Integration into the historical environment
Opened in 1974, the exhibition building of the Romano-Germanic Museum in Cologne is one of the most visited archaeological museums in Germany. With its museum concept, the functional, modern building is considered a pioneer in the international museum world. With its outstanding location in the immediate urban context of the mighty landmark of Cologne Cathedral, surrounded by other renowned museum and exhibition architecture, it can be seen both as a solitary structure visible from all sides and in interaction with the planning of Cologne's historic centre. Built above the site of a large Roman villa complex and integrated into the cathedral bunker, which was also built there in 1941, the museum can be seen as a spatial envelope for one of the main exhibits uncovered on site, the Dionysus mosaic, as well as for countless, sometimes large-format stone collages that give visitors a deep insight into everyday life in Cologne during the Roman and Germanic periods.
Initial situation – structural and functional deficits
The ageing building fabric and exhibition architecture, which has been preserved almost entirely in its original condition, is in an unsatisfactory structural condition. Many of the extraordinary qualities that the building and its exhibition exuded when it opened have also been worn away, altered, replaced and reshaped over time. The current need to integrate new functions into the museum, the constantly growing study collection and the daily addition of new finds from excavations in and around Cologne also make renovation, restructuring and expansion necessary.
Architectural approach
The primary goal of the general renovation is to strengthen and continue the original architectural concept of the building's designers. The key architectural elements here are the transparent ground floor and the clear, box-shaped upper floor above it, which is closed to the outside and features inner courtyards that serve as central orientation elements and sources of daylight. This also includes the complex basement with its existing bunker architecture and the historical artefacts located there. These clear architectural structures must be reinforced and emphasised even more clearly in the future in order to ensure the structural value and longevity of the museum. Careful renovation of the listed building is essential here, but should also allow opportunities for further construction within the existing structure.
Targeted surgical interventions are to be carried out in order to integrate the above-mentioned improvements into the overall appearance without permanently altering the architectural character of the building, but rather emphasising it even more clearly. The proposed overall composition respects the genesis of this intelligent building, a historical witness to post-war architecture in the city of Cologne, and gently but clearly and unambiguously transforms this museum from the present into the future, thereby making an important contribution to the planned new Cologne museum landscape in the immediate vicinity of Cologne Cathedral.
Realization:
Specialist planners:
jangeled nerves, Stuttgart (exhibition planning)
pfarré lighting design, Munich (lighting design)
Horz + Ladewig, Cologne (structural engineering)
Teuber+Viel, Munich (technical building equipment)
IB Hafer, Hannef (building waterproofing)
Mull und Partner, Cologne (demolition and disposal)
hhp berlin, Düsseldorf (fire protection)
Krämer-Evers, Hasbergen (building physics)
SiteLog, Essen (construction logistics)
schmitz.reichard, Aachen (project management)
