Historic Centre Cologne
1753-EM2-CGN.DE-2016
Architect: EM2N
Client: City of Cologne
Status: Competition (2016)
Location: Cologne, Germany
Coordinates: 50.940767, 6.958152
Climate: Oceanic / maritime, Temperate
Materials: Concrete, Glass
Environments: Urban, Old town
Visualizer: Studio
Scale: 18.000 ㎡ Large
Types: Cultural, Museum

On the Domplatte, the platform surrounding the cathedral, at the point of transition from Cologne Cathedral to the old town, the Kurienhaus, the Römisch-Germanisches Museum and the new Kölnisches Stadtmuseum (Cologne City Museum) are intended to form a triad of institutions that can each be experienced separately. It seemed obvious to liberate the Kurienhaus and to place it as a free-standing building on the Domplatte.

This building’s transparent envelope emphasises that it faces in all directions, and at the same time in the interior visitors profit from the unique location and the views outside that this provides. The Stadtmuseum with its closed, calm facade is clearly recognizable as a building for culture. It is given two entrances, one on the level of the Domplatte and one at city level on Kurt-Hackenberg-Platz, where the volume forms a striking end element. This enables the public to cross through the building.

Visitors enter the main foyer through a bridge-like draught lobby above a multi-storey void, on the floor of which the Roman Hafenstrasse (port road) lies. The lower entrance is connected to the foyer by an expressive spiral staircase. The same stairs leads to the Roman Hafenstrasse. Directly beyond the entrance foyer is the large Cascade Hall, in which the main focus is the model of the city. Via a suspended staircase visitors then access the different levels of the Time Machine, which accompanies them into the various areas of the exhibition.

Post date: 12/01/2017 | Views: 4.269