Inauguration of the Max Planck House

New center for scientific life on the Max Planck Campus Tübingen

• New Max Planck House opened with a festive event.
• Building serves as an event and guest center for the Max Planck Institutes in Tübingen.
• It offers modern infrastructure for exchange, encounters, and collaboration.

On Tuesday, November 18, 2025, the Max Planck House on the Max Planck Campus in Tübingen was officially inaugurated with a ceremonial opening. With the new building, the four Tübingen institutions of the Max Planck Society—the MPI for Intelligent Systems, the MPI for Biological Cybernetics, the MPI for Biology Tübingen, and the Friedrich Miescher Laboratory—once again have a shared conference and meeting center.

Following a welcome address by Prof. Dr. Moritz Hardt, member of the campus triumvirate and managing director of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems Tübingen, Dr. Simone Schwanitz, secretary general of the Max Planck Society, spoke to the assembled guests. In her speech, Schwanitz emphasized the significance of the new building for collaboration and academic dialog: “Science needs spaces in which chance encounters can lead to new ideas.” Her contribution was followed by addresses from Ministerial Director Dr. Hans J. Reiter of the Ministry of Science, Research, and the Arts, as well as from Tübingen Lord Mayor Boris Palmer.

Nadine Lindner from the architectural firm h4a concluded the official part of the event with an explanation of the architectural concept, providing insights into the development and design of the new building. In addition to timeless architecture, particular attention was paid to the sustainability of the project: Thanks to intelligent technology, the new building is highly energy efficient and aims for gold certification from the German Sustainable Building Council.

After the ceremony, which featured live music, invited guests and the public were welcome to explore the building at their own pace and to enjoy informal conversations over light refreshments.

The original Max Planck House opened in 1962 and was demolished in early 2022 to make way for the new building. The facility now has 28 guest rooms, a cafeteria with a capacity of around 600 meals per day, a specialized central library, and modern conference and meeting rooms. The large lecture hall accommodates 250 people and is equipped with state-of-the-art media technology. Thus, the Max Planck House once again becomes the heart of the Max Planck Campus in Tübingen – a place of encounter, hospitality, and inspiration.