Maria-Margaretha-Kirch Building

The new building is named ‘Maria Margaretha Kirch House’ in honour of the astronomer Maria Margaretha Kirch. She is the first woman who discovered a comet in 1702 and worked at the Berlin Observatory, one of the predecessor institutes of the AIP, as the wife of the first director Gottfried Kirch. Together with her husband, she carried out observations and compiled calendars. The observatory was granted a calendar patent by Elector Friedrich III when it was founded in 1700. Gottfried and Maria Kirch were able to finance the observatory and the Academy of Sciences by selling the calendars.

Location and views from the outside

The Kirch-Haus is the new, modern multipurpose building of the AIP, located on the Babelsberg campus, which forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin.” It is located opposite the historic reflecting telescope building, easily recognized by its striking metal dome, which today houses the institute’s library.

Despite its three floors, the new building blends harmoniously into the surrounding landscape thanks to its thoughtful integration into the hillside and existing park landscape. Its architectural design features clean lines, expansive windows, and sustainable technologies such as geothermal energy and solar panels. A warm wooden façade adds a natural, inviting touch. The Kirch-Haus enhances the AIP campus with a contemporary, functional space – seamlessly complementing the ensemble of historic architecture and state-of-the-art research facilities.

Interior Views

The new building offers 100 offices, a large conference room, several smaller meeting rooms and a new cafeteria. Freundlich Catering has been operating the ‘Astro⭐Bistro’ there since 4 March 2025. External guests are also very welcome. In the spacious entrance foyer, 25 lithographic plates show the ‘Charte der Gebirge des Mondes’ by J. F. Julius Schmidt. This was the most accurate map of the moon printed at the time in 1878. The conference room for almost 200 guests is equipped with state-of-the-art technology and has already been the venue for internal and external workshops and seminars. The weekly colloquia, scientific lectures on various topics in astrophysics, also take place here.

The construction of the building

In recent years and decades, the AIP has seen substantial growth. By 2000 and 2010, the institute had already constructed two new technology buildings. However, these facilities rapidly proved insufficient for its expanding needs. More office space and a sufficiently large conference room was missing as well as more meeting rooms for scientific discussions. Therefore the AIP decided to construct a versatile new building, which is going to be the final addition to the Babelsberg research campus.

The Berlin office Thomas Müller Ivan Reimann Gesellschaft von Architekten mbH realised the building project. The detailed planning began in 2019, and the AIP secured planning permission in April 2021. The foundation stone was laid in October of the same year, followed by the topping-out ceremony in May 2022. Nearly complete by October 2024, the building hosted its first events in the conference room. After all offices were furnished and the building obtained full occupancy approval, the Astro⭐Bistro opened and the first employees moved into their offices in March 2025.