Archinect - News

Renovations complete on Einstein Tower, observatory built to represent Einstein's theory of relativity

2023-09-29T18:03:00-04:00

A solar observatory built to substantiate Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity has been reopened near the German capital after a renovation project to preserve it for future generations. [...] “The Einstein Tower might no longer be at the forefront of research, but it’s not a mere museum piece [...] Following its renovation it’s probably now in a better condition than it was when it was inaugurated almost 100 years ago”

Located on Telegraph Hill in Potsdam, 16 miles southwest of Berlin, Einsteinturm (Einstein Tower) underwent a year of renovations to address its many cracks and extensive dampness, and to preserve its domed zinc roof. The restoration cost approximately $1.2 million.

The structure was built between 1920 and 1922 by German-British architect Erich Mendelsohn in collaboration with astronomer Erwin Finlay-Freundlich. The approximately 66-foot tower was designed to represent and verify Einstein’s theory of relativity. It is considered a landmark in expressionist architecture, with its lack of right angles, organic form, and curved wooden staircase. Originally planned in concrete, a lack of materials after the First World War meant it was built using stucco-covered brick.

The tower is still in operation today as a working solar observatory, run by the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics (AIP). In addition, the working telescopes are the original ones installed nearly a century ago.

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World's largest astronomy museum opens in Shanghai with an interstellar design from Ennead

2021-07-12T19:42:00-04:00

A cosmic new museum is bringing out the stars in Shanghai thanks to a celestial design from Ennead.

The Shanghai Astronomy Museum opens this weekend following a five-year construction process that left client Shanghai Science and Technology Museum with a new outpost in the heart of the city’s burgeoning Lingang district.

Photo: ArchExists.

The New York-based firm’s plans for the 420,000-square-foot museum won an international competition in 2014 for its tripartite scheme comprised of a planetarium, IMAX theater, exhibitions spaces, and a new 78-foot-tall solar telescope that will make the research center the largest of its kind anywhere in the world.

Photo: ArchExists.

Sun, moon, and stars come together to make a smart reference to the three-body problem of mathematics. The curvilinear structure of the museum is meant as a reflection of the orbit of the planets themselves. The planetarium’s profile is choreographed to look like a moonrise. Heaven an...

Hawaii allows Thirty Meter Telescope to start construction on disputed Mauna Kea peak

2019-06-21T14:20:00-04:00

After years of protests and legal battles, Hawaii officials announced Thursday that a massive telescope which will allow scientists to peer into the most distant reaches of our early universe will be built on a volcano that some consider sacred. The state has issued a “notice to proceed” for the Thirty Meter Telescope project, Gov. David Ige said at a news conference. In October, a state Supreme Court’s 4-1 ruling upheld the project’s permits for the $1.4 billion instrument.

Meanwhile protests continue by a group of native Hawaiians who see the telescope's site on top of Mount Mauna Kea as sacred ground and have been trying for years to block the project at this location.

Hawaiian Supreme Court green-lights construction of $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope

2018-11-02T13:46:00-04:00

Hawaii's Supreme Court has sided with scientists in a battle to build one of the world's largest telescopes, rejecting efforts by native Hawaiians to block its construction atop what some consider a sacred volcano. In 2015, a construction permit for the Thirty Meter Telescope, or TMT, to be built on Mauna Kea, was invalidated amid protests and court appeals, claiming the dormant volcano is sacred land that would be violated in the building process.

The embattled TMT astronomical observatory project on Mauna Kea previously in the Archinect news:

Hawaii's Thirty Meter Telescope could be moved to the Canary Islands

2016-12-01T12:40:00-05:00

The Thirty Meter Telescope’s International Observatory Board decided late last month that if they cannot move forward with building the telescope in Hawaii, they will instead choose La Palma, one of Spain’s Canary Islands...The nonprofit group that’s building the Thirty Meter Telescope began scoping out other sites for the $1.4 billion telescope this fall—including mountains in Chile, India, China, and Mexico...

Previous news about the TMT:

Hawaii protesters block construction of giant telescope on sacred mountain Mauna Kea

The $1.5B 30m telescope (TMT) will be the biggest ever

Hawaii protesters block construction of giant telescope on sacred mountain Mauna Kea

2015-06-26T13:02:00-04:00

Builders pulled back from Mauna Kea as hundreds of protesters set up roadblocks to oppose construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on top of Hawaii’s sacred mountain. State and local police arrested a dozen demonstrators.

"Protesters say they are taking a stand to defend Mauna Kea, sacred to native Hawaiians, from the international conglomerate attempting to build the mega-telescope, also known as the TMT. They say the 18-story building represents an unacceptable desecration of the mountain."

The Thirty Meter Telescope, or TMT, was designed to be one of the largest telescopes in existence — at a price tag of $1.5 billion USD.

Previously on Archinect: The $1.5B 30m telescope (TMT) will be the biggest ever

The $1.5B 30m telescope (TMT) will be the biggest ever

2015-04-08T18:22:00-04:00

...after a year-long delay, Canada has committed $243.5 million to build a giant telescope observatory in Hawaii. The Thirty Meter Telescope, or TMT, will cost an estimated $1.5 billion USD to build...When completed, the TMT will be one of the largest telescopes in existence...Its 30 meter-wide mirror lens...will allow scientists to search the skies for planets outside of our own solar system, as well as other phenomena like supermassive black holes.