For four decades, the 142,5 meter high building has been the tallest office building and a landmark of the city of Leipzig.
The high-rise building, which was constructed in 1972 as a sectional building of the university, was built according to the designs of the architect Hermann Henselmann, who also received international acclaim as the architect of the Berlin television tower.
In the form of an open book, the building, which was visible over a long distance, was soon also popularly known as the „wisdom tooth“, „university giant“ or „ steep tooth“.