After a planning phase of more than two years, construction of the research building named after Nobel laureate Gerty Cori began on May 13, 2019. "We are pleased and proud to have successfully mastered the challenge of laying the foundation stone in less than two years, and we thank everyone involved for their great dedication and excellent cooperation, especially also the external companies responsible for the planning," said Dr. Ing. Birgit Schröder-Smeibidl, administrative director of DIfE.
The new building will house the Human Study Center, the biomaterial bank, laboratories and offices. "The Gerty Cori Building will enable a wide variety of uses with structurally diverse requirements. Similar to a Tetris game, it was necessary to develop a spatially differentiated building with a clear, compact volume," said Katja Döpke, civil engineer in charge of the project from the Berlin architectural office Heinle, Wischer und Partners, describing the planning process. The architects' aim is to create a clear reference to the existing institute buildings and to bring the new building into harmony with the adjacent residential buildings. For example, the surface of the façade is made of the yellow-gray clinker brick common in Brandenburg.
The completion of the Gerty Cori Building is scheduled for the end of 2021. It is expected that in early 2022 the employees will move into the new premises to carry out their experimental research.
Background Information
German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke (DIfE)
The DIfE is a member of the Leibniz Association. It investigates the causes of nutrition-associated diseases in order to develop new strategies for prevention, treatment and nutritional recommendations. Its research interests include the causes and consequences of the metabolic syndrome, a combination of obesity, hypertension (high blood pressure), insulin resistance and lipid metabolism disorder, the role of nutrition for healthy aging and the biological bases of food choices and dietary behavior. DIfE is also a partner of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), which has been funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) since 2009.