Life Science Campus Martinsried
A flagship project of the 21st century in biomedicine
Sustainable and future-oriented - Two Institutes will be able to use a shared research facility on the Martinsried campus.
History
Even during the construction phase of the Max Planck Institutes in Martinsried at the end of the 1960s, the primary goal was to create buildings and spaces in which scientific work was promoted in such a way that the most outstanding research results were possible. The building volume of 30,000 m² of usable space, which was already considerable for the time, was housed in two- to four-story laboratory buildings (low-rise buildings), each of which was arranged in a star shape around a central access core. Central facilities, such as lecture halls, a library and a cafeteria, were housed in a central building in the middle of the area.
Renovation of existing buildings instead of new buildings
The 50-year-old buildings have been repeatedly rebuilt, renovated and expanded over time to meet current scientific, technical and energy requirements. However, science is now advancing so rapidly that room heights, fire protection and shaft sizes can no longer be readjusted.
The Max Planck Institutes of Biochemistry and of Neurobiology will therefore be brought together on the Life Science Campus Martinsried together with the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence. For this purpose, a viable strategy is being developed that goes beyond a purely urban or functional reorganization of the campus. The focus is on modern scientific work and the development of a sustainable social, cultural and ecological infrastructure.
The Max Planck Society's mission is to develop modern research programs with outstanding potential for fundamental advances in the understanding of life and for technological innovations, and therefore to attract top international researchers to its campus in southern Munich. The Free State of Bavaria is supporting this campus development with up to €500 million.
Perspectives
Following the overarching theme of a future-oriented and ecologically oriented energy concept, the Max Planck Society intends to develop a CO2-reduced campus in order to achieve a significant reduction in the ecological footprint. A compact design, the synergistic use of resources and sustainable energy supply will make a major contribution to this.
An urban development ideas competition and a realization competition for a first construction phase will be held for this major MPG construction project at the end of 2025.
Branch office Seewiesen
Natural location of the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence
Branch office at the lake
The research site on the lake will continue to be used, although parts of this Institute will be merged with the MPIs of Biochemistry and of Neurobiology on the Life Science Campus in Martinsried.
Two scientific departments and nine groups are currently working in the central laboratory building. The site also includes the aviaries, the seminar house, a library and the administration building.
Here, field research is combined with modern methods of behavioral biology, thereby advancing basic research on topics in behavioral ecology, evolutionary research and neuroscience. Biological systems adapt in harmony with their natural environment. Therefore, special attention is paid to animal behavior in the wild. Studying the brain in its natural environment provides information on how organisms communicate with each other and change their environment, or how social interactions lead to the formation of differentiated societies.
The site became known through the research of Konrad Lorenz, who received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1973 for his discoveries in the field of zoology regarding social behavior patterns in geese.