Photo © Udo Kowalski
Photo © Udo Kowalski
Photo © Udo Kowalski
Photo © Udo Kowalski
Photo © Udo Kowalski
Photo © Gerhard Hagen
Photo © Guido Erbring
Photo © Guido Erbring
Photo © Gerhard Hagen
Photo © Udo Kowalski

German Mining Museum

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Location
Am Bergbaumuseum 28, 44791 Bochum, Germany
Year
2009
Client
DMT Gesellschaft für Lehre und Bildung mbH
Awards
Ecola Award 2010, „Auszeichnung guter Bauten 2010“ from BDA Bochum, Award “Architekturpreis Nordrhein-Westfalen 2011”, iconic Aw
Project team
M. Sporer, C. Wens, A. Gerlach, T. Kortmann, S. Rullkötter
Building services
Winter Ingenieurtechnik GmbH
Structural engineering
Arup Deutschland GmbH
Fire protection
Ingenieurbüro Wittbold
Building physics
ISWR Klapdor GmbH
Landscape architect
Greenbox Landscape architecten PartG
Lighting design
Lichtplanung A. Hartung
SP 6 - 8
Höhler + Partner Architekten und Ingenieure
Gross floor area
1,800 m²
Competition
2006, 1st prize
Awards
Ecola Award 2010, „Auszeichnung guter Bauten 2010“ from BDA Bochum, Award “Architekturpreis Nordrhein-Westfalen 2011”

The Deutsches Bergbau-Museum (German Mining Museum) lies in the heart of the Ruhr Area, in the city of Bochum. The museum is one of the most important mining museums and one of the most popular museums in Germany. The current museum draws around 400.000 visitors annually to its 12.000 square metres of exhibition space.

The new building, a 1.795-square-metre extension, is linked to the existing structure by bridges. The extension houses temporary exhibits (and research presentations) and the existing permanent collection devoted to Saint Barbara, the most important guardian saint of miners. The new building reflects a cross-section of a mine: a solid, dark, black cube with illuminated passages and mine shafts.

Coal inspired the rough, black surface of the facade. The colour of the passageways ranges from white to light orange and deep red. The building looks like it was extracted straight from a mine. A clearly marked route from inside to outside avoids any dead ends.

Other Projects by CROSS Architecture

Urban Soul
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Lecture Building University of Applied Science
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Forum Mittelrhein
Koblenz, Germany
Hotel Tivoli
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Etrium
Cologne, Germany