Zeiss Bau 36, Office building and historic site in Jena, Germany.
Zeiss Bau 36 is a 15-storey, 66-metre reinforced-concrete office tower on the former Carl Zeiss factory site in western Jena. Its plain skeleton frame is relieved only by windows framed with dressed-stone elements in forms typical of the 1930s.
Bau 36 was built between 1934 and 1935 to designs by Georg Steinmetz and Hans Hertlein, on the Carl Zeiss works site in western Jena. It was renovated in 1994, and the building now houses the head office of Jenoptik AG.
The sculpture 'Through Night to Light' by Joseph Wackerle at the entrance connects the tower to Jena's optical industry. Visitors passing through the entrance can see how art and factory life have coexisted here for decades.
The building now serves as the main headquarters for Jenoptik AG within the old Carl Zeiss complex. Walking through the surrounding factory area helps visitors understand how it once functioned as the corporate center of the site.
Laser equipment in the neighboring Building 15 can project light displays onto the facade during special events. For a short time, the tower's surface and modern light technology come together in a single composition.
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