Neue Baumuniversität

Location: Cottbus, Germany
Client: Prince Pückler Museum and Branitz Park Foundation
Gross Area: 4,200 m²
Finished: 2026

To realize the model project "Neue Branitzer Baumuniversität" (New Branitz Tree University), the Foundation Fürst Pückler-Museum und Park Branitz plans to repurpose some of the existing greenhouses and a multi-purpose hall on the grounds of a former large-scale nursery in the Branitz outer park.
The buildings will serve the tree nursery and experimental operations, and thus the propagation and cultivation of trees and shrubs. One of the buildings will house offices, break rooms, and restrooms, while another will serve as storage, garage, and heating plant.
The existing structure of six remaining wide-span greenhouses of type EG 2 from the GDR era will be largely reused. The steel frame is still in good working order after 40 years and will be fitted with new glazing.
The service rooms are constructed as freestanding, timber-framed structures based on the "house-within-a-house" principle. A separate greenhouse within a larger greenhouse is provided for specific cultivation methods; heating is provided by wood chips, a byproduct of the nursery operation.

Photos 3, 4: Marco Laske