A New Building for Transformation Research
The Research Building Concept
Since 2007, the German Council of Science and Humanities has been implementing the Research Buildings Program on behalf of the federal government and the federal states (Länder). The program provides for the funding of investment projects that are distinguished by "excellent scientific quality and national significance." The aim is to improve the conditions for German higher education institutions to successfully participate in national and international research competition. (Source: German Council of Science and Humanities). The legal basis is Article 91b of the Basic Law (Grundgesetz)
The AgriFutur Concept
Climate change is presenting the global agricultural and food system with unprecedented challenges. A transformation of the system is unavoidable. For instance, both the German Council of Science and Humanities and the Scientific Advisory Board on Agricultural Policy, Food and Consumer Health Protection have identified an urgent need for research into this transformation. It is important to break down disciplinary boundaries between the agricultural and life sciences, environmental sciences, economics, and decision sciences, and to view the agricultural and food system more strongly from a systemic perspective.
In Göttingen, there is a determination to address this research need. Together, the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and the University's Facility Management department have developed a concept for a research building that is intended to provide an integrative environment for system-oriented agricultural research on the university's North Campus. The project bears the programmatic name "AgriFutur." The accompanying subtitle reads: "Climate Adaptive Agriculture – Interactions in the Agricultural and Food System under Conditions of Climate Change."
In January 2025, following extensive preparatory work, an application for the new building was submitted to the German Council of Science and Humanities, Germany's highest-ranking strategic body for research. Each year, after intensive expert review, only a small number of new building projects at German higher education institutions succeed in securing partial funding from federal resources. Participation in this highly demanding application process was only possible through the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture (MWK), since the state contributes 50% of the construction costs.
This was preceded by years of work on both a research program and accompanying architectural planning. According to the funding requirements, the two must correspond precisely to one another. The result is a vision for a research building in which the agricultural and food system can be studied in its full complexity.
The plans call for a building infrastructure with more than 2,000 m² of usable space, in which interdisciplinary teams will collaborate on topics spanning animal and plant production as well as the economic and social sciences. The building is intended to house climate-controlled experimental laboratories for plant and livestock research, a room for generating virtual environments, and experimental spaces for food preparation and consumption. In addition, there will be modern offices and meeting rooms. "The spatial and technical infrastructure will make it possible to close a methodological gap between the laboratory scale and the field scale, and to advance the transformation of agricultural and food systems," says Prof. Dr. Johannes Isselstein, the scientific spokesperson for the project team.