Dear people of Wiesbaden,

I would like to dedicate this month's column to a body that perhaps not many of you are familiar with: the Design and Monument Advisory Board of the state capital of Wiesbaden.

This independent advisory body has been in existence since September 2012 and its aim is to ensure architectural quality and building culture in the state capital of Wiesbaden from a planning and historical perspective and to contribute to positive architectural development in our city. The Design Advisory Board evaluates projects from an unbiased and purely professional position - public and private building projects that shape the cityscape are assessed with a neutral view from the outside. The members of the advisory board are on hand to advise clients and architects and support them early on in the initial design phase, if possible before planning permission is applied for. The focus of the assessment is on integration into the urban planning context, design and functional optimization, as well as economic efficiency and sustainability.

"As an independent body of experts, the Design Advisory Board advises and supports the administration, the municipal council, the city council and its committees. Its task is to review and assess the projects submitted to it in terms of their urban planning, architectural and design quality as well as potential conflicts with listed buildings. As part of its recommendations, it provides advice and points out ways to achieve this goal," the design advisory board regulations state.

The committee is a really useful institution - in my view as head of the urban development department, especially when the members confidently see themselves as competent experts and draw attention to contradictions in urban planning activities or perhaps question decisions that have long since been finalized.

Members of the Design and Monument Advisory Board since March 2023:

- Professor Sophie Wolfrum

- Professor Roland Burgard

- Professor Udo Gleim

- Professor Louisa Hutton

- Luca Kist.

The Design Advisory Board meets in public - members of the public are welcome to attend. The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, February 19, from 2 p.m. at Gustav-Stresemann-Ring 15.

Sincerely

Gert-Uwe Mende
Lord Mayor