Forum at Domshof
The University in the City Center
As of October, Faculty 6: Law, the Center of Labor and Politics (ZAP), the Institute for Labour and Economy (iaw), and HERE AHEAD are moving to the city center at Domshof. "Forum at Domshof" will be completed by the end of the year. In order to adapt the former NordLB building to the needs of the University of Bremen, renovation measures are currently taking place. On this website, the University of Bremen will provide insights into the conversion process, information about the move, and background stories.
Forum at Domshof at a Glance
Current images of the future Forum at Domshof
Room for Learning, Teaching, and Working
Of the 18,150 square meter floor space (not including the inner courtyard) the university's main rental space including the cafeteria and the former banking hall encompasses around 13,460 square meters. The adjacent areas are spread across three floors and total around 4,690 square meters. Constructed in 2016, the building was formerly used by NordLB. The current reconstruction will make the rooms better suited for university purposes.
Experience Science
The entrance area was formerly a banking hall. The spacious area with its high ceilings offers an ideal location for events and activities and will be able to be used by the public as well. Different science events will be held here. The benches can be moved aside to make space for chairs and host a large audience.
Historic Bank Aesthetic with Modern Ambience
The architectural design is evident in the banking hall as well as the sixth floor. Inspired by the optic of pompous banks of former times, the former banking hall boasts walls with oak paneling as well as wooden counters and black leather furniture. The colors red and green are present throughout – in the flooring of the banking hall as well as red linoleum and carpeting in the event rooms. Red is reminiscent of the cobblestones in Bremen's city center and green as a complementary color to provide contrast.
Entrance to the Inner Courtyard
In the lower area next to the former banking hall, a Studierendenwerk cafeteria will be created. A passageway to the inner courtyard will provide extra seating and ensure that the coffee from the Studierendenwerk can be enjoyed outside as well.
Study Spaces for Students in the Law Library
Work is currently underway to create space for the Juridicum, the legal library of the State and University Library Bremen. This will provide the law students, whose courses will mainly take place in Forum at Domshof, convenient access to specialist literature. Foresight is crucial for planning the secure mounting of the bookcases. Per square meter, completely full bookcases will bear a load of 1.2 tons. Fixtures are being installed directly into the concrete floors for these, which means that they will not be able to be moved afterwards. Study spaces will be created along the glass panels of the legal library as well as in separate rooms.
Renovations for Seminar Rooms
Several classrooms in varying sizes are being created on different floors. These will include small seminar rooms that can host about 30 people, as well as large lecture halls with about 135 seats for the full range of courses offered. Establishing these will require combining several of the former offices. On the sixth floor, conference rooms are being created. The biggest challenge is in updating the fire protection, the emergency escape routes, and the ventilation system, since the building will be used by more people during university operations than as a bank.
Offices for Faculty 06 and the Institutions
In addition to study spaces and classrooms, the new building will also provide offices for the administration, teaching staff, and employees of iaw, ZAP, and HERE AHEAD. These are spread out across the second, third, fourth, and fifth floors. Only minor alterations to the bank offices in the existing floor plan were necessary for creating these. The building's characteristic wide corridors will be kept as well. These are retained to provide escape routes and fire protection, but also provide the possibility for installing seating.
University Cafeteria at Domshof
NordLB already had a cafeteria on the sixth floor, which the Studierendenwerk Bremen will use to create a student cafeteria. Students and employees will have meal options directly in the future Forum at Domshof building. The cafeteria will offer many seating options that can be used outside of the cafeteria's opening hours. This will provide students, employees, and the public with places to meet and talk.
Historic Facade
Even though the majority of the building was rebuilt in 2016, part of the historic facade has remained and is protected as a historical monument. Today, the narrow, elongated windows in the interior are still reminiscent of the old building. The original building was repeatedly extended over the years, which meant that it was comprised of four separate buildings with around 65 staircases before the conversion. In order to use the rooms more efficiently, the building was reconstructed and the floor plan redesigned.
Questions and Answers about the Move to Domshof
The NordLB building is up to current building, energy, and technical standards, since it was built in 2016. The rooms are structured and distributed well for the teaching needs of the University of Bremen. The sixth floor already had a cafeteria, which the Studierendenwerk will use for a university cafeteria. The location also offers direct connections with the tram to the existing campus and technology park and the new building is easily accessible for students and employees with public transportation.
Seminars and lectures will take place in this location. The Juridicum, the legal library of the State and University Library Bremen, will also move to the new building, and will offer study spaces for students. The small concert hall in the "Die Glocke" concert building will be available for use as a lecture hall.
The Studierendenwerk Bremen will revive the NordLB's existing cafeteria with their student cafeteria. This will provide students, teaching staff, and employees with similar meal options to those offered on campus.
In addition, there will be event and activity areas at "Forum at Domshof," which can be used by the entire university and can be booked by the public. For example, the former banking hall will be used for academic and participative events and conferences.
No, the University of Bremen sees itself as a campus university, which is characterized by short distances between lectures and interdisciplinary collaboration. However, the university is also growing, which is a very positive development, and with this more space for lectures and employees is required, which is why the relocation of Faculty 06 was necessary.