Architectural competition for the new depot building of the National Museums in Berlin decided
Press release from 06/12/2008
The Speicherstadt for the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation in Berlin-Friedrichshagen
The architects AV1 Architekten, Kaiserslautern, are the winners of the competition for the new depots and workshops of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz in Berlin-Friedrichshagen. The jury unanimously recommended their design for realisation. The decision is the result of an open, two-phase realisation competition organised by the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning, in which 100 architectural firms took part.
The museums' depots and workshops, which are currently scattered across various locations in Berlin, are to be brought together for the most part in new buildings in Berlin's Friedrichshagen district. In the first stage of the realisation competition, which has now been decided, an urban development concept was to be found for an approx. 58,000 square metre federally owned property on which the new buildings will be constructed. The concept for the buildings with a main usable area of approx. 50,000 square metres was to be realised in two staggered construction phases. The jury selected 25 of the participants for the second phase of the competition. They were asked to develop their design for the first construction phase with around 13,000 square metres of main usable space in greater architectural detail.
The new buildings for the National Museums in Berlin will be part of a newly developed "Speicherstadt" for the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation in Berlin-Friedrichshagen. In future, it will relieve the pressure on the foundation's central locations and create synergy effects by combining the workshops and depots. A storage depot for the Berlin State Library, the Ibero-American Institute and the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation's picture agency is already being built on the 123,000 square metre federally owned site. It is currently being built according to plans by Munich architect Eberhard Wimmer; the first section is due to be completed by 2010.
The first section of the new museum depots is to be realised by 2013. On the one hand, it will replace the depot of the Ethnological Museum in Dahlem, which is in great need of restoration. As the non-European museums will be giving up their Dahlem location in the course of the construction of the Humboldt Forum, it no longer makes sense to invest in the depot there. The first construction phase in Friedrichshagen will also house the collections of the archaeological museums, which will have to be relocated when the Pergamon Museum is cleared for construction and cannot be housed in the Museumshöfe competence centre. The costs of around 48 million euros for the first construction phase will be covered by the foundation's building budget, which is financed solely by the federal government. The workshops and depots will be able to commence operations in Friedrichshagen in spring 2014. The second construction phase is to be realised around 2020.
The jury's reasoning for its decision in favour of AV1 Architekten states: "The design is convincing due to its urban placement, which combines minimal building area and careful handling of the open spaces and their valuable tree population." It was also emphasised that the design deliberately establishes a dialogue with the State Library's storage building. "Open and closed façades are skilfully created, resulting in an open character with a lingering quality, which," said the jury, "is able to strike a balance between the introverted preservation in a treasure house and the cultural and scientific activities of the museum specialists for the public. (...) The well thought-out arrangement of the different areas of use establishes the functionality within the individual structural units as well as their co-operative collaboration. Well-lit workspaces and carefully designed atriums facilitate orientation within the building and to the outside space."
In addition to AV1 Architekten, the other winners of the competition, which is endowed with 90,000 euros, were
- 2nd prize: HARRIS + KURRLE ARCHITEKTEN BDA, Stuttgart
- 3rd prize: ARGE U. Beinhoff + Partner/HEP, Hötzum / Hamburg / Buxtehude
- 4th prize: BUSMANN + HABERER Gesellschaft von Architekten mbH Berlin
Four designs were also purchased:
- Lamott Architekten BDA, Stuttgart
- Schaltraum, Hamburg
- Strolch Ehlers Partner GbR Architekten BDA, Hanover
- MFG Architekten GmbH, Stuttgart
The designs from the second competition phase will be exhibited daily from 26 June to 6 July 2008 from 12 noon to 8 pm at the House of World Cultures (John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10, Berlin-Tiergarten). Opening of the exhibition: Wednesday, 25 June 2008, at 8 pm. Speakers: Dr Bernd M. Scherer, Director of the Haus der Kulturen der Welt; Florian Mausbach, President of the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning; Prof. Dr Peter-Klaus Schuster, Director General of the National Museums in Berlin; Norbert Zimmermann, Vice President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation; Eberhard Wimmer, architect/judge.
Images of the winning design can be viewed on the website of the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning. Images of the three other prize winners and the four purchases are also available there.
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