The closure of a German university’s main building should be seen as part of a wider infrastructure crisis affecting universities across the country, experts have said, warning that ageing structures and underinvestment have left campuses with a mounting backlog of repairs that could cost billions of euros.
The Technical University of Berlin (TU Berlin) indefinitely closed its main building last month after an inspection found defects affecting fire safety and power supply. “The safety of all members of the university community is our top priority. This is why the measure must be implemented immediately,” the university said in a statement.
The issue has become contentious in Berlin, where universities are pressing lawmakers to amend proposed legislation that would overhaul responsibility for campus construction work.
In a recent statement, Humboldt University of Berlin said it supported efforts to tackle the capital’s more than €8 billion (£7 billion) maintenance backlog but said the draft bill does not clearly treat universities as equal partners and warned that important questions about the financing of projects and responsibility for construction projects remained unanswered.
“This is not an isolated case,” said Grit Würmseer, managing director at HIS Institute for Higher Education Development, referring to the closure of TU Berlin’s main building. “A significant number of buildings are closed temporarily or in part due to their structural condition. But the complete closure of a main building is rather unusual and has therefore attracted increased political attention.”
