A milestone in urban quality: the newly designed forecourt of Stuttgart`s City Museum is connected to the newly constructed pavement along Konrad-Adenauer-Straße, which now joins the avenue of plane trees established by James Stirling in front of the State Gallery. The existing double row of trees has been extended and supplemented by eight additional trees in front of the Main State Archives. The new design reopens the chain of public cultural institutions, which for decades had been bashfully turned away from the street, to the city centre.
The continuous and generously dimensioned pedestrian connection along the entire ‘cultural mile’ makes the traffic-congested urban space accessible for the first time and, together with the open spaces of the State Library, gives a glimpse of the urban qualities that can be expected from the future redesign of the B14. Visitors to the cafeteria of the Württemberg State Library enjoy using the outdoor area along the street extensively – contrary to all the prophecies of doom that it would be impossible to linger on the busy ‘city motorway’.
The city museum is delighted with the additional open space in front of the building, which it can use to engage with the urban space and society at large through highly frequented events.
The upper level, known as the ‘Hohen Ufer’ (High Bank), also offers ground-level access to the StadtPalais, archive building and forecourt of the Württemberg State Library from Charlottenplatz.
A ten-metre-high tower made of white recycled concrete in front of the StadtPalais primarily serves as a ventilation shaft for cooling the air conditioning system of the tram transformer in the technical floor of the Charlottenplatz stop. The previous ventilation opening was not accident-proof and posed a potential hazard directly at the busy intersection.
In order to minimise the number of structures in front of the historic palace, the tower, which is visible from afar, also serves as a passenger shelter for the new barrier-free bus stop at Charlottenplatz and as an advertising space on which the StadtPalais – Museum für Stuttgart uses banners to announce events and programmes.

Another key element is the 80-metre-wide open staircase in front of the StadtPalais, which finally makes its main entrance accessible again and integrates it better than ever before into the urban space. Together with the staircase, the forecourt, which is now connected to the city boulevard, offers seating and a high quality of stay, which has been greatly appreciated since its opening.

Complex underground technology: The redesign required some demolition work and the conversion of the pump room and emergency drainage system in front of the Main State Archives, as well as the relocation of numerous public utility lines, from gas and water to electricity and telecommunications. This created the necessary space for the boulevard and, above all, for the new tall city trees and their root systems.
The parallel, partially overlapping and intersecting routing of different utility lines and the lack of space between underpasses and the ground surface required complex geometric considerations and tailor-made solutions. In some cases, existing structures were reorganised, but also shared.
The visible surfaces of the new 60-metre-long retaining wall are finished to a particularly high standard with board formwork and correspond to the façades of the neighbouring State Library.
The permeable surface of the forecourt directs rainwater directly into the subsoil via the drainage paving.

Client:
Tiefbauamt, Stuttgart

Design and Artistic Supervision:
LRO GmbH & Co. KG, Stuttgart

Planning of Transport Facilities and Civil Engineering:
Dr.-Ing. Heinrich GmbH, Planungsgesellschaft, Waiblingen

Structural Engineer:
Leonhardt, Andrä und Partner
Beratende Ingenieure VBI AG (LAP), Stuttgart

Opening:
8. Mai 2024

Publication:
"Ein Boulevard für die Stadt", Stuttgarter Zeitung, 6.5.2024

Photography:
Roland Halbe, Stuttgart; LRO