City of Aachen / Timo Pappert
Aachen is a curious and lively city. There is a lot of research, debate and discussion here. The future is invented and shaped here - in outstanding institutions that develop and pass on specialized knowledge. Now a new place is being added that offers uncomplicated access to education. An open place where all Aacheners are welcome.
© kadawittfeldarchitektur
A new place for all Aacheners
Following a decision by Aachen City Council, the "House of Curiosity" will be built by 2029 in a department store between the bus station and the old town that has been empty for many years. A building that is open to all people in the city who want to be inspired, discuss and discover new things, seek peace and quiet or are looking for a meeting place. Since March 2025, the adult education center and the city library, as future joint users of the building, have been planning how their services can be optimally combined, supplemented and expanded. The total costs are estimated at 120 million euros.
© kadawittfeldarchitekten
The path of curiosity
The core architectural idea of the house is the "path of curiosity". It invites visitors to explore all levels of the building via spacious staircases. And it links all the facilities together via the central and bright atrium, from the cozy seating areas on the first floor to the rooftop café on the fourth floor. The forum staircase on the second floor is particularly inviting for sitting, browsing and lingering.
© kadawittfeldarchitekten
Central, open, inviting
They have always changed in line with people's needs. Now the adult education center and the city library can continue to develop together. And redefine their role in Aachen's urban society together. When they come together with their different services in a common, open and architecturally interesting address, 1 and 1 will not become 2, but much more, something completely new, a common house for all Aacheners: a house of curiosity! Above all, bright eyes and happy encounters - because these two ingredients are crucial for creating community and making education easy and sustainable.
However, it also provides attractive and inviting spaces with a diverse range of services jointly designed by the adult education center and the city library: analog and digital media, games and IT, cooking, music and exercise, political debates and cultural experiences, exhibitions and films in a shared space with great appeal enrich everyday life, invite people to help shape the building and participate in society.
Multifunctional and modernly equipped rooms are also available to the independent scene, associations and initiatives, including a flexibly usable area for different event formats. Naturally, all areas are barrier-free. Everyone is welcome, there is something to discover everywhere, there is always something going on. Change has been considered from the outset, with users constantly redefining the content.
Debates, rooftop café and much more
When you enter the building, you enter a spacious foyer with an information desk, book return, café and the flexibly adaptable event area. A stepped gallery in the foyer offers seating and exhibition space. A separate area is intended to be rented out to retailers.
The second floor offers more quiet and communicative activities. There are music and creative rooms, a retreat zone, exercise facilities and a play area for young people, children and parents with a pool table, games console and board games, as well as the city library's well-known Youth Factory. The second floor is a living and debating area where you can choose to discuss, do gymnastics or take cooking classes. The third floor offers the opportunity to work quietly or use seminar rooms. A café with a view of the cathedral and town hall is just as much a part of the building's concept as an art library and a reading terrace, all of which can be found on the leafy fourth floor.
And where is the entrance? There will be three entrances, on Komphausbadstraße, Bädersteig, Büchel and also via the bicycle parking garage on Mefferdatisstraße, from which you can access the second floor directly. Space for 250 bicycles will be created in the former delivery area of the previous department store. Those arriving by car will find the Couvenstraße parking garage in the immediate vicinity. It is open 24 hours a day and offers more than 500 parking spaces. It is only a two-minute walk to the Haus der Neugier. The Adalbertstraße parking garage with its 186 spaces is also just a few minutes away. Haus der Neugier is also well connected to public transport. Pedestrians can easily reach it via the Elisenbrunnen, Bushof and Kurhausstraße stops.
Not to forget: The architects are proposing greenery at various points around the building across several storeys. (This is not yet shown on the views currently available). Green roofs are also planned.
© kadawittfeldarchitektur
Status of planning
Unfortunately, not much is visible from the outside yet, but planning is progressing rapidly. The former Horten building has been owned by Haus der Neugier GmbH, a company of the City of Aachen, since 2025. Since then, the Aachen-based firm kadawittfeldarchitektur has been working with the future users, VHS and the city library, to determine what functions the building needs to fulfill and exactly what the needs of the two institutions are. Detailed plans for the building are therefore already available and have been presented to politicians. Professionally speaking: The basic assessment, preliminary planning and design planning have already been completed. The building application for the Haus der Neugier will be submitted by the end of January 2026.
The building is to be equipped with modern media. A detailed concept for this has already been drawn up. The interior design and the guidance and orientation system are already being developed, as are the lighting design and the exterior design in the immediate vicinity of the building. A separate planning office is also working on the accessibility of the building.
Since the beginning of 2026, an Aachen-based project management company has also been supporting the structural development of the building. What comes next: A planning office has been put out to tender for the implementation planning. A general contractor will then take over the implementation of the planning. The aim is to complete the building in 2029.
Would you like to find out more? An information event is planned for March 17 from 6 p.m. at the Ludwig Forum. And as soon as the outside temperatures allow, the shop windows will be covered with information banners.
The Horten House in the city center
In the course of a feasibility study, the city of Aachen intensively examined possible locations for the Haus der Neugier from a programmatic, economic and structural perspective. The Haus Horten option emerged as the favorite from this study.
Above all, feasibility and sustainability speak in favor of this location, where the "Lust for Life" department store was located until 2017. Realizing the Haus der Neugier project in this building will also drive forward the development and revitalization of the surrounding area.
Good to know: The parts of the VHS located in the Bushof will have to leave the building in the foreseeable future for a partial refurbishment or a general overhaul. When the VHS moves into the Haus der Neugier, apartments can be built at the Bushof site.
Good role models in Germany and Europe
In the library landscape in particular, outstanding and innovative buildings with enormous appeal have emerged in recent years. Libraries that play a decisive role in urban development, that create space for people to stay and meet, that bring people together in MakerSpaces and open events.
Some are created from existing office buildings (muntpunt Brussels) or from industrial halls (LocHal Tilburg), others are newly built (Kulturforum Hanau) and still others develop into the future from existing library buildings (Cologne City Library).
Adult education centers are also getting new, modern buildings, for example in Dortmund and Bochum. From time to time, adult education centers and libraries move into a building together, but then, as in Bonn and Nuremberg, the facilities usually stand next to each other. As initial examples have shown, consistent merging brings added value for everyone.
The heart of Aachen's educational programs
The House of Curiosity has an additional significance as a communal contribution to educational equality. In the House of Curiosity, digital learning in particular should be accessible to everyone - regardless of social or ethnic background. In this way, it makes an important contribution to the "fair distribution" of the "future resource of knowledge". With its low-threshold advisory and service offerings, the Haus der Neugier is the heart of Aachen's educational offerings, its institutions and partners.
Info event April 3, 2025
A start full of optimism and lively discussions. The planners are euphoric and optimistic, the guests in the auditorium listen breathlessly and ultimately take part in a lively discussion. The emerging House of Curiosity has really aroused them - curiosity and hope.
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Contact us
House of Curiosity GmbH
Dr. Christine Rüdiger
Management
Tel: 0241 432-7642
Dr. Jutta Bacher
Content coordination
Phone: +49 171 5657542
Dina Maria Graetz
Technical project management
Tel: 0241 432-27413
E-mail: hausderneugier@mail.aachen.de