History

The Max Planck House in Tübingen was opened in 1962 on the initiative of botanist Georg Melchers. From the outset, it was intended as a common home for the institutes on Waldhäuser Berg: a place where guest rooms, a cafeteria, a lecture hall, and a library not only provided practical infrastructure but also strengthened community spirit. Over the decades, it became the heart of the campus, where international scientists met and the community of Max Planck Institutes in Tübingen became visible.

After almost 60 years, the building was demolished in 2022 to make way for a new building. This deliberately ties in with the original idea and at the same time opens a new chapter: with 28 guest rooms, a canteen for around 250 people, a central specialist library, and modern conference and meeting rooms, the new building offers optimal conditions for research and exchange. The large lecture hall can accommodate around 180 guests and is equipped with state-of-the-art media technology. This makes the Max Planck House once again the common center for the four institutes that exist today—Biology, Biological Cybernetics, Intelligent Systems, and the Friedrich Miescher Laboratory.

Special attention is paid to sustainability: with concrete core activation for cooling and heating, decentralized hot water supply, and energy-efficient systems, the building meets the standards for DGNB Gold certification. The Max Planck House thus remains a place of hospitality, exchange, and inspiration—embodying the idea of a common roof that has united the institutes since the 1960s and will bring them even closer together in the future.