University New Research Building for the Engineering of Life-inspired Molecular Systems
Press Release No. 123/2025
7 November 2025
Launch ceremony marks the official start of the approx. 70-million-euro project
To advance the development of innovative engineering science strategies and technologies based on life-inspired molecular systems, Heidelberg University is set to get a new research facility. The building for “Life-inspired Engineering Molecular Systems” (LEMS) is being constructed on the Im Neuenheimer Feld campus and will provide workspaces and large-scale instruments for an innovative research program at the interface of engineering sciences, the natural sciences and the life sciences. On 11 November 2025, a ceremony for the unveiling of the construction sign will mark the official start of the project.
Prof. Dr Frauke Melchior, Rector of Heidelberg University: “With the nationally and internationally trailblazing field of Engineering Molecular Systems, the university has established a new interdisciplinary focus within the Excellence Strategy, which, as a driver of innovation, offers high potential for transfer and translation.” This includes, for example, energy-efficient technologies such as 3D-printed sensors and new applications in medical diagnostics, as Prof. Dr Christine Selhuber-Unkel explains. The scientist – a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Molecular Systems Engineering and Advanced Materials (IMSEAM) – is among the lead applicants for the project, which is attached to the Faculty of Engineering Sciences.
The German Science and Humanities Council had previously recommended the research building for funding to the Joint Science Conference, rating it as “outstanding”. The project, financed by the Federal Government and the State of Baden-Württemberg, has a total budget of approximately 70 million euros. Just under 58 million euros of this is allocated to construction costs, one quarter of which will be covered by the university. Around 12 million euros will go into infrastructure, in particular into equipping the facility with various large-scale research instruments. Construction is scheduled to be completed by July 2028, which will allow the LEMS building to be commissioned and officially inaugurated in December 2028.
The new “Life-inspired Engineering Molecular Systems” building, with around 3,600 square meters of usable floor area, will be used as a collaboration center for researchers in the fields of materials science, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, and artificial intelligence. The aim of their research is to investigate artificial cell systems that respond autonomously and dynamically, and to develop micro- and nanosystems inspired by nature. Life-inspired systems of this kind are not in thermal equilibrium; they change actively, can repair themselves and respond to external stimuli. This new form of “engineering” is also intended to be translated into technical applications.
Numerous sustainability aspects will be taken into account in the construction of the LEMS building, as Marco Grübbel, head of the Mannheim and Heidelberg office of the state assets and construction company Vermögen und Bau explains. The façade will be constructed using timber framing and equipped with semi-transparent photovoltaic modules. Besides generating electricity, they will also provide protection from the sun and heat. There are also plans to use rainwater for evaporative cooling. Additionally, a green roof – also equipped with photovoltaics – will serve as a retention area during heavy rainfall. The five-storey building, Marco Grübbel adds, marks the starting point for developing the building site adjacent to the Institute for Molecular Systems Engineering and Advanced Materials and Heidelberg University’s physics institutes.
Program for the ceremony
The ceremony to unveil the construction sign will be opened by Marco Grübbel, head of the Mannheim and Heidelberg office of the state assets and construction company Vermögen und Bau. This will be followed by a welcome address from Prof. Dr Frauke Melchior, Rector of Heidelberg University. The City of Heidelberg will be represented by First Mayor Jürgen Odszuck. Afterwards, Prof. Dr Peer Fischer and Prof. Dr Christine Selhuber-Unkel, members of the Board of Directors of Heidelberg University’s Institute for Molecular Systems Engineering and Advanced Materials, will present the content of the LEMS research program.
Note to newsrooms
The launch ceremony will take place on 11 November 2025 in the foyer of the Institute for Molecular Systems Engineering and Advanced Materials, Im Neuenheimer Feld 225, and will begin at 11.30 a.m. Representatives of the media are cordially invited to attend and cover the event.