How can regions undergoing structural change be shaped? What role does industrial heritage play in this process? And what opportunities do circular material and resource cycles open up? The libraries of Anhalt University of Applied Sciences and the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation will address these questions on October 23, 2026. To mark Library Day, they invite you to the third installment of their joint campus series at the libraries at the Bauhaus from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Titled “Regional Transformations: Industrial Culture and the New European Bauhaus,” the event combines three book presentations with a panel discussion and insights into the emerging digital “Library of Things” developed by the ZEKIWA Zeitz real-world laboratory. The focus is on the history and future of industrial culture, as well as current issues surrounding structural change and the phase-out of coal. The event is free of charge and open to all interested parties.
Program
3:00 p.m.: Welcome and introduction by
Martin Wiesner (Anhalt University of Applied Sciences) and Werner Möller (Bauhaus (Building 10 - Dessau) Foundation)
3:30–4:15 p.m.: Book presentations: “Letzte
Kohle. Andere Landschaften” by Bertram Weisshaar;
“Transformationen” by Christina May, John Palatini, and Jan Kellershohn; “Eine
Vision für Mitteldeutschland” by Harald Kegler
4:15–4:45 p.m.: Panel discussion “Regional Transformations” (Moderator: Werner Möller)
4:45–5:15 p.m.: Presentation of the digital “Library of Things” by the ZEKIWA Zeitz Real-World Laboratory on local material cycles (Martin Wiesner)
5:15–6:00 p.m.: Get-together with a guided tour of the libraries, followed by a closing reception
Musical accompaniment: Henry Mertens
Refreshments will be provided. The event is free and open to anyone interested.
Venue:
Libraries at the Bauhaus
, Gropiusallee 34
, 06846 Dessau-Roßlau
About the ZEWKIA Zeitz Real-World Laboratory
The Bauhaus Dessau Foundation and Anhalt University of Applied Sciences are partners in the ZEKIWA Zeitz Real-World Laboratory consortium. The project is dedicated to the architectural and social revitalization of the site of the famous former ZEKIWA baby carriage factory in Zeitz, guided by the criteria of the New European Bauhaus: beautiful – sustainable – together. On the former factory grounds, traces of industrial culture intersect with the future challenges facing a region in the process of phasing out coal. The Real-World Laboratory uses this site as a starting point to develop new perspectives for its use and development; it is unique in Saxony-Anhalt and serves as a model within the entire New European Bauhaus initiative.
About Library Day
Library Day was established in 1995 by then-Federal President Richard von Weizsäcker to underscore the importance of libraries in society. For the third time now, the libraries of Anhalt University of Applied Sciences and the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation are organizing the campus series to highlight the importance of libraries as places of knowledge, inspiration, and exchange, and to communicate academic topics to the general public. In 2024, participants explored the topic “AI in the Context of Scholarly Work.” Last year, Library Day on the Campus Dessau was titled “Pioneers, Rebels, and Creators,” focusing on the theme of strong women in science and the arts. This year, the focus is on “Regional Transformations,” examining processes of structural change using the examples of industrial culture and the phase-out of coal in the context of the New European Bauhaus. This initiative makes key contributions to current design and research questions as well as to the legacy of the Bauhaus.
