The architects have even dared to tackle towers again, four years later.
However, no one thought of a second Bible tower.
Finally, in 2018, the people of Mainz rejected the plans for such an imposing structure in a referendum before construction could even begin.
But even the current proposal for a tower of letters, which should have been visible from afar, should have adorned the new heart of the Gutenberg Museum, was not able to convince the jury.
In the end, after a two-day selection process and sometimes long and controversial discussions, it was the design by the Stuttgart office h4a Gessert + Randecker Architekten GmbH, which can be described as a "hanging treasure trove", that was able to convince all jury members - and now has the best chance of being
Markus Schug
Correspondent Rhein-Main-Süd.
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Not only is a modern exhibition hall needed for the World Museum of Printing Art, which is to take the place of the aging Schell building from 1962.
In addition, it is about a coherent concept for the entire quarter on Liebfrauenplatz, which is located in the middle of the old town and not far from the cathedral - and which, if you look at it more closely, consists of four solitaires that are not exactly easy to connect: The house of the Roman Emperor is a magnificent one Renaissance building in which, among other things, the museum administration and the town clerk's apartment have been housed.
According to the new plans, the latter could be relocated together with the library to the neighboring Hotel Schwan, which the city recently bought.
The popular Mainz market breakfast
Museum director Ulf Sölter is already looking forward to a café to be accommodated in the Roman Emperor instead, with tables right in front of the door and under trees just around the corner.
The open space provided for this is still needed for the market breakfast, which can always be experienced on Saturdays and is popular in Mainz.
The desire of many citizens to preserve this wine-loving rendezvous at all costs was - in addition to the unclear financing and the intended intervention in the tree population at the time - the central issue in the dispute over the Bible tower, which was eventually razed.
But now "a great design that fits Mainz" has been found for the World Museum, which urgently needs to be modernized, said Marianne Grosse (SPD), head of the building department, when presenting the results of a restricted realization competition, in which only a good two dozen offices were allowed to participate.
133 interested parties actually wanted to take part.
Only 82 applicants survived the preselection.
From this group, the 25 lucky ones were drawn by lot under notarial supervision.
All submitted designs can be seen at the Natural History Museum, Reichklarastrasse 1, during normal opening hours, until October 26th.
According to Grosse, it will cost an estimated 70 million euros to make the book, print and media museum, which was visited by around 140,000 curious people every year, fit for the future.
If everything goes according to plan, the move to an interim location could be completed by the end of 2023;
The Schell building could be demolished in 2024 and the new building started the following year.
A floating vault
The winning design, the details of which still have to be "negotiated", envisages an exhibition building with a distinctive roof area, a reddish-colored concrete facade and a transparent-looking ground floor.
According to Sölter, the intention is to make the centrally located building attractive as a "third place" for those who are less interested in printed matter and printer workshops, but who like to come to current events, for which there is a special place on the top floor, a kind of forum that should give.
Seen from below, i.e. from the large foyer, something else should be even more impressive: a vault seemingly floating freely in space under the folded roof.
That would be, so to speak, a prime repository for the three original Gutenberg Bibles on display in the Mainz Museum.