Shell for library and citizen service completed

The new building for the Ernst Abbe Library and the Citizens' and Family Service at the centrally located Engelplatz in the middle of Jena is clearly growing. The shell of the building will be completed in the next few weeks. A total of around 37.2 million euros will be invested in the new building. The state is supporting the project with funding of around 24.5 million euros from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

"Education, culture and administration belong in the center of a city. The new construction of the Ernst Abbe Library with the Citizen and Family Service will help to further revitalize and enhance Jena's vibrant city centre. This can only be welcomed, especially in view of the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic has not least increased the challenges for city centers from an urban planning perspective. I am therefore very pleased that we are able to support the project with ERDF funds," said Susanna Karawanskij, Minister for Infrastructure and Agriculture.

Today marks a milestone in the project: the traditional topping-out ceremony, which will be celebrated with construction companies involved in the project, representatives of the state and the city, as well as future users from the library and citizen services. Working conditions will improve significantly for them after completion in fall 2023. Library users will also have completely new opportunities for learning and creative work, communication and leisure activities on a total usable area of 3,800 m². The aim is to create a lively place where people with different interests can meet, interact and immerse themselves in the world of analog and digital media. The city's citizen and family service will be housed in the building on a further 2,000 m² - as a contact point for important administrative services. Citizens' needs will be served in a more digital, modern and centralized way. At the same time, the space situation for employees will be improved.

"The location for the new library and the Citizens' and Family Services building will have a lasting impact on the cityscape, as it will extend the city center to the south. More than 400,000 people will use the building on the central Engelplatz every year, creating a revival that will also have an impact on the surrounding cafés, retail outlets and facilities," says Lord Mayor Dr. Thomas Nitzsche, looking forward to the future.

But there are still two years to go before then. The planning, construction and even the organization of a topping-out ceremony under corona conditions require a lot more effort than usual.

"But everyone is pulling together to keep delays to a minimum. I am proud of our project team and would also like to thank the companies involved in the construction as well as the architects and specialist planners," says Karl-Hermann Kliewe, the client and plant manager of the municipal company Kommunale Immobilen Jena.

Kliewe's counterpart, JenaKultur plant manager Jonas Zipf, is full of anticipation for the future home of the Ernst Abbe Library and the city of Jena's citizen service:

"The combination of two citizen-oriented and service-friendly services at the new location demonstrates exemplary character. As the future user of the new building, we are certain that we will be able to offer the people of Jena a real collective living room in the sense of a third place alongside work and private leisure time."

The schedule for such a complex project is ambitious. The extension work will begin in December and the furnishing and design of the outdoor facilities will start in 2023. The plan is for the building to be ready for use in 2023.