Swiss architecture studio Herzog & de Meuron has created an extension to the dockside MKM Museum Küppersmühle in Duisburg, Germany.
In terms of mass, height and materials, the project continues the architectural language of the existing Küppersmühle Museum, originally a former grain mill refurbished by Herzog & de Meuron in 1999 that marked the first milestone in the transformation of the Inner Harbour into an attractive focus of urban life. Run by the Stiftung für Kunst und Kultur e.V, the art museum with its historic redbrick elevations became the center of a new, high-grade, multi-use inner-city location.
In the course of the extension, the historic silos were made accessible and integrated into the building. Bridges on the 1st and 2nd floors create a connection between the new and the existing exhibition spaces, facilitating uninterrupted visitor access throughout the museum. The silos themselves are preserved in their original materiality as industrial monuments. These sculptural components are not only connecting the old with the new, they will also house distinctive exhibition spaces. A platform on top of the silos, which can be accessed depending on the season and weather conditions, offers a panoramic view over the Ruhr region. The new extension terminates in a public square boasting 35 newly-planted sycamore trees.
