dresden military history museum by daniel libeskind

‘museum of military history in dresden’ by studio daniel libeskind wins micheletti award, dresden, germanyimage © bitter bredtall images courtesy of studio daniel libeskind

it has just been announced that the ‘military history museum in dresden‘, germany, by studio daniel libeskind has been awarded the 2013 micheletti award – the prestigious european award named after luigi micheletti recognizing innovative museums. the museum is built in the original armory firstcompleted in 1876. in 1897 it was converted into a museum and since then has gone through a series of identities as the saxon armory and museum, the nazi museum, the soviet museum, and the east german museum, until it’s final transformation into the military history museum of a unified germanstate. the design sought out a blatant interruption of the classical orders that have dictated its function throughout its 137-year lifespan, and a symbolicbreak from the cultural history that had recently reinvented itself.

a five-storey steel, concrete, and glass polygonal fragment projects from the existing structure pointing towards the site of the bombings of dresden, containing an 82-foot tall observation deck and almost 20,000 square meters of additional exhibition space. clad in steel grating, the addition presentsa clear contrast to the solid and heavy host structure, carrying through to the interior a clear tension between the historic elements and the subversiveannexes — a physical representation of the changing forms of government.

front facadeimage © hufton & crow photography

image © hufton & crow photography

steel structure and facade of the new additionimages © hufton & crow photography

images © bitter bredt

original gallery spaceimage © hufton & crow photography

interior circulationimages © bitter bredt

gallery spaceimage © bitter bredt courtesy of holzer kobler architekturen

image © bitter bredt courtesy of holzer kobler architekturen

exhibition corridorsimages © bitter bredt

image © bitter bredt courtesy of holzer kobler architekturen

image © bitter bredt

images © bitter bredt

project info:

building size: 14,000 sq.m, 20,000 sq.m (exhibition area)structure: steel and concreteclient: the military history museum (the federal republic of germany) joint venture partner: architekt daniel libeskind ag, zurich, with studio daniel libeskindcost & site supervision: reese lubic wöhrlin gesellschaft von architekten mbhstructural engineer: gse ingenieur-gesellschaft mbh, berlin, germanymechanical / electrical / plumbing engineer: ipro dresden, germanylandscape architect: dipl.-ing. volker von gagern, dresden, germanylighting designer: delux ag, zurich, switzerlandfaçade: josef gartner gmbh, gundelfingen, germanyauditing statics: ing. consult cornelius-schwarz-zeitler gmbh, dresden, germanyexhibition design: barbara holzer–collaboration holzer kobler architekturen and hg merz architektenawards: international property awards europe best public service architecturestatus: completedcompletion date: 2011