FOM University is Germany's largest private university with over 42,000 students and 31 locations in Germany, as well as outposts in Luxembourg and China. Touting the biggest economic and business sciences faculty in the country, the school has gradually increased in size over the years requiring them to add a new structure for the Business School in Düsseldorf.

The new 8,000 meter-squared academic building, which hosts auditoriums, lecture halls, and seminar rooms, will accommodate an additional 1,500 students and staff. Located in "Le Quartier Central," the new, mixed-use addition has been designed by Jürgen Mayer H. The German architect and artist— whose portfolio spans from numerous exhibitions and installations, to large-scale urban planning schemes and public buildings—has become known for his eye-catching work

According to the New York Times, Mayer wanted the Business School to take on an urban agenda. This was executed through a series of cantilevered balconies that create gathering spaces overlooking the city and an adjacent park. The building’s first floor connects to a bridge with a projecting platform, creating a link between the different urban levels. The outer staircases and fire escape balconies allow for the compact circulation areas inside the building while the biggest of these also attaches to a neighboring viaduct, inviting pedestrians to utilize the building as a pathway down to the park.

The design also pays homage to the site—a former freight station in the centrally located in the Derendorf neighborhood. According to the architects, the building reflects on the infrastructural context of railway tracks, bridges, ramps and pedestrian connections in the building design.