Built in the late 1950s as part of Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), and formerly home to the Faculty of Natural Sciences (including the Institute of Agriculture and Nutrition), the building is currently undergoing extensive refurbishment and expansion. Having stood vacant from 2009 onwards due to the relocation of the Faculty to the Steintor Campus, the building was vandalised on multiple occasions until security measures were put in place in 2022/23.
As a general rule the existing fabric of the building is still fit for use and is being modified and upgraded within a reasonable cost framework. The majority of the measures planned target enhanced energy efficiency, the fulfilment of contemporary fire safety requirements and the installation of modern building services.
From an architectural perspective, the building will retain its distinctive hipped roofs, the arcade along the east wing and its striking porch. In addition, it will be expanded to include a six-storey new-build on its eastern side that will house additional teaching space as well as a central attic-level plant room.
Once completed, the complex will be home to the Landesstudienkolleg (the first preparatory college of ist kind in Germany), a teaching and learning centre and the university's Language Centre. In particular, it will offer modern seminar rooms, classrooms and specialist facilities that comply with corresponding requirements defined by the state of Saxony-Anhalt and MLU.
Initial civil engineering work has been in full swing since March 2026. Site facilities are already in place, with the excavation of the building pit – including special foundation work – and non-structural demolition work within the existing building scheduled to begin in June.
Acting as a specialist service provider on behalf of Dresden-based architectural firm Heine Mildner Architekten, Kaiser Baucontrol holds responsibility for call-for-tender and contract awarding processes for all construction trades as well as site supervision during all work carried out as part of cost group 300.
