Galerie Image

(quoted from “Architektur Aktuell” Nr.214)

The gallery is not large but it is significant in terms of its position in the city. For a situation on the ground floor of a historicising – seventies building which has an arcade entrance that opens the view of the Ruprectskirche church even from a distance. This arcade was closed during the conversion, i.e. it was used to enlarge the space. The architects have found a refined solution to the brief with generous glazing and two entrances to the premises where the old approaches via the arcade were. The entrances can be opened completely in warm weather as a reminder of the original situation. During the conversion, though, the old façade was not disturbed at all, the extension is to be understood as more of a ‘loggia’. It is highly transparent during the day and at night it glows like a kind of crystal set within the substance of the building. The interior space is especially attractive as a result of its thorough restraint and the strict formal approach taken to its design. The floor and ceiling are covered with beech plywood which contrasts with the original substance by means of minimal seems. A solid 60cm-thick pier has been replaced by a 15cm-thick steel support with a bearing point even smaller than a cigarette packet; this carries a total weight of 90 tonnes. The necessary facilities for the shop itself have been slipped in as a filling between the two wooden layers of the sandwich. These facilities are comprised of a large, multifunctional wall which can be cleverly peeled back to the box with ancillary rooms behind it, a large table for presenting goods and wall elements also used fro presentation purposes. These furnishings are made of aluminium, only the box is of MDF panels which have, though, been sprayed the colour of aluminium. And the remaining old furnishings still in use – poster stands and flat cupboards – are now slate grey. The architects have placed particular value on the lighting which is entirely appropriate to the materials on show in the space and, furthermore, which totally obliterates the impression that the space itself is not even three metres high.