Grimmwelt
The new museum at the Weinberg in Kassel has been designed to present the Brothers Grimm‘s works.
The Brothers Grimm Museum, GRIMMWELT Kassel, is located in a picturesque park on the slope of an area called Weinberg close to Kassel city centre where it blends into the gently undulating landscape. Old stone steps, wall fragments, pergolas, planted terraces and lush vegetation contribute towards the special atmosphere of the park. The new museum continues the topography of the surroundings in an accessible roof landscape and thus provides the park with an open stairway that leads up to a terrace with a view across Kassel.
This design leads to a split-level arrangement in the interior. The tiered space is arranged around a central introductory hall presenting the various key subjects of the exhibition in a fascinating dialogue. Visitors experience a place with diverse atmosphere and one that focusses on German linguistics as well as the collection of the Grimms’ Fairy Tales. The foyer with a reception desk, a shop and waiting area is a long space stretching the full depth of the building. It ends in a light café with a panorama of Kassel’s Karlsaue and the southern part of the city.
The reinforced concrete structure has an outer leaf of light coloured natural stone, Gauinger Travertin, roughly split with courses of varied height. The choice of material is reminiscent of the former so-called Henschel Haus, which was destroyed by an air raid in 1945 and was situated where the new museum now stands. Furthermore, the choice of material reflects properties of the local limestone found under the existing hill, once a vineyard.
Typology: museum
Location: Kassel (DE)
Volume: GFA 6,000m², incl. roof area GV 24,400m³
Client: documenta Stadt Kassel
Architect: kadawittfeldarchitektur
Cooperation: Holzer Kobler Architekturen (exhibition design) und Hürlimann Lepp (curatorial concept)
Completion: 2013-2015
Competition 2011, 2nd prize; VOF procedure 2012, 1st prize
Project Management: Oliver Venghaus Photographer Jan Bitter
