Max Planck Institute of Behavioral Biology

The new 7-storey building for the Max Planck Institute is a further building block on the University of Konstanz campus. The building is located directly on the edge of the forest and blends harmoniously into the sloping hillside. The building is structured with reference to the outdoor spaces and is staggered from the campus side outwards and downwards following the topography. The sloping floor intended for animal husbandry grows out of the site and connects the entrance level with the landscape. Laboratory, office and communication zones are arranged around the green inner courtyards. The recessed 4th floor with the adjoining roof terraces provides space for the large seminar rooms, common areas and the cafeteria.

The reinforced concrete structure follows the principle of "as little supporting structure as possible - as much as necessary". The construction is limited to slender flat slabs, individual columns and bracing access cores. The supporting structure thus offers maximum flexibility in terms of possible uses and future restructuring. An elemental, predominantly prefabricated timber façade was designed as the outer shell in the sense of a modular system.