for research. They provide constant temperatures, stable humidity, and vibration-free conditions, creating ideal environments for highly sensitive experiments at the atomic and subatomic scale. All laboratories are based on a standard setup, allowing them to be adapted to new research objectives with significantly less effort than is currently required.
The architectural firm hammeskrause placed special emphasis on using sustainable and climate-friendly materials in the design. The roof and façade will be equipped with a total of around 5,000 square meters of photovoltaic panels.
With these features, the new replacement building will attract outstanding researchers, ensure the future viability of physics in Stuttgart, and strengthen Baden-Württemberg as a hub for science.
