Outdoor facilities for the old town hall in Brandenburg a.d. Havel Reading and management court

Brandenburg's Old Town Hall, as an outstanding example of 15th century brick Gothic architecture, and the adjacent building complex were converted in 2006/07 as an administrative location with the seat of the Lord Mayor and for public use including a library and catering business. The associated courtyard-like open spaces were redesigned with reference to the building's use as a so-called reading courtyard for the Fouque Library and an administrative courtyard with a display area for a catering business. Appropriate "book benches" were developed for the reading courtyard.

Reading courtyard of the Fouqué Library

Besides the historic half-timbered building with its glass extension, the design for the reading courtyard is rather calm and restrained due to its limited repertoire of materials and colours. The curved forms do not attempt to take up the geometry of the surrounding buildings. Important lines of sight out of and into the glass extension and from the balcony are preserved or re-established, making the individual spaces appear larger.

Towards the car park to the east, a 2.30 m high wooden fence forms a clear boundary. A 1.80 m wide path of grey granite slabs and mosaic paving leads from the fence gate across the small courtyard to the entrance into the glass extension. The choice of paving was based on the existing planning of the Fouque Library. In the less heavily used transition areas, small granite paving stones with lawn joints are laid. Tiergarten tape is recommended as edging for the curved pathways.
An arbor walk made of wire rope bracing between the building walls, along with vertical trellis columns, marks and structures the access area as well as the location of the book benches.

The planting is limited to only a few species. Carex plantaginea and Vinca minor are used as ground cover. The latter also in the area of the eaves. Three solitaires, two ornamental cherries and a blood plum from the inventory, form the space-creating elements of the courtyard alongside the columns of the pergola covered with Wisteria sinensis.

For the reading courtyard, three mobile book benches on castors are planned. They consist of a mobile steel frame with wooden covering and a central backrest shaped as a book. In this way the benches are versatile e.g. also with readings applicable.

Next to a bollard light in the proximity of the entrance to the glass cultivation three, at the tendril ropes suspended LED floodlights set accents in the area of the approach and the book benches. The LED technology and the bollard light equipped with a compact fluorescent lamp provide an environmentally friendly illumination at night.