Wissen für alle!

As part of the search for a new site for an educational center, the idea emerged to revitalize the listed Justus Liebig House in Darmstadt and to rethink its original function as a community center, adult education facility, and city library.

Students from Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences took up this concept and developed new spatial ideas for civic participation, educational programs, and learning workshops. The designs were presented in an exhibition in March 2025 and received wide public attention. Building on this positive response, the Justus Liebig House will become visible in 2026, together with its central surroundings, as a “Podium for Knowledge and Participation.”

This podium is conceived as a walkable urban furniture piece that serves simultaneously as an open stage, seminar space, course venue, and exhibition area. In this way, the societal significance of knowledge and the free access to education are inscribed into the cityscape as defining elements. The design process itself is understood as a searching, learning experiment in which architecture takes on a mediating role and explores new forms of knowledge platforms. Through a temporary intervention, the project demonstrates how education can become a driving force of participatory processes. The project is led by the Department of Architecture at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, which uniquely combines the study programs in architecture and interior design within its nationwide Y-model.

Project partners include the Volkshochschule, located in the Justus Liebig House, and the Centralstation Veranstaltungs-GmbH.