The new seminar building at Philipps University was built after a competition entry won in 2016, including the design for the neighboring German Documentation Center for Art History (DDK). The ensemble consisting of the seminar building, the DDK, and the existing German Language Atlas Research Center (DSA) and completes the urban development between the old town of Marburg and the listed old botanical garden. The setting is based on an urban development competition from 2008, in which the Bär Stadelmann Stöcker planning office emerged as the winner and, together with the city of Marburg, defined the building lines and the maximum building height.

The seminar building stands as an elongated structure with a gable roof along the border with the old botanical garden. The building has barrier-free entrances to a continuous foyer on both front sides, which are on two different levels due to the sloping terrain. Between the seminar building and the adjacent DDK, there is an alley that can be entered through archways.

The facade consists largely of black brickwork. Entrances are emphasized by a white-plastered reveal. The facade of the German Documentation Center for Art History complements the vertical hole structure that predominates there; the facade to the botanical garden is veiled by a “filter masonry”, which serves both as a privacy screen and sun protection.

The floor plan is divided into two adjacent space spans for seminar rooms and access, separated by a deep wall with integrated technology runs, built-in tea kitchens, cloakroom, and seating. The seminar room clip can be flexibly divided. On the access side, there is a staircase as a multi-story foyer, surrounded by a necessary staircase and the sanitary rooms on the upper floors.

Overall, the building achieves high space efficiency and an optimal room volume ratio to thermal envelope ratio. As part of the economic and ecological optimization, it was decided to share the building technology with the neighboring German Documentation Center for Art History. The seminar building benefits from the photovoltaic panels on the roof and the ventilation machines in the basement of the DDK.