The striking red-brick buildings on the Leonardo Campus, which house the Department of Information Systems, were originally a barracks. They were built between 1889 and 1901, and renamed after the First World War in honour of Karl-Wilhelm von Einem, the former Prussian Minister of War. The barracks in Münster, like many other military bases, fell into disuse after the fall of the Iron Curtain. The state of NRW took over the site in 1994 and established it as a base for research institutions – the Leonardo Campus was born.
The whole site was converted and rebuilt for this purpose between 1999 and 2000. In addition to the renovation of all listed buildings, a new Academy of Fine Arts was built. In 2009, the Fachhochschule Münster’s School of Design constructed a modern building that complements the traditional appearance of the other structures on the Leonardo Campus. Today, a huge range of different research institutions are based here, making the site a truly interdisciplinary teaching and research facility.