Infoturm Stuttgart (Germany)
Infoturm Stuttgart (ITS) is an interactive information centre on the city’s new main railway station, using innovative multimedia and plain language to make complex engineering and urban development accessible to everyone.
Infoturm Stuttgart (ITS) is a unique information centre that brings the story of one of Europe’s most ambitious infrastructure projects directly to the public. Since 1998, exhibition spaces have documented the planning and building progress of the new Stuttgart main railway station. In its current form, ITS is located on platform 16 in a three-storey tower that offers visitors an engaging overview of the past, present and future of the project.
Funded by the independent Bahnprojekt Stuttgart–Ulm e.V. association, ITS is designed as an open space for learning, dialogue and exchange. The exhibition begins even before entering the building, along a kilometre-long pathway through the construction site. Inside, the displays are continuously updated and focus on four main themes: mobility, urban development, the fascinating world of civil engineering, and a timeline that situates the project within political and social history.
The museum-like experience is powered by innovative use of media, including augmented and virtual reality, interactive installations and immersive digital content. Visitors are guided by clear questions such as: What is the project? How will I benefit? How will the environment benefit? What has been achieved and what remains to be done? All texts are written in plain, accessible language, a quality recognised with the University of Hohenheim’s Plain Language Seal.
Although not a museum in the traditional sense, Infoturm Stuttgart offers a dynamic and transparent window into a construction project that is reshaping the city centre. Open to everyone every day, it combines cutting-edge technology, participatory engagement and storytelling to make complex engineering and urban development processes both understandable and exciting. As a candidate for the DASA Award 2023, ITS demonstrates how information centres can play a vital cultural role by connecting communities with the transformation of their city.