Luneburg University’s Libeskind Building / Daniel Libeskind

Jan 2011

By Alison Furuto — Filed under: Educational , Daniel Libeskind, Germany, Luneburg

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Germany’s Lüneburg university wants to reinvent itself as an elite academic institution and is looking to generate buzz with a huge new building designed by star US architect Daniel Libeskind. Students and local politicians have criticized the ambitious plans, but construction is going ahead, now that funding has finally been secured. More images and description after the break.

Big names get the general public’s attention — that’s something the administrators at Lüneburg University near Hamburg know well. In the past, former US President Jimmy Carter and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have both made appearances on the campus.

But the biggest name in Lüneburg right now is that of star architect Daniel Libeskind. The 64-year-old American architect, who designed the Jewish Museum in Berlin and has been involved in rebuilding the World Trade Center in New York, gives lectures at the institution as a part-time professor. He is also behind plans for the futuristic new central building at the university, which looks set to go ahead after the university administration announced funding plans earlier this week.

Courtesy of Daniel Libeskind

With its silver-colored, jagged facade, the building will be 38 meters (124 feet) high, able to accommodate 1,200 people and will cost around €57.7 million ($76 million). The laying of the foundation stone is planned for early 2011, and construction is supposed to be completed by Easter 2014. The building has already attracted its share of controversy, however. Student representatives have complained that it is “not practical,” while state-level politicians have criticized the fact that funding for construction was uncertain. Even local environmental activists are upset: Two pairs of crested larks, an acutely endangered bird species, were discovered on the site.

Courtesy of Daniel Libeskind

A University With Ambitions

The whole project is part of the regional university’s ambitious plans to reinvent itself. It started off as a technical college but now aspires to become more of an elite institute of contemporary learning. The university has called itself Leuphana for the past few years after an advertising agency suggested a name change. It is run by university president Sascha Spoun, who was the youngest head of a German university when he took up the position in 2006 at the age of 36. His deputy, Holm Keller, previously worked for the management consultancy firm McKinsey and the publishing and media giant Bertelsmann.

In order to realize their dream of the Libeskind building, the university administration has had to consider its financial options carefully. Originally this involved bringing together private and public funding in a so-called public-private partnership, which would have meant the construction of a hotel and a parking lot on the university campus as well. But both student groups and state politicians objected to the fact that a private investor would have usage rights on the university campus.

Courtesy of Daniel Libeskind

Earlier this week, however, the university announced that it would not be bringing on board private investors. Instead, it will build and operate the building by itself. A large part of the funding will come from the state of Lower Saxony, which will contribute €18.6 million, and the European Union, which is providing €14 million. Other money will come from the city and regional administration, which will provide a total of €7 million together, the German Economics Ministry and other smaller sponsors, including Germany’s churches.

The university will also have to put up some money of its own. It plans to sell off some university land and buildings, which is expected to bring in €9 million. Local politicians are already warning that the institution should not sell off their property at anything below market value.

: Courtesy of Daniel Libeskind

: Courtesy of Daniel Libeskind

: Courtesy of Daniel Libeskind

: Courtesy of Daniel Libeskind

Cite:
Furuto , Alison . "Luneburg University’s Libeskind Building / Daniel Libeskind" 04 Jan 2011. ArchDaily. Accessed 16 May 2012. <http://www.archdaily.com/100889>

Comments (31)
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James Smith says:

NNOOOOOOOOO!!!
Has this creep not EFF’d-up enough cities in this world!!?? Take a look at the mess he made out of our Royal Ontario Museum before you drink this fella’s Koolaid! Been to Denver? Hit you head going up the escalator to see a wall you can’t hang pictures on?
Sheesh!

# January 4, 2011 at 16:07

andrew says:

not this guy again…:|

# January 4, 2011 at 16:32

Robb says:

Good Lord, i hoped Liebesking vaporized long time ago….it seams his deconstruction gimmick is still alive….i just can’t get those investors what are they thinking.

# January 4, 2011 at 16:43

Travis says:

That fourth rendering is…a bit, uh “raw”. And the massing from that angle looks just awful. Bad proportions. And then the same museal interior he’s done time and time again for the only interior. It’s too easy though, everyone loves to hate Libeskind’s designs

# January 4, 2011 at 16:57

Dan says:

Notes to self:
1. Invent wildly iconic signature aesthetic.
2. Get recognized for it.
3. Repeat.

# January 4, 2011 at 17:02

Ard says:

you forget note 4 to 10:

4. repeat
5. repeat
6. repeat
7. repeat
8. repeat
9. repeat
10. repeat

# January 4, 2011 at 18:10

san says:

or, for coders…

dim style
style = iconic signature aesthetic

if recognized for style
do loop

# January 5, 2011 at 11:34

Thomas Washington says:

Another context-less design that doesn’t address any new ideology, context, environment, materiality, tectonics or any other main aspect of Architecture. This is just a rehash of all his other designs, and once again dilutes any meaning once put on these jagged forms.

# January 4, 2011 at 17:16

vega says:

someone should retire …

# January 4, 2011 at 18:35

archi says:

Sorry, Daniel. But this looks like it was done by a 3rd year pass grade student who is a fan of Daniel Libeskind. And it seems, judging by the text above, that the client is more interested in style than substance. The reaction seems justified. If the client continues with this, then they will get what they deserve.

# January 4, 2011 at 19:39

gluehot says:

Looks like a boolean union of his Manchester and Hong Kong buildings, or maybe Mr. Venom from Spiderman.
Laughable pointy shapes with boring diagonal slashes, coated with metaphors like world peace and humanism, don’t make a good design.
It might have worked once in 1989, but oh boy, somebody really needs to move on.

# January 4, 2011 at 20:50

Thomas K says:

The ego-driven Libeskind makes a point of criticizing other architects as “hacks”. But Libeskind and his staff of moronic and mindless drones have themselves become uber-hacks, cranking out the same old meaningless formalism over and over again. If Libeskind wants to be a joke that’s his decision. But I do feel sorry for his young staff wasting their lives on such pathetic projects as this.

# January 4, 2011 at 21:25

nonono says:

I knew it before clicking this link, I had feeling that nobody praising. Wait, is it 1999?

# January 4, 2011 at 22:53

up_today_arch says:

regular building with Lebeskind-style envelope…

# January 5, 2011 at 01:44

Chris says:

That’s gotta be one of the worst building envelopes I’ve seen. And I’m still in university.

# January 5, 2011 at 03:07

Jp says:

again…and again…and again…and again…and again…

Hopefully one day he will get a new idea.

Interesting how the similarities with Gehry go beyond the metal skin.

# January 5, 2011 at 03:43

Vlad says:

i spent hours trying to find his school building in london a few years ago and when i finally got there i was a very disappointed young man. someone tell the people that those shapes are stupid..

# January 5, 2011 at 05:06

blk says:

oh dear… sad… sad…

# January 5, 2011 at 06:07

CAVP says:

I don’t even know how to begin. Architect students spend years of sleepless days, humiliating criticism from school staff, numerous reminders that a building has to have some type of relationship with its context, and most of all, that architecture is defined by space. First, I don’t see any drawings that reflect the interior space; no floor plans and no sections. I can’t say I like or dislike the building just because of its aesthetic appearance or because the architect is repeating the same building over and over again. But, when an architect firm or company posts a project (in a website that is mostly viewed by professionals and architect students) with no floor plans, no sections, no site plan (NO CONTEXT) they can’t expect constructive criticism. Don’t try to insult our intelligence by posting a couple of empty renders, next time post them in “Graphic Design Digest”. Don’t get me wrong, I love renders but they should be used as a compliment or as a deal-maker with clients. This project is posted in an architectural website without the basics: DRAWINGS. Next time you come to a gun fight, bring a gun and not a shiny knife.

# January 5, 2011 at 08:59

Tom Nedrick says:

Normally I’d agree with you and would like to see floor plans. In Libeskind’s case I could care less. His plans won’t add anything to the comprehension of the design because there is no design to speak of. Libeskind’s approach is wholly and completely superficial:

Step 1: Pull out an old Chamberworks drawing or plan from another project.
Step 2: Do a napkin sketch.
Step 3: Write some gibberish with a few pretentious claims thrown in.
Step 4: Give the napkin sketch to a collaborating firm with real knowledge and experience.
Step 5: Take all the credit for yourself at the press conference.

Plans will merely confirm what the renderings already show – namely that Daniel Libeskind is an over-rated, over-hyped clown with no talent except for bragging about himself.

# January 6, 2011 at 10:59

jibrur says:

aw aw aw, this a gig too damn inspiring eh?

# January 5, 2011 at 09:26

Lee says:

This is such a sad little building.
I’ve no idea how Libeskind has squandered the talent he obviously had.
Idea before Technique; stop rendering start thinking.

# January 5, 2011 at 09:48

Tracy Derain says:

This is not design, it’s just an empty gesture quickly applied without any thought to every project Libeskind gets. Even McDonalds modifies their restaurants to suit the locality. In other words, more thought goes into a McDonalds burger joint than into a Libeskind project.

# January 5, 2011 at 11:47

Chemo says:

Why this hatred for Libeskind’s work…for Ghery’s work…and others like them who keep given us unique experiences? Are we architects becoming little beings who are jealous of those who have made it? This is really sad. Architects get your acts together. Criticizing in this way wont take you to the top!

# January 5, 2011 at 11:57

Why this hatred for Libeskind’s work…for Ghery’s work…and others like them who keep giving us unique experiences? Are we architects becoming little beings who are jealous of those who have made it? This is really sad. Architects get your acts together. Criticizing in this way wont take you to the top!

I don’t like all of Gehry’s stuff, but I have a huge amount of respect for him. He’s gone through a lot of influential phases and has a nice variety of built work.

As for Libeskind…. Berlin is a unique building. But he can’t seem to move past the same basic recipe. And the same recipe doesn’t work for every meal of the day, let alone week. Worst of all the way he explains and justifies his work is not convincing at all and usually doesn’t reflect what is presented anyways.

All that glitters is not gold. We have the right to critique stuff, and architects have the right to ignore us. And they probably do. We’ll just have to wait a decade or so and see how Daniel’s star has fallen… (or risen!!!!)

# January 6, 2011 at 01:31

Matthew says:

If Lüneberg really wants to become a respected university town, they would do better to:

1. take on top flight academics
2. fund research centres
3. make a lively, walkable campus
4. build high quality student halls of residence
5. build relationships with other centres of excellence

etc.

Building a Libeskind building and thinking that will pull in the punters is actually rather pathetic. The other august institution that tried the same stunt was the University of North London, whose tacky and disfunctional Libeskind building disfigures (were it possible) Holloway Road in London.

# January 5, 2011 at 22:03

Jeb Eberhardt says:

Libeskind’s problem is not repetition, it’s just chronic lack of design. I doubt if anyone from his office even bothered to visit the site. (Nina is a notorious cheapskate and probably decided not to loosen the purse strings and let anyone waste time or money on air fares to familiarize themselves with the local context.) And besides, everyone in the office knew that the office’s trademark gimmick solution would be forced onto the site regardless. I wonder if they even bothered to read the client’s program.

# January 8, 2011 at 14:16

Davis Raynal says:

It looks like it went straight from the napkin sketch doodle right over to the outsourced rendering shop in China …. without the intervening process of design development or refinement. Honestly, you can only feel embarrassed for Libeskind because he understands so little of what it takes to make real architecture.

# January 9, 2011 at 00:12

Daniel says:

if he just designed ONE building like this and then quit, he wouldve been a legend. now hes just ruining it all by designing more of them.

# January 20, 2011 at 21:42

asmith says:

Just my thoughts but I don’t take issue with him reusing and adapting some of his ideas, process and style based elements which seem to be what some people are berating him for, too much energy goes into reinventing the box. Seems to me that architects of previous generations had the opportunity to do just this without being torn a new one. I do however agree that it looks like a poorly defined building with unatractive massings and of course the lack of plans, site plan and a section is ridiculous.

# March 20, 2012 at 20:54

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