Group_of_people_interested_in_the_Herzog_de_Meuron_Library at Cottbus: Open Letter

Group_of_people_interested_in_the_Herzog_de_Meuron_Library at Cottbus: Open Letter

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Striking design elements of the interior decoration of the ICMC in Cottbus are in danger!

Open letter for the preservation of the architecture of the ICMC building which serves as the Cottbus University Library:

Germany is known for its excellent architecture in places like Berlin, Munich, Cologne etc. But there is also something very special in a middle-sized city south of Berlin, called Cottbus. Cottbus is the site of one of the two German manor parks of Prince Pückler who was a famous 19th century park designer. Cottbus also has a splendid Art Nouveau theatre - and Cottbus has a University Library, designed and built in 2004 by the world-famous Swiss architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron!

With this library (which is known as the "Information-, Communication- and Media Centre" - the ICMC) little Cottbus stands alongside cities like Hamburg (Elb-Philharmony), London (New Tate Gallery) and Beijing (Main Stadium for the 2008 Olympic Games), in which the architects Herzog & de Meuron have also built extraordinary buildings. The exterior facade of the library building in Cottbus is completely covered by glass elements which avoid straight lines and triangles, creating an impression of an "amoeba". Because of its idiosyncratic architecture and its significance for urban planning, the library was listed on April 14th, 2025, as a National Monument by the National Monument Authority (Brandenburgisches Landesdenkmalamt).

The link below provides a good impression of this remarkable building:

https://www.herzogdemeuron.com/projects/166-ikmz-btu-cottbus-information-communications-and-media-centre-brandenburg-university-of-technology/

The ICMC was rewarded with several architecture prizes such as the "Bund Deutscher Architekten"-Prize ("Nike 2007"):

https://www.bda-bund.de/awards/ikmz-btu-cottbus/

Open, multi-stored areas are interspersed with rows of bookshelves and quiet reading-areas. Large curved chandeliers give the interior a noble touch. The striking spiral staircase both connects the floors and provides a meeting place. Specialists at the architectural office of Höhle + Partner at Aachen and Danish designers carried out the high-quality interior design.

Every day, architecture enthusiasts from home and abroad visit the extraordinary building, which with its exterior facade and outstanding interior decoration is a work of art.

Notwithstanding its architectural importance the ICMC is endangered by a planned remodeling of the ground floor as well as various changes on the other nine floors. The management argues that they had to follow "digital transformation" and need no paper books any more. Therefore book-shelves have become superfluous, and work spaces where people can meet and talk are needed instead. Two reading rooms with specially designed tables have already been removed and specially designed desks on the ground floor are next in line to be removed.

The signatories of this open letter demand an immediate STOP to the planned reconstruction measures in the ground floor, the preservation of the remaining epoxy resin reading tables with their electrical connections and reading lamps, as well as the preservation of the metal design-elements (research places) on the other floors. May the building of Herzog and de Meuron remain a special architectural highlight for many users and visitors in the future!

The signatories have launched a petition on the website

https://www.change.org/p/preserve-the-architectural-interior-of-the-university-library-at-cottbus-germany

which supporters are welcome to join in.

The first signatories of this letter are as follows:

- Mrs. Prof. Dr. H.C. Inken Baller, Hasenheide 92, 10967 Berlin,

- Mrs. Dagmar Friedrich, Dipl-Ing. BDIA, Briesniger Hauptstraße 16, 03149 Forst (Lausitz) OT Briesnig,

- Mrs. Ines Rösner, Turnergasse 5, 03149 Forst (Lausitz) OT Briesnig,

- Mr. Karl-Heinz-Rösner, Turnergasse 5, 03149 Forst (Lausitz) OT Briesnig,

- Mr. Boris Wiese, Schulstraße 42, 03149 Forst (Lausitz);

Boris Wiese is also responsible for the content in accordance with German press law.

© 2025 Group of people interested in the Herzog de Meuron Library at Cottbus

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