800 11 131113 Website - David Chipperfield · 2007 2009 30 January 2010 24,800m2 Neubau Museum...
3
The Museum Folkwang, founded in Hagen by Karl Ernst Osthaus in 1902, was Europe’s first museum of contemporary art. The most significant works were transferred from Hagen to Essen in 1922, and today it is one of Germany’s highest- profile museums. The opening of its new building was among the most important cultural events to be held in Essen and the Ruhr region during their time as European Capital of Culture 2010. The existing museum building consisted of two parts: one built in the 1950s and a later addition that opened in 1983, though this was removed in 2007 as it did not provide sufficient exhibition space and failed to meet current standards for museum buildings. The strengths of the old wing were threefold: single-level exhibition spaces; the arrangement of these spaces around two interior courtyards of different character; and the generous size of the windows that served to bring together the galleries and the city. The new structure complements the listed 1950s building and preserves its integrity. Its architectural principles – rooms and galleries arranged around courtyards – are retained and developed in the new addition, which is an ensemble of six volumes and four inner courtyards linked by gardens and arcades. The new publicly accessible areas connect seamlessly with the existing exhibition spaces. The main and public entrance faces Essen’s city centre and a generous open stairway leads from Bismarckstraße into the new foyer, an open interior courtyard with a restaurant and a bookshop. The foyer opens onto a succession of rooms: exhibition areas with ceiling heights of up to six metres, a library and reading room, a multi-functional room and an events space. Storage areas and restoration workshops are accessible to staff and invited guests. Together with the neighbouring Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities, the extended Museum Folkwang creates a new civic space on the edge of the city centre. The translucent alabaster-like façade is made of large rectangular recycled glass slabs, its colour shifting with the changing natural light. Clear glass windows sit flush with the façade. Inside, polished screed floors similar in tone and texture to the concrete plinth create a sense of solidity and continuity. The adoption of the old wing’s ground-floor level in the new extension made it possible to create a ‘horizontal’ museum and preserve the qualities of the 1950s building. Essen, Germany 2007–2010 Museum Folkwang
Transcript of 800 11 131113 Website - David Chipperfield · 2007 2009 30 January 2010 24,800m2 Neubau Museum...
The Museum Folkwang, founded in Hagen by Karl Ernst Osthaus in 1902, was Europe’s first museum of contemporary art. The most significant works were transferred from Hagen to Essen in 1922, and today it is one of Germany’s highest-profile museums. The opening of its new building was among the most important cultural events to be held in Essen and the Ruhr region during their time as European Capital of Culture 2010.
The existing museum building consisted of two parts: one built in the 1950s and a later addition that opened in 1983, though this was removed in 2007 as it did not provide sufficient exhibition space and failed to meet current standards for museum buildings. The strengths of the old wing were threefold: single-level exhibition spaces; the arrangement of these spaces around two interior courtyards of different character; and the generous size of the windows that served to bring together the galleries and the city.
The new structure complements the listed 1950s building and preserves its integrity. Its architectural principles – rooms and galleries arranged around courtyards – are retained and developed in the new addition, which is an ensemble of six volumes and four inner courtyards linked by gardens and arcades. The new publicly accessible areas connect seamlessly with the existing exhibition spaces. The main and public entrance faces Essen’s city centre and a generous open stairway leads from Bismarckstraße into the new foyer, an open interior courtyard with a restaurant and a bookshop.
The foyer opens onto a succession of rooms: exhibition areas with ceiling heights of up to six metres, a library and reading room, a multi-functional room and an events space. Storage areas and restoration workshops are accessible to staff and invited guests. Together with the neighbouring Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities, the extended Museum Folkwang creates a new civic space on the edge of the city centre.
The translucent alabaster-like façade is made of large rectangular recycled glass slabs, its colour shifting with the changing natural light. Clear glass windows sit flush with the façade. Inside, polished screed floors similar in tone and texture to the concrete plinth create a sense of solidity and continuity. The adoption of the old wing’s ground-floor level in the new extension made it possible to create a ‘horizontal’ museum and preserve the qualities of the 1950s building.
Essen, Germany 2007–2010
Museum Folkwang
2007200930 January 201024,800 m2
Neubau Museum Folkwang Essen GmbH on behalf of the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen and Halbach-StiftungDavid Chipperfield Architects, BerlinAlexander Schwarz, Harald MüllerUlrike Eberhardt, Eberhard Veit, Peter von MatuschkaIngenieurberatung Pühl and Becker VBI, Seroneit and Schneider GmbHGiesen-Gillhoff-Loomans GbR, BBT EngineersKonTec Fassadenberatung, Pazdera AGArupPlanungsbüro Meinholf HasseChristian Richters, Ute Zscharnt for David Chipperfield Architects
Project startCompletionOpeningGross floor areaClient
ArchitectPartnersProject architectsStructural engineerServices engineerFaçade consultantLighting engineerLandscape architectPhotography
Essen, Germany 2007–2010
Museum Folkwang
Throughout the new building visitors can not only see across the museum spaces and courtyards, but also orientate themselves in the city as different views are presented while they wander between the collections and galleries. The sections for displaying the photography and poster collections are artificially lit, while the remaining permanent exhibition spaces are topped with a series of lanterns flooding them with natural light, significantly reducing the use of artificial light. The temporary exhibition space is capped with a north-facing saw-tooth roof allowing diffused and variable illumination. A continuous grid runs across this vast space, forming part of the steel roof construction and providing a system for placing multiple partitions. This allows for a flexible reorganisation of the space to cater for a wide variety of exhibitions and curatorial approaches.
Museum Folkwang
