With the buzz surrounding Foster and Partners' nearly completed Hearst Headquarters in New York, it would be easy to overlook another new and important project. The Philology Library, at the Free University in Berlin--one of the firm's greenest schemes to date--represents years of research into the use of active and passive technologies for more energy-efficient buildings.

METROPOLIS MAG (http://www.metropolismag.com/cda/story.php?artid=1745)

The Philology Library
Foster and Partners' new library for the Faculty of Philology, on the campus of the Free University in Berlin, opened last September. The school has an enrollment of more than 39,000 students. Inside the building, the curving cantilevered profiles of each balcony create a sequence of generous, light-filled study spaces.
Photo: Ralph Richter

Atrium
Nicknamed the Berlin Brain because of its cranial shape, the four-level library houses more than 700,000 books (with space available for another 100,000). A double-layered skin--hung over a radial steel structure--brings daylight and natural ventilation into the space. This view, from an upper-floor gallery, looks toward a structural underpass, which leads to a renovated 1970s building and serves as an entrance.
Photo: Ralph Richter

An exterior shot of the building at night.
Photo: Ralph Richter

The dramatic balconies in the main reading room look like a cruise ship for learning.
Photo: Ralph Richter

The building's outer shell of alternating glass and
aluminum panels.
Photo: Foster and Partners

Interiors
The inside of the skin is made of a translucent glass fabric. Transparent openings spaced at intervals provide direct sunlight. Classic wood chairs by German architect Egon Eiermann and rectangular aluminum task lamps, designed by Foster and Partners, are integrated with their serpentine desk system, which lines the perimeter of each balcony.
Photo: Ralph Richter

Links to the Past
An elevation showing the 1971 complex designed by architects George Candilis, Alexis Josic, Shadrach Woods, and Manfred Schiedhelm. The library is situated on a site that brings together six courtyards. Foster and Partners linked the existing building to the new one by means of two yellow passageways.
Drawings courtesy Foster and Partners

Slices through the Brain
A series of plans for each floor of the library, culminating in a rendering of the domelike roof.
Drawings courtesy Foster and Partners

Lightweight Dome
The building's outer shell is fitted with alternating glass and aluminum panels, which slide open and work as ventilation elements. A steel frame separates the double-layered skin.
Drawings courtesy Foster and Partners

Hey everyone,

I know this an old thread but I'm waking it up from the grave.

I'm doing a precedent study on the Free University Library by Foster and Partners and I was glad to see this thread already started with a few great drawings.

I'm surprised to see that some more people aren't talking about the building? Why is that. What are your thoughts on the library?

Does anyone have anymore drawings they would be willing to share? Sketches, drawings, diagrams, photos?? Anything would really help me out.

Now speak.....Thanks a ton.

Hello Niko.
There are many many threads unanswered for diverse reasons.
This thread could generate an interesting discussion (of course, it is by Foster!) I suppose.
If you are doing a research on the building, why dont you start the discussion by raising a few specific issues? ;)

Is it just my perception or do the plan/sections look like an MRI of a brain? -perfect for a library concept !

Is it just my perception or do the plan/sections look like an MRI of a brain? -perfect for a library concept !

hahaha!! yeah, it does. quite brainy of foster. hahaha!!

Actually the students at the Free University in Berlin call the building "The Brain".....so I would have to say you are exactly right. I really like the building but I really like Foster's work usually too.

Here is the KMZ.

The closest U-Bahn station is Thielplatz or Dahlem-Dorf.

Gargh! Why did I only now stumble upon this project! It could have been a PERFECT refference for my youth center (http://www.pushpullbar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4777&page=6)!!!

:bang head