Nestled beside the Griebnitzsee train station sits the HPI Villa. It’s a place brimming with more than meets the eye. The HPI Villa isn’t just a beautiful building. It’s part of the Hasso Plattner Institute’s Campus II, a vibrant hub of innovation and technology. The HPI, or Hasso-Plattner-Institut fϋr Digital Engineering gGmbH, to be precise, focuses on IT-Systems Engineering. This privately funded institute, a rarity in Germany, was established in 1998 thanks to the generosity of Hasso Plattner, the co-founder of SAP. The HPI Villa, along with Buildings D, E, F, and L, houses several research groups and the HPI School of Design Thinking. The main campus, just a short walk from the villa, houses the administration, study department, and other research groups. While the HPI Villa may not be as publicly accessible as the main campus, its presence adds to the dynamic atmosphere of the Griebnitzsee area. This area is a green oasis, formerly part of the wall strip. It’s hard to believe, looking at it now, that this tranquil setting once bore witness to such a divided world. The HPI’s presence here symbolizes a new era of progress and collaboration, driven by the power of technology.
Rote Villa
Why is it called the *Rote Villa*, you might wonder, as you stand before this striking building? Well, its nickname,