The Centre of African Studies (FZA) is a new facility dedicated to Africa-related research at the University of Bayreuth and its partner institutions. The centre is a unit of the Institute of African Studies (IAS). It unites the different Africa-related research structures that were previously spread across the city, and hosts researchers connected to Bayreuth African Studies. The MediaLab in the building links Media Studies with African Studies and will foster the digital strategy of the IAS.

The building accommodates scholars working on the Centre’s research agenda, Junior Fellows of the Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies (BIGSAS), other early career scholars, Fellows of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence, and guests of the IAS. It also houses the IAS staff, including the administrative teams of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence, BIGSAS, EIMAS, and the AfriZert certificate programme, and possible new initiatives.

The FZA has a usable space of 4,600 square meters, more than a hundred people find workspaces in the new building.
The building includes conventional offices for administrative staff and scholars; Open Creative Labs (OCLs) with workspace for scholars; state-of-the-art meeting and seminar rooms: a “silentium” room; a conference room with interpreter booths; an exhibition room for the Iwalewahaus and a MediaLab with a sound studio and digitisation facilities.

• The conventional offices are occupied by the staff of IAS, BIGSAS and the Cluster. For scholars working on the agenda of the FZA, BIGSAS Junior Fellows, Cluster fellows and guests of the IAS it is possible to book individual office desks for a limited time. UBT professors do not receive an office in the building.
  Registration for workstations for scholars in the conventional offices is organised centrally. We will inform you as soon as the booking system is installed.
  
• The Open Creative Labs (OCLs) are open spaces furnished with desks, seating areas, group workstations adapted to the needs of users. The spatial structure provides both private retreat areas and open, communicative spaces for academic work which facilitates different modes of working and enhances communication across disciplines and status groups.
  
• The conference facilities and seminar- and meeting-rooms are used for academic events, work meetings, discussion hours, whereas FZA users have priority right of use but allocation is subject to the university’s central booking system.
  
• The MediaLab supports IAS’s work on research data management and the digitalization of parts of the Iwalewahaus collection. It can be used by scholars according to the MediaLab’s own utilisation and booking plan.
  
• The building includes exhibition facilities for the Iwalewahaus, extending its space for people to meet and engage with contemporary African art in its global context. However, Iwalewahaus remains at its prominent location in the city center.

The FZA aims to enhance inclusive cooperation and exchange, linking Media Studies with African Studies, fostering digital strategies, and extending the presence of Iwalewahaus on campus. It focuses on research related to contemporary dynamics in society, technology, and ecology in and from Africa, thus studying not only African and Afro-diasporic life-worlds but also emphasizing how these shape and have shaped the world as we know it today.

• The FZA is built on an area of 2400 m² between the buildings RW and GW II. The total useable area is 4600 m². The vertical metal struts of the façade echo the colours of the IAS logo. The building features a green roof and a photovoltaic system.
• ​The construction is funded by a joint initiative of the Federal Government of Germany and the Bavarian State Government. The project costs amount to 31 million euros.
  
• The MediaLab technical equipment is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).
  
• The State Building Authority of Bayreuth is responsible for construction supervision and project management. The W. Markgraf GmbH & Co KG was selected as the general contractor following a tendering process.
  
• Usage guidelines have been adopted to regulate the access to and the use of the building and its facilities. All other issues such as facilities’ planning and occupancy are subject to the booking system to be developed by IAS, BIGSAS and Cluster.

•  Construction started at the end of 2022.
• The foundation stone was laid on 24 March 2023 by the Bavarian Minister of Science and Arts, Markus Blume in presence of University’s leadership and the IAS.
• The IAS and BIGSAS moved into the new building by the end of 2024, the other institutions by January 2025.
• The opening ceremony is planned for May 2025.