After almost four years of construction, the largest university building project in Lower Saxony is now complete. Today, Thursday 19 September 2019, the Minister President of Lower Saxony, Stephan Weil, officially opened Campus Maschinenbau of Leibniz University Hannover (LUH) in Garbsen. Following the opening ceremony, the Minister President took a tour of the site together with Björn Thümler, Minister of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony and Volker Epping, President of Leibniz University Hannover. Prior to this, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörg Wallaschek, Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and two students, Imke Struve and Jannis Vosberg, illustrated the importance of the new campus for learning and teaching in this field. President of the region, Hauke Jagau and Dr. Christian Grahl, Mayor of Garbsen, were also present at the opening ceremony.
Construction costs amounting to 175 million euros were financed by the State of Lower Saxony, the Federal Government and Leibniz University Hannover. Campus Maschinenbau will be home to all 19 institutes of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.
"The new campus will enable LUH to strengthen its exceptional position, especially in cutting-edge research, but also in teaching, and expand its existing potential. Moreover, the ambitious project is a driving force for development in the region and is of great importance for securing skilled personnel. I wish to thank all of those involved in the project, whose great dedication and enthusiasm made this success possible," said the Minister President. The president of LUH added: "My wish is that the new location will provide the faculty with a home that promotes research and teaching, that brings new perspectives and opportunities to collaborate, as well as provide students with a modern and inspiring space for research and learning."
Upon arrival at the opening ceremony, guests were welcomed by Sobi, a humanoid robot (Social Robotic Information System) developed by the Institute of Mechatronic Systems. The robot aims to make it easier to navigate the site and can answer a wide range of questions.
During a tour, Stephan Weil, Björn Thümler and Volker Epping took the opportunity to find out more about the new campus. The research building "Dynamics of Energy Conversion" was the main focus; here a research collaboration of the same name will carry out projects in the field. At the heart of the building, a specially designed compressor station enables dynamic drive of turbomachinery and power plant components. With an output of up to six megawatts, it closes the gap between university laboratory tests and testing of industrial prototypes.
The Minister President also acquainted himself with the newly founded Institute of Plastics and Circular Economy (IKK), where in addition to research concerning the production of plastics, research into recycling and the evaluation of sustainability is also carried out.
The Site
Since completion of the first construction phase in 2004, seven institutes of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering have been housed under one roof at the Hannover Centre for Production Technology (PZH). Now that the second construction phase has been completed, a further twelve institutes will move to Garbsen. The campus site spans approximately 19 hectares, which corresponds to the area of 26 football pitches.
The site of the second construction phase features three institute buildings, the research building "Dynamics of Energy Conversion", a lecture hall building, a cafeteria, as well as the Ilse Knott-ter Meer house for students, which comprises seminar rooms, PC labs and work areas, in addition to a separate technical building. The institutes are divided into three core areas: "production technology and logistics", "energy and process engineering" and "construction and development". From winter semester 2019/20, students will be able to attend seminars at the new campus.
Perfectly positioned: The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
Researchers at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering are substantially involved in two Clusters of Excellence: PhoenixD (based at LUH) and SE²A - Sustainable and Energy Efficient Aviation (TU Braunschweig). In addition, two DFG collaborative research centres are located within the faculty: "Manufacturing of Hybrid High Performance Components by Tailored Forming" (SFB 1153) and "Regeneration of Complex Capital Goods" (SFB 871). Moreover, the spokesperson for the DFG priority programme "Soft Material Robotic Systems" (SPP 2100) is also located within the faculty. In 2018, the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering received 36.45 million euros, accounting for more than 31 per cent of all LUH third-party funding.
The Architects: Auer+Weber
The renowned architectural company based in Munich has produced numerous international large-scale projects. In 2013, their concept was awarded first place in the competition, praised by the jury in particular for the strong sense of urban development.
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