The history of the Einstein Tower is one of repairs. Just three years after its completion in 1924, it underwent its first major renovation. Since then, there have been eight further renovations, the last of which was recently completed, coinciding with its 100th birthday, so to speak. If the tower were not an icon of 20th-century architecture, it would probably have been demolished long ago due to its structural defects. The building, known worldwide as the "Einstein Tower", was the first work of the then completely unknown architect Erich Mendelsohn and, at the same time, a very challenging and exceptional project: a tower telescope, 15 metres high, with a diameter of 2 metres and a dome at the top with a diameter of 1.5 to 2 metres, as commissioned by the client, astronomer Erwin Finlay Freundlich, to the young architect. The purpose of the building was to test Einstein's theory of relativity through practical experiments. It can be said that Mendelsohn largely met the requirements in terms of content, but in practice gave free rein to his imagination. And that is what is still so fascinating about this unusual architectural work of art today: the architect developed a thoroughly visionary design language that was diametrically opposed to the credo of young modernism and the Bauhaus.  The rest is history – as I said – restoration history. The tower was to be the first building to demonstrate the plastic possibilities of concrete. There are different accounts of why exactly this did not happen. One version is that there was a shortage of materials after the First World War: steel and concrete were rationed at the time. What is certain is that Mendelsohn built a tower out of bricks in the basement and a tower structure using a mixed construction method of reinforced concrete and brick. For the formwork, he had the building covered with tonnes of cement plaster to make it look like concrete. Since then, the tower has been and remains a "care case". The architectural firm Kühn von Kähne und Lange from Potsdam was entrusted with the latest restoration. One of the firm's main areas of expertise is in the field of monument preservation and construction in historic buildings. The Wüstenrot Foundation, which has already provided financial support for the restoration of many buildings in recent architectural history, made its participation conditional on the tower continuing to be used for scientific purposes. The building continues to serve the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics for research purposes.

www.einsteinturm.com

Photography:

Thomas Wolf, © Wüstenrot Foundation

(Published in CUBE Berlin 04|23)