New building library and citizen service Jena

Architects

pbr Planungsbüro Rohling AG



Appraisal by the jury

The work covers all offered building sites and thus makes a contribution to urban repair both at Engelplatz, at Neugasse and especially at Theaterplatz. The building gets by predominantly with one basement and three main floors, which facilitates internal access and the operation of the two main uses. The area per floor resulting from the small number of floors offers large, coherent and flexibly usable floor plans, which are particularly important for the library. Important functions with an external connection, such as the 24-hour media return, are located correctly and, above all, not out of the way.
The meeting room, which is available to all users, is centrally located at the entrance and can be used separately by the public. In the head building at the angel place, which secures its own address formation by its self-confident, but not superficial appearance, the separate development for the citizen service takes place. In the more quietly situated head building on Neugasse, separate library uses, such as the learning centre or offices, are placed.
With its discreet, but at the same time independent façade with storey-high vertical louvres, the entire building creates its own holistic public perception. By the different formation of the individually visible building structures, the respective urban situation is addressed in a differentiated manner at the same time. In addition to the publicly accessible assembly room, the design creates a further urban enrichment with the café area oriented towards the Theaterplatz.
The building with the former sacristy/chapter hall remains open and available for independent museum use. At the same time, it is framed in terms of urban development without dominating it.
The low number of storeys does not intrude too closely on the neighbouring buildings in Neugasse, and the open spaces to this side enhance the outdoor space situation for their residents.
In the ideas section, the access from Schillerstraße is separated from the Kulturarena by a flight of steps with seating. At the same time, the Kulturarena is given an important building block for its independent usability through the proposed technical and ticket office building.
The footpath relationships from Engelplatz to Theaterplatz and from Theaterplatz to Neugasse are small-scale and of urban quality.
In the interior, the large-scale storey levels offer a variety of possible uses for the developing library and service world.
The space program is functionally and economically fulfilled and is very effective in terms of traffic areas through the large contiguous usable areas.
The technical feasibility is not in question in any point, and in particular the proposed facade design with vertical lamellas promises a durable and at the same time typical local design through its reinforced concrete construction with shell limestone aggregate. The possible prefabrication ensures an economical and fast construction method.

https://engelplatz.jena.de/de/startseite/809530