Berlin State Library and Surrounding Neighbourhood
Awarded competition entry for the state library on Berlin’s former Tempelhof air field.
Region
Europe and Northern America
Date
2013-2014
Service
Urban Design and Public Space
Project Details
Location
- Berlin (Germany)
Type
- Competition
Team
Client
- Senatsverwaltung für Mobilität, Verkehr, Klimaschutz und Umwelt
Partners
- MARS Architecten
- Treibhaus Lavaland
Surface
16ha
Awards
- Special Mention
Tempelhofer Airfield, or Flughafen Berlin-Tempelhofer, is known as one of Berlin’s first airports. Constructed in 1927 under the Nazi regime’s anticipation of growing air traffic, the airfield went on to become one of Europe’s three economic pre-WWII airports and played a central role in the Berlin Airlift of 1948 and 1949. Following its closure in 2008, Berlin’s airport operations shifted to Tegel and Schönefeld, before the opening of Berlin Brandenburg Airport in 2020.
A Central Library for Berlin
In 2013 and 2014, the City of Berlin launched an international competition inviting architects, urban planners, and landscape designers to envision a new Berlin Central Library and its surrounding neighbourhood within the boundaries of Tempelhofer Airfield.
The project’s ambition was to consolidate various scattered libraries throughout the city into a single central institution. However, the proposal was met with political tension, and following the conclusion of the competition, a public poll resulted in a decision to halt construction on the airfield.
Despite this, our proposal, created with the help of MARS Architekten, an architecture firm, and KOKOMO Landschaft and Stadtraum GmbH (former Treibhaus Lavaland office), a landscape and urban space firm, was among the ten selected finalists. Then-Senate Building Director of Berlin, Regula Lüscher, commended our submission for its thoughtful integration of library placement and neighbourhood layout.
Berlin’s History with Urban Regeneration
Berlin’s approach to regeneration has historically differed from other German cities, shaped by the consequences of fragmented urban planning and the urgency of post-reunification economic pressures.
In the years following the country’s reunification, the city faced substantial financial challenges, prompting the sale of publicly owned land to private developers. This strategy was seen as a fast solution to restore liquidity, but left a lasting impact on Berlin’s urban fabric.
During the early 2000s, a narrative emerged around Berlin’s potential to grow to a population of five million and become a central node in Europe. When these projections did not materialise and banks opted to remain in other German cities, what emerged instead was a cultural identity grounded in art, informality, and grassroots vibrancy.
While past planning mistakes have been acknowledged, Berlin has since grown to appreciate its open spaces and informal culture. Places like Tempelhofer Airfield have come to represent not just empty land, but shared memory, public value, and the city’s evolving identity.
Citizens increasingly advocate for these spaces to remain undeveloped, recognising their cultural and emotional significance.
Methodology
Phase One - Site Strategy and Neighbourhood Planning
The first phase of the competition called for identifying a suitable location for the library and developing a wider neighbourhood plan. The challenge lay in reconciling multiple objectives, including preserving the scale and history of the airfield while integrating urban and ecological systems.
Here, we focused on urban design as a guiding element, prioritising spatial layout over architectural form. Our plan introduced a network of scattered towers and porous public spaces that responded to noise, accessibility, and ecological needs. Rather than imposing density, the design aimed to merge built form with green landscape, promoting openness and livability.
Key considerations included noise reduction from nearby streets, maintaining visual continuity across the airfield, and embedding historical context into the new development. In contrast to other entries that leaned heavily on architectural expression, our design focused on neighbourhood structure and civic integration.
The result was a deliberate yet open configuration, balancing cost, beauty, and regulatory standards, ultimately leaning towards a more beauty-oriented solution at the time.
Phase Two - Library Design
Ten finalists moved forward onto the second phase, which focused on the design of the library building itself. Here, we translated our urban concept of openness into architectural form.
Our approach reflected a modern understanding of the library as a dynamic, adaptable civic space rather than a static archive. The design features multiple levels of varied spatial configurations to accommodate a range of uses: solidarity, study, collaborative work, and public interaction.
A key gesture of the building was its fully open ground floor, intended to function as an extension of the neighbourhood’s public realm. The library was imagined as both a cultural anchor and an accessible part of everyday life at Tempelhofer.
Rather than creating a monument to the past, we aimed to create a space that would be actively used, continuously evolving with its surroundings.
Aftermath and Influence
Though the construction of the library at Tempelhofer was ultimately not realised, the project left a lasting impact on how we approach urban design at TSPA.
Every new TSPA project is shaped by accumulated learning, drawing from what has worked well, what has challenged us, and how we continue to evolve our methodology. While the Tempelhofer competition is considered a pre-TSPA project completed under Uberbau, its influence is visible in later work, including our proposal for Amo ZIL Factory in Moscow.
In recent years, conversations around the Tempelhofer site have resurfaced. One of TSPA’s co-working space partners, DZH, is currently involved in new design discussions related to a potential library development there.
Berlin has made meaningful progress in recognising the value of open spaces and cultural heritage. With renewed dialogue around the project, we remain hopeful that this iteration will succeed where earlier efforts were halted.
Urban regeneration, particularly in historically and politically charged sites, requires collaboration, clarity, and shared ambition between urban planners, architects, designers, and public authorities. The lessons from Tempelhofer continue to inform how we approach projects today: with precision, care, and understanding.
