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fromJens Joachim
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shut down
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The redesign of the area in the center of downtown Darmstadt took three years and the costs more than doubled.
The controversial redesign of Friedensplatz was completed three years after the start of construction. Workers dismantled the barriers on Monday morning so that cyclists and pedestrians could use the redesigned open space next to the castle and between the State Museum and the White Tower. Already last year, hornbeams had been planted in plant troughs on the western edge of the square and seating had also been installed there,
Mayor Jochen Partsch (Greens) said that with the redesign, the “historical sequence”, which characterizes the city center of Darmstadt, “can finally be experienced again”. The Friedensplatz is a link in a chain of large open spaces, each with its own character, ranging from Karolinenplatz to Marktplatz and Ernst-Ludwig-Platz to Luisenplatz. Some citizens, on the other hand, said that the space with the large concrete troughs for the trees and wildflowers looked too sterile and the light-colored slab quickly became dirty.
The planning history for the redesign of the approximately 120 meter long and 50 meter wide square goes back to 2002, when the first design drafts were presented. In 2013, the draft that was now implemented passed the city design advisory board with changes. Finally, the demolition of the square started in May 2017.
Construction defects discovered
With the exception of the equestrian monument, all systems between the buildings on the west side and the castle wall on the east side were renewed. At the same time, the city group Heag, as owner of the castle garage, had the ceiling of the underground garage renovated. In addition, the municipal transport company Heag mobilo had the tracks from the 1960s renewed for the castle bypass.
However, the redesign was delayed because serious construction defects in the drainage of the delivery tunnel, which leads from the city ring to the Kaufhof on Ernst-Ludwig-Platz, were discovered and had to be remedied.
The design for the redesign of the square comes from the Darmstadt office Werkstadt Architects. The redesign of the square and the construction of the new entrance building to the underground car park cost 7.4 million euros. 2.1 million euros were incurred for the renovation of the tunnel. Heag invested 1.7 million euros in the new underground garage ceiling and Heag mobilo in the track loop around 2.2 million euros. Three years ago, the city had announced that a total of 5.7 million euros would be invested in the construction project.
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