Renoviction of the Intellect: The generational shuttering of Berlin’s most beloved library – Mitch Speed | the Diasporist (2026-06-09)
https://thediasporist.de/renoviction-of-the-intellect/
———
>> In early 2026, the Stabi[= State Library]’s new renovation dates were announced. They will begin in 2030, take 11 years, and cost 1.1 billion euros ...
>> … an announcement discretely hung in the lobby, emphasizes the rehousing of the library’s over 600 staff members. A reasonable person might expect a plan this elaborate to include plans for the people who go there daily to study, write, draft job applications, bide time, ... No such luck…
>> I had this vision … the Stabi joined the ranks of so many great public buildings, felled before their time: amongst them the former East German parliament, … its life prematurely ended by the wrecking-ball of Western free-market democracy ... The #Stabi won’t be reduced to a literal rubble pile. But its social and spiritual function in the city may well be…
#library