Square of the Old Synagogue Freiburg with Volker Rosenstiel, architect and urban planner

In Freiburg's "new centre", an open, spacious square with a modern character was created, which connects the adjacent city quarters with the large pedestrian flows and the prominent buildings of the theatre, university, university library and regional council. The redesign of the square is part of the overall urban development measure "Redesign Rotteckring" and is thus one of the most important projects in Freiburg's public space since the establishment of the pedestrian zone in 1970.

The concept designates various experience zones on the square area: Thus, one finds tranquility and contemplation in the southeast triangle, where the ground plan of the destroyed synagogue was recreated in the form of a water table. Dynamism and activity characterize the northwestern area of the square near the intersection of Bertoldstraße and Rotteckring - played with by a fountain field that filters the background noise. The inner square area is free of fixtures so that the space can be used flexibly. A carpet of beige granite slabs and a frame of basalt cobblestones hold the square together visually.

The competition design from the limited open realization competition of 2006 was improved in some points during the course of the project. For example, the idea of a square house was not implemented, and instead more of the existing trees were retained. In order to protect their high roots, they were given borders that are planked with wooden decks and can thus be used in a variety of ways as seating and lounging options.

Urban planning significance

With a size of 130 x 130 meters (approx. 17,000 sqm), the square of the Old Synagogue is Freiburg's second largest square after the Münsterplatz. Despite this dimension, it could not be experienced and used as a city square until now and remained far behind its urban development potential, which results from the central location between the university and the municipal theatre.

The urban development framework plan Rotteckring - Werderring - Friedrichring is the basis for the reorganisation of the joint between the old town and the western inner city extension into a sequence of city streets, squares and open spaces. The square of the Old Synagogue plays a special role in this development: due to its size, its central location, the prominent buildings bordering it (theatre, university, university library, regional council) and its historical significance as the site of the former synagogue, it has an outstanding importance in the overall urban development project as well as for the entire city centre.

Active citizen participation

The basis for the redesign of the square was the result of a competition in 2006, into which the results of a planning workshop with citizens were incorporated. Their wishes and demands on the square were manifold: On the one hand, a varied and communicative place was to be created where a wide variety of uses are possible; on the other hand, the memory of the Jewish synagogue destroyed in 1938 was to be kept alive.

On this basis, the municipal council announced a Europe-wide competition in which 31 architectural firms participated. The joint design by faktorgruen and architect and urban planner Volker Rosenstiel was selected as the winning entry and was subsequently further developed with suggestions from the local council. For example, the city councillors demanded that more trees be preserved. With the present planning and implementation, it was possible to realize as many of the partly contradictory wishes from the citizens as possible.

Plaza area
The square was designed as a spacious, coherent area, without steps or walls. A carpet of beige granite slabs, which also includes areas of light rail, delivery and bicycle traffic, visually holds the large plaza together. It is enclosed by a frame of basalt cobblestones, which connects to the existing areas of the theatre, the university square and the newly designed open spaces of the university library. In the center of the square, a fountain invites visitors to contemplate and play.

Bertoldstraße
The northern area of the square, which connects to Bertoldstraße without separation, is characterized by the many pedestrians - along Bertoldstraße as well as diagonally towards Sedanstraße, the university library or KG II.

Water level / synagogue fountain
In the southern area, peace and tranquility determine the square. As a reminder of the Old Synagogue, its ground plan is recreated in the form of a water mirror. The commemorative plaque created by Carl Rissler, which has been in place since 1963, was embedded in the water level. The synagogue fountain is now a "place of remembrance" with the possibility of temporary commemoration of the crimes of National Socialism.

Environment of the University Library
The new University Library not only has ground-level access, but also a café with outdoor catering at the corner of Sedanstrasse, which is part of the pedestrian zone as far as Milchstrasse. The design of the University Library's outdoor facilities was closely coordinated with the redesign of the Old Synagogue Square. As a result, uniform materials and laying patterns were used for the basalt pavers.

Theatre
The elimination of the current street and the cohesive design of the square means that the theatre radiates much more strongly onto the whole square, making it, in a sense, the theatre forecourt.

Traffic
The new square was designed as a pedestrian zone. A driving lane for delivery and bicycle traffic is planned next to the tracks, which will be integrated into the square in terms of design. The light rail will also be routed across the square without separation. The overhead line will largely be attached to light poles that are necessary anyway.

Pedestrians will be able to use the entire square continuously and without obstacles. Low curbs and a suitable choice of materials also make it clear to blind and visually impaired people which areas are shared by bicycle and delivery traffic.

The square as part of the overall urban planning measure

Communal political implementation and citizen participation
After a phase of several years of concept development with urban planning and landscape planning competitions, a feasibility study on the route of the urban railway and a series of events called "Stadtboulevard Project Workshop" with four topic-related information and discussion events as well as another competition and a citizens' planning workshop on the Old Synagogue Square, the municipal council adopted the development plan for the implementation of the project in July 2012.

As part of the development plan process, the suggestions received were evaluated and incorporated into the planning as far as possible. In addition, in the course of the project development, there was very intensive public relations work via official special prints, the Internet, exhibitions, information events and extensive citizen participation with all stakeholders of Freiburg's urban society.

The entire planning process was closely accompanied by an advisory board, staffed with nationally recognized experts, as well as by a project advisory board, in which the urban citizenry and stakeholders were represented. A moderation process is currently underway regarding the usage concept for the square.

Objective of the overall measure
An important objective is the attractive design of the square spaces located in the planning area as well as the design integration of the neighboring parks. The square of the Old Synagogue as a central square area with its independent design deliberately breaks the linearity of the boulevard and is aimed at treating all spatial directional references equally.

North of the square is the boulevard Rotteckring, which ends with the newly designed square at the Victory Monument. The boulevard is characterised by the generous pedestrian traffic areas along the edge of the old town and connects the two large, newly designed inner-city squares.

Importance for municipal transport policy
The overall measure also corresponds to the consistent implementation of Freiburg's transport policy. In order to meet the increasing demand for public transport, the transport objective is to shift the function of the "inner city ring" for individual motor vehicle traffic to the existing station axis to the west and to develop Werthmannstrasse and Rotteckring as traffic-reduced city streets with a boulevard character and with a pedestrian zone in the central section.

In this context, the new light rail line is an important addition to and improvement of the existing light rail network. In the traffic reorganization in the ring, however, the function as the most important inner-city north-south axis of bicycle traffic should be maintained and further developed. In conclusion, it remains to be said that it was only through the Freiburg traffic concept and the expansion of local public transport that the extensive redesign of the urban space became possible.

Planning, building and land-use law

The redesign of the square was coordinated with all the offices and authorities involved as part of a development plan procedure, and the result was recorded and secured in a legally valid development plan.

At the time of the competition announcement, the following conditions were given:

Division of the square in north-south direction - into the approx. 1.50 m higher front zone of the municipal theatre, the street with central reservation and tree remains, the bicycle parking area and the approx. 0.6 - 0.8 m higher forecourt of the college building II
-way relations only in north-south and east-west direction parallel to the street-related sidewalks; diagonal, use-related crossings were not possible
-The competition brief stipulated, that the ribbon-like dissections and the topographical differences in height be overcome and that the square could also be crossed diagonally
- Due to the sensitive location in the area of the medieval city wall, cellar remains of demolished historical buildings were suspected in the subsoil - these had to be carefully uncovered and documented during the construction phase
- Part of the competition task was to commemorate the location of the old synagogue and to make it visible in an appropriate form. In the process, a place of peace, reflection and encounter was to be created.

Sustainability and urban climate

Great attention was also paid to the function of the square for the urban climate. The effects of the square redesign were examined and evaluated as part of a microclimatic study.

As a result, the cherry trees envisaged in the competition design were replaced with more adaptable gleditschias (Gleditsia triacanthos Skyline), which are more tolerant of heat and the urban climate, with a view to future development and the effects of climate change. The number of existing trees (plane trees and chestnut trees) retained was significantly increased during the planning process.

The implemented square also complies with the recommendation of the microclimatic expert opinion to "prefer light materials that cause a high reflection of incoming short-wave radiation to dark materials". A yellow-beige granite from a quarry in Hauzenberg in Lower Bavaria was used.