Einstein Tower Potsdam, Mendelsohn Building Photos, Location, German 1920s Design Images

Einstein Tower Building : Architecture

Modern Organic Architecture in Potsdam, Germany design by Erich Mendelsohn Architect

post updated 12 May 2023

Modern Building in Potsdam, southwest of Berlin

Date built: 1919-24

Design: Erich Mendelsohn, Architect

Einstein Tower

Einsteinturm is an astrophysical observatory in the Albert Einstein Science Park in Potsdam, Germany built by Erich Mendelsohn. It was built on the summit of the Potsdam Telegraphenberg to house a solar telescope designed by the astronomer Erwin Finlay-Freundlich.

The telescope supports experiments and observations to validate (or disprove) Albert Einstein’s relativity theory.

scanned photographs from 1995, by Isabelle Lomholt

The building was first conceived around 1917, built from 1919-21, and became operational in 1924.

scanned photographs from 1995, by Isabelle Lomholt

Although Einstein never worked there, he supported the construction and operation of the telescope. It is still a working solar observatory, part of the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam.
source: wikipedia

Observatory Buildings in Potsdam, southwest of Berlin –

The exterior was originally conceived in concrete, but due to construction difficulties with the complex design and shortages from the war, much of the building was actually realized in brick, covered with stucco. Because the material was changed during construction of the building, the designs were not updated to accommodate them. This caused many problems, such as cracking and dampness. Extensive repair work had to be done only five years after the initial construction, overseen by Mendelsohn himself. Since then numerous renovations have been done periodically.

The building was heavily damaged by Allied bombing during World War II, leaving it in a state that, as the architecture blog A456 noted, was ironically more in line with Mendelsohn’s conceptual sketches than the pre-war structure was. It underwent a full renovation in 1999, for its 75th anniversary, to correct problems with dampness and decay that had meant decades of repair. It is often cited as one of the landmarks of expressionist architecture.

scanned photos from 1995, by Isabelle Lomholt

Einstein Tower Potsdam architect : Erich Mendelsohn

Recent Potsdam building by Oscar Niemeyer – details online soon

Berlin Building Developments

Photographs © Isabelle Lomholt

Location: Potsdam, eastern Germany, west Europe

Berlin Architecture

Berlin Architecture Walking Tours – city walks by e-architect

Berlin Architecture Designs – chronological list

Contemporary Architecture in Berlin – architectural selection below:

Wave Apartments, Stralauer Allee 13/14
Architects: GRAFT Gesellschaft von Architekten mbH

photograph © BTTR GmbH
Wave Apartments
By not building along the waterfront and pairing the inner side wings, the two buildings, that make up the Wave Apartments development, form a continuous architectural figure.

James Simon Galerie, Museum Island
Design: David Chipperfield Architects

photo © Ute Zscharnt for David Chipperfield Architects
James Simon Galerie Berlin
As the first new building on the Island in almost 100 years, the James-Simon-Galerie completes the ensemble of five museums. A UNESCO World Heritage site since 1999, Berlin’s Museum Island is visited by about three million people every year.