Stuttgart's architecturally unique City Library opens

The new Stuttgart City Library on Mailänder Platz opened its doors on October 24, 2011. Drees & Sommer undertook project control for the architecturally unique building designed by architect Eun Young Yi. And the highlight: The building is designed as a cube within a cube.

The building designed by Eun Young Yi is a cube aligned with the points of the compass with a footprint of 44 by 44 meters and a height of 40 meters. At the center of the building is the core: a 14-meter high cube providing an oasis of calm that allows visitors to escape from the hectic outside world. Directly above it is the gallery: This extends from the fourth to the eighth floor in the form of an inverted stepped pyramid and acts as a reading room. The building envelope is a double facade. The external wall comprises glass blocks and fair-face concrete. The thermally insulating second facade is made of glass, creating walkways on all nine levels.

The open office concept provides optimal conditions for current and future work environments. In addition to function rooms and offices, there are also seminar rooms and a cafeteria. The library has some 500,000 books, films, sound recordings, newspapers, music scores, artworks and digital media available for users.

Special challenge: Integration of an urban light rail tunnel
Drees & Sommer Stuttgart supported the project from the feasibility study and the architectural competition back in 1998. The special challenge during the execution phase from 2005 was the integration of tunnel work for the urban light rail line right next to the building. At the closest point, there is an air gap of only some 5 centimeters between the tunnel and the library.
The demanding project has now been completed on schedule and within the budget of EUR 79 million.

An innovative and sustainable system supplies the library with energy. The building's primary energy demand is 45 percent below the level prescribed by the Energy Conservation Ordinance (EnEV 2004). This is achieved with a photovoltaic system on the roof and 94 geothermal piles in the ground, which allow heating and cooling. In the winter, underfloor heating and the facade heat the building. In the summer, the geothermal system cools the facade posts.

Photo credits: LHS Stuttgart

Download this press release
PDF
Photos