German Mining Museum

Bochum, Germany

Photo © Udo Kowalski

Photo © Gerhard Hagen

Photo © Guido Erbring

Photo © Gerhard Hagen

Photo © Udo Kowalski

Museums + Galleries

Architects: CROSS Architecture

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.