Forschungszentrum BiK-F, Frankfurt am Main

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A whole issue of the architectural magazine Bauwelt was dedicated to the completed building of the Institutes of Pharmacology and Food Chemistry at Goethe-Universität in Frankfurt am Main, designed by Ferdinand Kramer. This structure, once celebrated as a masterwork of modern postwar architecture, fell into neglect and required extensive rehabilitation. Architects SSP Schürmann-Spannel of Bochum undertook a comprehensive renovation, restoring the concrete building with its distinctive brise-soleil elements and the detached lecture-hall cube. The renovation has transformed it into a compelling monument and a model of successful conversion. The space, once home to pharmacology and food chemistry students, now houses 160 scientists from the Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), who study climate and biosphere interactions. The book details the building’s history, originally constructed in 1957 and fully reconditioned between 2009 and 2013. It features plans of both the original and current conditions, along with photographs by Jörg Hempel. An essay by Fabian Wurm discusses the building and the broader issue of converting post-World War II structures. Wurm is a freelance journalist and design history lecturer, while Hempel teaches architectural photography at various institutions.