Visitors who enter the cultural centre pass the main entrance and a generous vestibule. On its right side, a concrete staircase accesses the city ballet and music school on the upper floor. On the left, a double winged glass door framed by a stone arch leads to the central foyer with ceiling-height arched windows that let ample daylight enter from two sides. The large space serves many purposes: exhibitions take place here, celebrations and all types of events. During theatre breaks, the grand bar offers drinks that can be enjoyed while sitting on leather bar stools, sofas or armchairs. Along the ceiling, randomly canted sheet steel panels conceal pipes and cables. The same steel panels were also used for the facade of the rooftop extension. In this central space and its preceding, wide corridor with wardrobe, the architects visibly maintained traces from the past: door lintels that partially consist of railroad tracks were simply cut off and made visible. Old timber dowels remain in the walls. Holes and other uneven areas were filled or covered with slurry. The vivid and random aesthetic impression becomes even more apparent, since the new elements - built-in black MDF features, smooth concrete floors and metal-clad columns - do not visually compete with them. The same principle was applied to the event space on the eastern side of the building. Here as well, old facades and the filigree roof structure characterise the two-storey space. Lightweight wood wool panels along ceilings, simple ring-shaped luminaires and the black enclosure of the organ feature a restrained appeal. The latter was reclaimed from a deconsecrated church located nearby. The space is available for rent and can serve for classical organ concerts as well as congresses or symposia. The arthouse cinema is operated by a single user, an association. Its members participated in the construction of the raised seating platforms and the classical red velvet seats. The cinema presents select films and is well known beyond the city limits of Aalen. The same is true for the theatre. Designed as a black box with mobile galleries and without a fixed stage, it supports a diverse range of productions. The backstage, workshop and storage areas for stage sets further increase the versatility of the theatre. The second floor houses rehearsal stages, large wardrobes, costume storage and a tailor shop. The city theatre of Aalen has finally received spaces that correspond to its relevance.
