Time to chill: The new public library in Stuttgart/D.

摘要

In 2010, the German Word of the Year was "Wutburger", meaning Outraged Citizen. Why did they opt for this particular word? It was a word that cropped up in the news a lot that year, especially in reports about the angry citizens of Stuttgart, who took to the streets for months on end to protest against the politicians' decision to build a new, but extremely expensive, main railway station in the city centre. It was not so much about the quality of the project, but rather about the fact that the citizens appeared to have very little, if any, influence on political processes. Besides the railway station project, the comprehensive city planning project known as Stuttgart 21 also includes the new public library. The new library's image consequently also suffered in the wake of the discussions and hold-ups. Wrongly so, since the building is designed as a place in which to chill and to promote intellectual debate.