In an attempt to climb the ranks from technical college to the Ivys, Lüneburg University (outside of Hamburg, Germany) has hired its part-time professor, famed American architect Daniel Libeskind, to design a new main building for its campus.

Despite grumblings from state officials about the $76 million price tag, and claims from student representatives that the design is impractical, school officials are sure that building something spectacular on campus will catapult the college’s reputation. As such, university administration announced in early January that it had secured funding for the project and was moving forward with its construction.

For its exterior, Libeskind, who has designed such major buildings as Berlin’s Jewish Museum, and has been involved in the new design for New York’s World Trade Center, has envisioned a silver grouping of stark, jagged geometry, with the roofline jutting sharply in unexpected areas. The structure will, at its tallest, be 124 feet, and will be able to accommodate 1,200 people. Officials hope construction will be complete by Easter 2014.

Initial design plans show a partial green roof and an atrium at the building’s top level. The sharp angles of the exterior carry inside, with oddly angular walls serving as a decorative element.