German National Museum

Jentz • Popp • Störmer • Wiesner

extension
Nürnberg

competition 1983 - 1.price
completion 1993
BGF 4.300 qm
www.gnm.de


With its extension completed in 1993, the German National Museum gained a further contemporary addition to the entire museum complex. The history of its architecture now spans from the Middle Ages to the present, from the 14th-century cloister-architecture extant at the time of its foundation in 1857, over the extensions and partial reconstruction of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as the post-war constructions by Sep Ruf, to the new construction undertaken by me di um architects since1988. This not only comprises the erection of the Carthusian building and the new entrance hall integrated into the historical part of the museum, but also the museum forum connecting these two. In addition the library has been rebuilt with storeys added to it, the Theodor Heuss building renovated, and new work-rooms and seminar-rooms have also been created.
The idea central to the project-design was to preserve the Carthusian passage running through the museum, invest it with a bridging function and have it lead through the museum as a public space, thereby enabling the creation of a subterranean connection.
Beyond the bridge, both parts of the museum, hitherto separated by the passage, could be connected in the form of a spacious entrance hall. Following urban and functional demands, the main entrance was moved from the Corn Market into the Carthusian passage and the passage renovated to become the "Street of Human Rights" in accordance with a design by artist Dani Karavan. A gateway, 27 columns, two flagstone areas and a tree, all in a row, represent the 30 Articles of the Human Rights Convention of the United Nations. The gateway to the Corn Market provides the entrance into the museum area, forming at the same time a counterpart to the Carthusian gate.
The communicative center of the extension is the museum forum. Located beneath the Carthusian passage "bridge", it connects the Carthusian building with the new main entrance hall. A generous steel-and-glass, barrel-vaulted ceiling allows in the maximum of light and provides the relationship striven for between public (street) space and exhibition complex. The positioning of the forum also allows for utilization independent of the museum.