Originally founded in 1661 as a princely court library, this library was integrated into the Prussian state administration in 1810 and developed over time into one of the most renowned academic libraries in the world. However, its development was interrupted for several decades due to severe damage during the Second World War and the division of Germany.

Since reunification, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation has been responsible for the Staatsbibliothek Unter den Linden. In 1998, it was decided to carry out a comprehensive renovation of the historic old building according to the plans of court architect Ernst von Ihne, supplemented by conversions and the construction of new buildings. In 2000, the renowned architectural firm HG Merz from Berlin-Stuttgart won the international architectural competition for this project.

Since 2010, we have extensively modernized all windows in two construction phases in close coordination with the architects, while operations were continuously maintained. The revitalization of the building in line with its listed status included the installation of highly complex box-type and single window systems, generally in oversized and special shapes. One of the biggest challenges was to seamlessly integrate modern security and smoke extraction systems as well as sun protection systems into the windows.