O.A.S.E., Stuttgart Rosenstein

As the entrance to Stuttgart's new main station, the A3 development site plays a special role in the urban fabric. In a location that, more than almost any other, symbolises transformation and public consultation processes, the open public competition 'Raum für Ideen' (Space for Ideas) highlighted what is missing from the future city centre: a consumption-free, weather-protected yet open space for the urban community.
With the O.A.S.E., we propose a social innovation hub here as public-benefit-oriented infrastructure – an Open Appropriation and Social Development Space that functions as a climatic and social oasis.
The reused supporting structure of the historic station canopy provides an overarching framework, beneath which a permeable fabric of open space and buildings emerges. In this sheltered interior, leisure and activity converge: people can simply be here, strike up conversations, initiate projects, develop them further together and test them in practice. Workshops, open learning and exchange spaces, as well as venues for display and presentation, intertwine to make social issues visible and negotiable.
This creates a new urban space that not only offers shelter and a pleasant environment, but also acts as a catalyst for exchange, participation and collective action, and supplements the city centre with a public infrastructure that has been lacking until now.