Exhibition on the rail project opens - Show and experience the future - New ways of conveying information

In the InfoTurmStuttgart (ITS), the city, the association, the state and Deutsche Bahn jointly provide information about their future projects. 

On Friday, May 29, 2020 at 9 a.m., the new exhibition building directly on the cross platform of Stuttgart Central Station will open to visitors for the first time. With around 400 square meters of exhibition space, including the area of the roof terrace, the new InfoTurmStuttgart, or ITS for short, offers an impressive view of the construction site. In addition, visitors to the ITS will find a comprehensive overview of the Stuttgart-Ulm rail project and related future issues in the state capital, the region and the state. In addition to Stuttgart 21 and the new line, the development of the Rosenstein Quarter, the improvements to the S-Bahn and information on the "bwegt" mobility brand and the state's fast metropolitan express trains (MEX) will be presented. Over the past twelve months, the Verein Bahnprojekt Stuttgart-Ulm e.V. (Stuttgart-Ulm Rail Project Association) has created the striking building and content with the support of association members.

"With the InfoTurmStuttgart, we are creating comprehensive transparency about the Stuttgart-Ulm rail project and providing information about the related future projects. We want to continue to promote acceptance of the rail project - and in the long term to encourage people to switch from the car to the environmentally friendly train," says Bernhard Bauer, Chairman of the Verein Bahnprojekt Stuttgart-Ulm e.V. "All of the association's partners have worked together intensively over the past few months to create the exhibition. I am particularly pleased about this, because it is tangible proof of the good cooperation within the association. We have also stayed within the budget of 3.4 million euros for the building, including state-of-the-art communications technology, as planned. This is another piece of good news that we are proud of. Thanks to this technology, visitors today can already get a comprehensive picture of the station of tomorrow. We want to show people the future projects that will be built here in the next few years today and make them experience them. To do this, we are exploring new ways of conveying information. I would like to thank all project partners and association members from the bottom of my heart for the fact that we have worked together and in good harmony to create an exhibition that is well worth visiting."

Special features of the ITS

Accessibility:

The exhibition also bears a contemporary handwriting in its structure. In addition to the use of state-of-the-art technology, all texts were written in understandable language. This is confirmed by a certificate from the University of Hohenheim (see attachment).

In addition, the exhibition concept was further developed with the help of DIPB e.V. (Dachverband Integratives Planen und Bauen e.V.) and the Württemberg Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired. In the process, two exhibits were created to help meet the needs of people with disabilities in conveying knowledge. Tactile guidance systems are installed in the exhibition itself. In addition, an audible room description is offered. A read-aloud app allows the content of the print walls and monitors to be accessed. Individual exhibits are provided with Braille.

The BFW SmartInfo app provides a digital orientation system. Tactile QR codes also make the texts accessible to visually impaired visitors.

Unique technologies "Made in Baden-Württemberg

A so-called "cave", in which five beamers cover three walls and the floor and thus the entire field of vision, enables a virtual tour of the future main station. Visitors can also interactively navigate through this virtual projection. This technology was developed by the Stuttgart-based company Lightshape in cooperation with the visual communications agency Plan B and is unique in the field of public relations for an infrastructure project.

From the roof terrace, visitors can look down on the construction site through a tablet. Real-size digital content is placed on the approximately 420 meters of the excavation pit, giving visitors an idea of the construction process and future rail operations. This technology, known as "augmented reality," is being used in this dimension for the first time in Germany and was developed by the innovative software company CDM Tech based in Fellbach.

Opening hours and price

Starting next Friday (May 29), the exhibition will be open on Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. each day until and including Friday/Saturday, June 26-27. Due to the current guidelines due to the Corona pandemic, the new exhibition can only be entered by appointment. Due to the deployment of guides in the exhibition and the associated qualified information transfer, a contribution towards expenses in the amount of 5 euros/person will be charged. Children, young people (up to and including 17 years of age), students and persons with a severely disabled pass are admitted free of charge.

Health protection and hygiene concept

The ITS team has been preparing for the opening for several weeks. As an interactive exhibition with many touch monitors, demanding hygiene concepts had to be implemented. Mouth-nose masks are just as obligatory as disinfecting hands when entering the exhibition. A stylus is issued to operate the existing touch monitors. Disposable gloves are provided at the tablets to minimize the transmission of viruses. The number of visitors per hour is limited to 40 people. Staff members will be available on the exhibition levels to answer questions and ensure that the distance rules are observed. Admission is by appointment only (www.its-projekt.de).

Figures, data, facts about the ITS at a glance:

• Owner of the building: Verein Bahnprojekt Stuttgart-Ulm e.V.
• Members of the association: Deutsche Bahn, State of Baden-Württemberg, Verband Region Stuttgart, State Capital Stuttgart, Stuttgart Airport, City of Ulm
• Construction time ten months in total (end of May 2019 until January 2020; interior work until end of March 2020)
• Budget for construction and exhibition technology: 3.4 million euros
• Total height of the building: just under 26 meters (above the construction road)
• Six floors, barrier-free access via elevator
• Terrace at a height of about 22 meters (above the construction road)
• Almost 400 square meters of exhibition space
• Conference room for up to 40 people, with its own terrace, for rent at: its-projekt.com/conference-room
• CORONA opening hours ITS until further notice:
  Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day,
  Registration required under its-project.com
• Currently, guided tours are not yet possible. In principle, interested parties can find out about guided tours of the exhibition and the construction site on the website of the Stuttgart-Ulm rail project association: www.its-projekt.de/baustellenfuehrung
• The previous exhibition on the Stuttgart-Ulm rail project in the station tower was in operation from June 1998 - July 2019 and had around 4, 3 million visitors. Since 2013, more than 12,000 guided tours have been booked. This makes the exhibition one of the tourist highlights in Stuttgart.

Attachment: Comprehensibility evaluation University of Hohenheim