Opening of the European XFEL Lighthouse

The Lighthouse was officially declared open with the cutting of the red ribbon.

A model of the 3.4-km-long underground X-ray laser facility forms the central element of the permanent exhibition on the ground floor.

The new building stands directly next to the European XFEL headquarters, which was likewise developed with the involvement of WTM Engineers.

The wide-span glulam trusses of the roof construction are barely visible after completion.

Under the ground, trillions of X-ray laser pulses travel through the research tunnel every second, while above ground visitors can experience it for themselves. The Lighthouse exhibition and conference center at the European XFEL campus in Schenefeld hosted its opening ceremony on November 20. The building was designed by architecture practice DBCO and offers school groups and interested members of the general public intriguing insights into the operation and research work of the underground X-ray laser facility. Over two floors, the new building hosts not only a permanent exhibition, seminar rooms, and an auditorium for 300 people, but also laboratories for molecular biology and physics that school groups can use to carry out experiments.

The inauguration included speeches by Prof. Federico Boscherini, Chairman of the EuXFEL Council, State Secretary of Schleswig-Holstein Guido Wendt, and Mayor of Schenefeld Christiane Küchenhof, among others. Along with the numerous invited guests, we are also excited to discover the successful work in its completion.

WTM Engineers was responsible for the structural planning, and the building’s construction is now partly hidden from view. The ground floor was erected as a reinforced-concrete structure, while the upper floor is a timber construction except for the bracing walls in the center of the building. Glulam trusses span the spacious foyer across a length of 18 meters without supports.

Our collaboration with the European XFEL goes back many years. WTM Engineers worked with Amberg Engineering to plan the 3.4-km-long underground research facility, which consists of shafts, tunnels, and experimentation halls and was completed in 2017.

Copyright Photo 1: European XFEL / Axel Heimken