Architecture and Governmental Violence

Stuttgart 21, the project for a new train station in Stuttgart, Germany, started with a winning competition entry by Christoph Ingenhoven and Partner, Frei Otto, Büro Happold, Leonhardt and Andrae, in the year 2000. The picture shows Frei Otto's model used for form-finding of the roof. The main functional idea behind the project is the transformation of the existing dead-end station into an underground through station.

A strong opposition against the expensive billion-euro project has been formed by the citzens of Stuttgart.

Frei Otto is now a strong opponent to the project, his position can be found in Stuttgarter Zeitung (in German). A strong supporter of the project is Werner Sobek, Professor at TU Stuttgart and successor to Frei Otto. His statment to the project can be found in Stuttgarter Nachrichten (in German).

On last Thursday, September 30, the police used water canons and tear gas against peaceful protesters, who tried to protect the trees in the park against cut down. BBC and The Guardian reported about this incident. Since chancellor Angela Merkel strongly supports the Stuttgart 21 project, it seems to become a hot election issue, even in national scale.