The Technische Universität (TU) Berlin’s main building has been closed for almost a week now. The reason? Major structural damage to the structure affecting the fire safety system and power supply, necessitating the complete evacuation of the building.
This state of affairs has been preventing anyone from going inside the building on Straße des 17. Juni since 10pm last Friday and it is unknown how long it will last – likely quite a while, potentially months, according to TU students. According to reports, everyone who studied there was aware of the damage to the structure; buckets had to be placed throughout the building to catch dripping water. Mould and asbestos have also long been present at one of the country’s leading technical research facilities, the students say.
The main TU building isn’t the only one that had to close for technical reasons, either. The high-rise Telefunken at Ernst-Reuter-Platz had to shut its doors in 2024. The math and chemistry buildings were closed as well. It’s a “moderate catastrophe”, Berlin’s Senator for Science Ina Czyborra (SPD) described the situation to RBB. To help solve the problem, she presented a law for the establishment of a new university construction company on Tuesday, which is to take over responsibility of maintaining the approximately 450 state-owned university buildings in Berlin.
Furthermore, as announced yesterday following an on-site visit with Governing Mayor Kai Wegner, the Senate will allocate €20 million for the most urgent issues to be fixed as soon as possible so that the building can reopen. The exact time this will take is unknown, however. Czyborra hopes it can still be done this semester, but as we know construction projects in Berlin rarely meet their initial deadlines for completion. In the meantime, there is the possibilty of tents being set up for students.
Berlin’s austerity policies are to blame for the current state of affairs, say the Left Party and the Greens. Decades of neglect have amounted to severe structural distress throughout the city’s public institutions and if this is not acted upon quickly, other buildings will be forced to close alongside the TU.
Currently, students of the Technische Universität have to relive their COVID-era memories and participate in virtual classes from home. Perhaps when they graduate, they can help fix up their university.
