The new Museum of Modern Literature is situated at the centre of the city park of Marbach am Neckar, immediately next door to the National Schiller Museum.
The outstanding landscape of the river loop is enhanced by creating a terraced slope built upon by the new structure, which has two different sides: A more intimate, shaded arrival side and a front side with a garden terrace facing the depth of the landscape. The goal behind the new project was to create a link between the park level and the forecourt of the National Schiller Museum by softly terracing the landscape.
Access to the new museum is via terraces offering far-reaching views. Viewed from the front and from the park, the museum appears as a pavilion-like structure on a terraced base. The building only accommodates the foyer, the media room and the skylight of the exhibition room and the staircase hall, which smoothly transitions from the daylight rooms to the artificial lighting of the exhibition rooms. The museum itself is housed in the base of the building, which helps to meet the lighting and climatic requirements of the exhibition rooms.
Services Wenzel + Wenzel: Tendering, Award of contracts, Site Supervision
Client: Deutsche Schillergesellschaft e.V., Marbach a. N.
Design: David Chipperfield Architects, Berlin
Awards:
RIBA Stirling Prize 2007
DETAIL Special Prize for Concrete 2007
German Architecture Prize 2007 – Distinction
Architecture Prize for Concrete 2005
Project data:
period of performance: 2003 – 2006
gross room volume: ca. 17,300 m³
gross floor area: ca. 3,900 m²
costs: ca. €12m
Copyright:
Text © David Chipperfield Architects, Berlin
Photos © Wenzel + Wenzel