In this sense, the Free University itself was conceived as an ideal city. With decentralized faculties dispersed throughout the adaptable, single structure intended to promote free social interaction, Woods’s vision was informed by the aspirations of the ideal modern city rather than the pattern of German academia. However, this vision proved in reality unattainable. Its form, in practice, engendered detachment rather than integration, which in time brought forth vandalism, notably graffiti.
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The Orchard Site has suffered radical reversals in its popularity. The praise lavished upon the design’s originality and innovation upon its publication in 1963 soon turned to vilification after the erection of the first section (1973). Its Cor-Ten façade proved a failure. The material was intended to take on a rusty patina – a quality which gave rise to its Rostlaube nickname – which would act as a protective coat. In the Free University’s case, however, the protective surface failed to form and the steel corroded in numerous places. The building’s flexibility was also heavily derided. Like many of the buildings of the period designed to respond to changing usage patterns, such as the Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo, the potential to transform the Free University’s ground plan was not exploited. Another of the plan’s unique features not fully exploited was its outdoor spaces. Envisaged as leisure areas, the courtyards and terraces were thoughtfully designed. The surfaces were covered with grass or gravel and planted with trees grouped together in various ways, so that each environment was unique. Nevertheless, the university community failed to fully engage with the spaces and they sunk into neglect.19
Recent years, however, have seen a reawakened interest in the Orchard Site’s physical plant, from architectural historians, critics and the university itself. In 1997 the university inaugurated a complete reappraisal of the complex. Both the Rostlaube and Silberlaube urgently needed renovation. Both buildings contained asbestos, their flat roofs leaked and the Cor-Ten steel had rusted; furthermore, the complex lacked a clear layout. Norman Foster & Partners was appointed to direct its overhaul. Completed in 2004, the restoration project returned the structure to full glory and made its fresh planning approach appreciable once again. Effort was made to minimize the scale of alterations and keep the original fabric where practicable. The original colour scheme, incorporating red, yellow, green, blue and purple, that was employed as a way-finding device was restored and once again enlivens walls and floors. The degraded Cor-Ten was replaced by bronze panels, which differ little in appearance from the original modules. Where change was embraced was in the structure’s organization. Foster himself exhaustively examined the building’s network of streets, outdoor spaces, and ‘zones’, resulting in a modernization of the university’s dated special concept to render the building more functional for academic life. The original building’s shortcoming was the confusion created by the lack of demarcation between individual institutes, which led to first-year students wandering corridors in search of their seminar rooms. The circulation system was oft criticized for its complexity, augmented by arcane street signage. Foster’s concept was predicated upon the intention of uniting the nine separate departments. Each institute was allotted its own visibly separate area, and each gave up its individual library to be replaced by a large, central library. In 2003 Foster’s new library opened (Figure 2.16). It was inserted into six of the original courtyards, united by the removal of linking sections of the existing building. The hemispherical new library, dubbed the Berlin Brain, joins to Woods’s complex at two points, maintaining the original objective of cross-connectivity. Importantly, the central location of the building within the complex means that the institutes and the library are in close proximity. The whole building consists of a single, enormous, light-filled room. Like the Rostlaube, the Brain is restricted in height yet its hemispherical shape has allowed an increase in accommodation equal to over half the complex’s footprint.20
The Free University’s Orchard Site has its flaws, yet from its opening it offered a completely new formula for the spatial organization of a university as a network of opportunities for communication, reflecting the zeitgeist of flexibility, innovation and democracy. The internal streets should not be viewed as mere corridors; they fulfil their purpose of encouraging informal exchange amongst the university’s community. The building’s experiments with connectivity and circulation render the campus a unique, interesting specimen of the 1960s spirit of innovation that resulted in a revolutionary era in campus design. With Woods’s design made more practicable for modern usage by Foster & Partners’ reappraisal and the dramatic addition of the Philological Library, the relevance of this building is affirmed.
