Planned new construction of the central and state library in Berlin-Kreuzberg uncertain: budget cuts endanger construction project
Planned new construction of the central and state library in Berlin-Kreuzberg uncertain: budget cuts endanger construction project
New construction of the central and state library in Berlin for the time being
The planned new building of the Central and State Library (ZLB) on Blucherplatz in Kreuzberg will not be realized for the time being. The reason for this is that the project in the Old Senate was deleted from financial planning and the investment program for the years 2022 to 2026. As a result, no funds are currently available for further planning.
According to a response from the Senate Department for Culture, the planned architectural competition has not yet been started due to the lack of budget at a request from Greens MP Julian Schwarze, Katrin Schmidberger and Laura Neugebauer. In the answer, the Senate Administration emphasizes that the need for new construction and the need for the ZLB are undisputed. However, the plans had to be “actually stopped” due to the lack of financial resources.
It was originally planned that exceptional products from another financial pot should be provided for further planning the new building. However, this agreement has proven to be unacceptable, since corresponding applications from the cultural administration were rejected, although they were formulated differently in financial planning for 2022 to 2026.A placement of the ZLB in the listed building of the Tempelhof Airport or in the International Congress Center (ICC) is not possible according to the Senate response. Various location examinations have shown that these locations are not suitable and uneconomical compared to others. The Senate Department emphasizes that the results of these location examinations are still valid and that no alternative locations are currently being examined for a new building.
The ZLB is currently spread across two locations, namely the America memorial library on Blücherplatz and the city library on Breiten Strasse in Mitte. The planning provides to bring these two locations together in one place, at Blucherplatz in Kreuzberg. A two -phase architectural competition is still planned, but the project has been resting since the middle lock.
The ZLB is horrified by the decision of the Senate. General Director Volker Heller emphasizes that there was a clear appointment between the Senate administrations to provide the further funds for the architectural competition. However, this was not adhered to, and Berlin is playing his library future. Heller also warns that the work of the libraries in the dilapidated buildings is becoming increasingly difficult because parts of the city library have recently been under water and the air conditioning of the America memorial library had failed. He calls on the new Senate to drive the merging of the ZLB quickly at a location.
The Greens are also committed to the new library building. The MP Julian Schwarze criticizes that stopping the project enormously delayed the expansion of the library. However, it is positive that the locations of Tempelhofer Airport and ICC are now excluded and that a two -phase realization competition should continue to take place. MPs Katrin Schmidberger, on the other hand, fear that the project will be in the stars and continues to work for the new building on Blucherplatz.
Overall, the future of the new building of the central and state library in Berlin is currently uncertain, since the financial means are missing and alternative locations are not checked. However, the ZLB and the Greens are committed to realizing the project.