Glass Pyramid 2022

How can municipal libraries support social cohesion? What themes, programmes and spaces tie into people’s real lives on location? Based on the four mega-topics “Sustainability and Climate Change”, “Digital Transformation”, “Work 4.0” and “Intercultural Cohabitation”, the Ulm municipal library teamed up with relevant partners and residents to rethink the central library in the glass pyramid and develop concrete usage concepts for it. The collected ideas were then incorporated into the modernisation measures of the central library which are slated to commence in 2024.

The four mega-topics served as thematic focuses for conceptual and spatial considerations. With the local “Fridays for Future” movement, the library established a climate info point which, in addition to providing consultation and service, aims to strengthen cross-generational dialogue. Akin to a low-threshold creative/computer workshop for children which promotes digital media education, the municipal library and the Verschwörhaus e.V. will collaborated on developing a nationwide flagship project for network culture. In cooperation with TFU GmbH, the Start-up and Innovation Centre for the Ulm/Neu-Ulm Region, the library aimed to create a co-working space for both pupils and freelancers. Together with the Ulm Coordination Centre International City, the project explored possibilities of encounter and exchange in a city that is becoming increasingly diversified. The project also included the creation of a scale prototype so that visitors can experience what the redesigned future Ulm glass pyramid will offer starting in 2024 – a hacker space, co-working zone, debate forum and an urban refuge of tranquillity.

Project title: Glass Pyramid 2022

Partner: Fridays for Future Ulm/Neu-Ulm, Verschwörhaus e.V., TFU GmbH, Ulm Coordination Centre International City