Until recently, both the town hall on the upper floor and the town library on the ground floor eked out a rather dreary existence in an ageing 1970s building. Both facilities in the ‘side-by-side shoeboxes’, as the town hall was soberly characterised among Sinsheimers, were confronted with the dilapidated substance of the building. In addition to outdated technology, employees and visitors alike suffered from a building structure that was dysfunctional in many places. A general refurbishment was therefore not only desirable from a visual point of view, but also urgently required from an economic and energy point of view.

The city decided against demolishing the existing building and commissioned Fischer Ziebold Architekten to plan this pioneering renovation project. A good decision, as the conversion completed in 2020 demonstrates: while retaining the basic structure, the planners succeeded in creating a building that is both representative and architecturally appealing – featuring a functional spatial layout as well as state-of-the-art multimedia and stage technology, making it suitable for a wide range of events. The new, two-storey entrance area is both representative and transparent in design. The combination of elegant columns and large glazed surfaces gives the building an open character that reflects its public use. In this way, the building, characterised by projecting and recessed sections, creates a distinctive presence in the centre of Sinsheim.