Baumgarten-Bau

Built from 1965 to 1969 in the Botanical Garden of Schlossgarten, this building complex was originally composed of five pavilion-like structures with flat roofs, arranged around a long connecting corridor.

During extensive renovation work from 2011 to 2014, the Federal Constitutional Court temporarily relocated its official seat to the Oststadt district of Karlsruhe.

This city villa, dating back to the 1880s and designed by architect Josef Durm in the Wilhelminian style, is located in Karlsruhe's inner-city west near Europaplatz, about half a kilometer southwest of the current seat of the Federal Constitutional Court.

[3][4] However, it became apparent that the Palais was insufficient in terms of space; the justices often had to share rooms with colleagues and staff, and for larger sessions, the court had to relocate to other halls in the city.

In September, architect Paul Baumgarten presented three out of the five initial design proposals for the building complex, which would consist of pavilion-like structures.

Paul Baumgarten took inspiration from the German contribution to the 1958 Brussels World's Fair, designed by architects Egon Eiermann and Sep Ruf.

Landscape architect Walter Rossow developed a green path for pedestrians from Karlsruhe's main railway station through the listed Stadtgarten to the Schlosspark.

Later, a radical feminist terrorist organization called the Red Zora claimed responsibility for the attack in a letter to the news magazine Der Spiegel.

They had attacked to protest the Federal Constitutional Court's ruling, which had declared the reform of Section 218 Strafgesetzbuch null and void just a week earlier.

[12] Starting in 1982, the Federal Constitutional Court rented additional premises in the northwest wing of Karlsruhe Palace due to the growing need for space.

During the competition phase, a citizens' initiative voiced concerns about the winning design, as it did not adequately consider the protection of the Botanic Garden.

The in-court opening ceremony took place on May 10, 2007, in the presence of the then Prime Minister Günther Oettinger, State Secretary Engelbert Lütke Daldrup [de], the then Mayor of Karlsruhe Heinz Fenrich, the architect, and other guests of honor.

[16] Since German reunification, the Federal Constitutional Court has received significantly more complaint cases, which means that the original form of the Baumgarten-Bau no longer meets the increased requirements.

The interim quarters, situated to the northeast of the Baumgarten structure, consisted of the previous General Kammhuber barracks located at Rintheimer Querallee 11 on the eastern boundary of the Hardtwald forest.

The architects from Stuttgart's Lederer Ragnarsdóttir Oei firm were tasked with designing a standard office and semi-public space in a representative style.

It is located on the southern edge of the Schlossgarten, adjacent to and surrounded by Karlsruhe Palace to the north, the Schlossplatz to the east, the Staatliche Kunsthalle to the south, and the Botanical Garden to the west.

This square was designed in 2005 and features 24 double-sided street signs with quotes from judges, jurists, and citizens related to the topic of rights and wrongs.

This avenue serves as the immediate visual axis leading to the west wing of Karlsruhe Palace, aligning with the overall geometric layout of the entire complex.

This building features a glass façade that allows a direct view into the meeting hall, making it the part of the complex most visible to the public.

The plenary hall on the second floor contains a small gallery with seating for 44 people, while across from it is the justices' table adorned with a heavy wooden Federal Eagle relief sculpted by Hans Kindermann.

Between the administrative building and the access road, one can find the sculpture Erkenntnis (Knowledge) created by Swiss artist André Bucher.

[35] The primary construction of the column-free roof of the meeting hall building consists of sheet steel girders intersecting at the four quarter points, which are movably connected to eight pillars.

[37] To achieve this, a pergola-like porch was added to the northwest façade, facing the orangery, to create a connection with the adjacent garden through plant growth.

The interior of the Richter building features large-scale colorful paintings designed by the painter Franz Ackermann, who teaches at the Karlsruhe Art Academy.

[42] The sober-objective Baumgarten-bau of modernism, coming from the tradition of the Bauhaus, stands in the architectural field of tension between the baroque palace, the botanical garden, and the historicist art gallery.

Rather than attempting to harmonize the evident disparities between these structures from different eras, the design aimed to foster a reflective dialogue with the existing surroundings.

The flat budlings of the Federal Constitutional Court blend seamlessly into the park landscape, not only due to their modest height but also because of the restrained color palette in silver-grey, the use of glass, and the incorporation of brown wood tones.

The façade featured what are known as corporeal surfaces, distinguished by their lintel and parapet elements, creating a visible contrast with the openness of the glass areas.

"[50] In his inaugural lecture Demokratie als Bauherrin (Democracy as a builder) on January 25, 1994, jurist Ulrich Battis [de] offered a critical perspective on the building's claim to transparency.

It was a noble aspiration of the advocates of equality to build court structures that provide a comfortable environment for all participants in the proceedings, where they would sit together at a round table.