The new city library in Stuttgart has been equipped with Cliq locking and access control systems by Assa Abloy. This cube-shaped 20,000-square-metre building is thus state-of-the-art in terms of both architecture and security technology. The central library is the first public building to be completed in the new Europaviertel (Europe Quarter) currently under development in Stuttgart.
The Korean architect Eun Young Yi designed the building envelope to feature a double façade with glass bricks and entrances on all four sides, creating the new central library as an inspirational centre of knowledge and culture. Assa Abloy was awarded the contract for fitting the library with a security system. Specifications stated that the building entrances were to be equipped with electronic components that could be centrally managed and could integrate interior doors using mechatronic systems where required.
The new central library in Stuttgart is housed over a total of eleven floors. On the inside, architect Young Yi has created bright, wide spaces linked by numerous walkways. The centre of the building features a brightly lit atrium four storeys high with a skylight made of glass bricks, above which there is a funnel-shaped gallery space. The highest security level in the interior has been provided for the management, administration and data processing departments, for which the Cliq locking system has been used. Each battery-powered Cliq key features an integrated chip for the key and locking cylinder, thus making them unique. Keys can be programmed individually for each user.
“System operators thus have control over their keys. Cliq excels thanks to its high flexibility when a key is lost or users require changes. Key access authorisations can be removed individually by reprogramming locking cylinders,” explains Andreas Wagener, Managing Director Sales and Marketing at Assa Abloy Germany. Access authorisations can also be enabled on a time-limited basis for external service providers such as tradesmen and cleaners.
Since opening, 500,000 books, films, sound storage media, newspapers, magazines, sheets of music, graphics and software packages are available to library visitors. The opening week saw performances and readings from the likes of philosopher Wilhelm Schmid and writer Hatice Akyün. There are also two regular guided tours – one based on the architecture and the other on the library itself. Security is hardly noticeable for visitors during tours, but is highly important for those who run the library.
