What an evening in the ballroom of the Altes Kurhaus: the planners are euphoric and optimistic, the guests in the auditorium - including men and women from the worlds of culture and administration - listen breathlessly and then take part in a lively discussion. The emerging House of Curiosity has really aroused them - curiosity and hope. It is an enormous project in every respect, with a sum of 100 million euros, the most important building project in Aachen's post-war history.
From the outset, the event conveys the strength and the will to lead the mighty complex in the heart of the city, which once housed the Horten department store and then "Lust for Life", into a new, open, vital life for everyone. At the heart of this is the combination of the Aachen Adult Education Center under the direction of Beate Blüggel and the city library, where director Doris Reinwald has already developed a multi-faceted range of services. "There will be no dividing line in the new building," assures Beate Blüggel. "We can do a lot of things even better together."
Contract about to be signed
After a welcome and many words of thanks to start the evening, Mayor Sibylle Keupen takes an interesting look back before turning to the future. "This place was always lively, the who's who of Europe met here," she recalls the social life, including in the Altes Kurhaus. From the early 1960s, the Horten department store, built above the Rosenquelle, offered a wide range of shopping attractions, and in the 1970s, the nearby bus station was a bold modernist building. In 1980, the city library moved into its new home on Couvenstraße. And then? Neglect, a problematic environment, a department store that says goodbye. A ray of hope? "The feasibility study that was commissioned in 2022 and confirmed the joint opportunity for the VHS and city library," reports Sibylle Keupen. Now a completely new approach is being taken: Not only is the Haus der Neugier being built, there will also be affordable housing at the bus station in the future.
The extensive contract for the House of Curiosity has been prepared and will be signed, the Lord Mayor assures us with pleasure. "This decision demonstrates the courage to shape the future here," she says and promises: "The content should be geared towards people's needs. There will certainly be many ways to attract funding." Open spaces on the first floor are to be rented out where possible.
A statement for educational equality and flexibility
And then they all have their say, including the councillors Frauke Burgdorff and Heiko Thomas, well prepared and in a good mood, as well as Heinrich Brötz, Head of Cultural Affairs, who brings along a verse from the reopening of an elementary school that makes sense for the project being developed. "As you are, so you are good, here you can shine in your colors." The building is not least a building block on the way to educational equality, a statement for flexibility. What is currently happening: "We are working on a security concept and talking about opening hours," explains Brötz. An energy concept is also in the works. Photovoltaics? Of course. Green facades? Not yet clear.
The more the evening progresses, knowledgeably and charmingly moderated by journalist Gisela Steinhauer, the more you feel like opening the windows of the hall and enlivening the still sad building with the dynamism of all those involved. On this evening, it was indeed possible to get all those on stage who can say, explain and judge something.
After all, the House of Curiosity is due to be completed in 2028 (an ambitious plan), but it is already developing personality and a face with this citizens' meeting place in the Altes Kurhaus. And to keep the curiosity fresh, Theater K and the circus group Crumble Club often go beyond the factual contributions with excerpts from their production "Schluss!Verkauf". Annette Schmidt floats across the stage as an over-excited department store manager in a bright trouser suit and distributes scented spray, Jonas Leiblin as a former escalator page raves about the magic of the vehicle that whisks shoppers away from everyday life and lifts them up to beauty. Barbara Portsteffen as the former sales assistant is bewilderment personified. Unbelievable: no more department store. The young people of Crumble Club offer acrobatics at its finest, even rebelling mannequins.
Encouraging comments from the political groups
There is no rebellion in the audience, on the contrary. In addition to the practical questions, hopeful praise is heard time and again, and even Gisela Steinhauer emphasizes: "I live in Cologne and Berlin, but I'm going to send everyone to Aachen soon." The chairpersons of all the parliamentary groups are also recorded on video with encouraging comments - after all, the decision in favor of the House of Curiosity is a cross-party one.
There is still a lot to be done before the opening, which Dirk Lange, a member of the Kadawittfeld architecture firm team, patiently explains using detailed planning drawings. Level by level, he guides the audience through the living spaces that will accommodate people in the future - language field (literature, communication, languages, intercultural), work field (co-working, IT spaces), play field (art, music, creativity, offers for children and young people), dispute field (debates, open space, politics, film), life field (nutrition, sport, climate, health) and free field (arrival, forum, café). "Is there also a zone for peace and quiet?" asks a member of the audience. And yes, there is, as well as a view from the roof, where a café is to be built, four elevators and numerous entrances from all sides, and the planning is sustainable. The 45-degree water from the rose spring can be used for heating. "Disclosure is not possible," regrets Dirk Lange.
The house should live and develop
Then there will be another opportunity for Beate Blüggel and Doris Reinwald to go into detail and thus rejoice in the "expanded urban space", which will even offer bicycle garages for 250 bikes and a baby carriage parking space. The escalator, the "purring" creature with an idiosyncratic character, as the escalator page of Theater K calls it, is a thing of the past and has long since given way to a kind of zig-zag line that leads upwards in the House of Curiosity.
And the name? The "path of curiosity" was the best direction for Beate Blüggel and Doris Reinwald. The "new" in the term "curiosity" alone was more encouraging than the obligatory "knowledge". Doris Reinwald explained with great enthusiasm: "Curiosity is something that lives, that develops. This house should live. And it should always continue to develop. Curiosity is something that is mutual. Just as I want people to come into this house and be curious about everything it has to offer, it is just as important that we look out of this house with curiosity." And Sibylle Keupen asks the audience: "Nevertheless, we would also like to ask you whether you find the title just as exciting as we do, or whether you have a better idea? What do you see in the house? We would like to talk to you about this not only today, but also tomorrow and the day after tomorrow."
The event on April 7, 2025 was recorded and is available at the following link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lPapfWeh9E
The website www.hausderneugier.de provides an insight into the feasibility study and the council's decision. It will provide continuous information on the planning and construction progress.