NRW State Archive, Duisburg
by Ortner & Ortner
A house-shaped tower with no windows rises from the roof of an ageing warehouse to create a new archive building for the state of North Rhine Westphalia, Germany, designed by Ortner & Ortner of Germany and Austria.
Under construction beside the harbour in Duisburg, the NRW State Archive will become the largest archive in Germany, with 92 miles (148 kilometres) of shelving contained behind its walls.
Ortner & Ortner designed a 76-metre tower to rise up from the centre of the old brick warehouse, which is a listed corn silo building constructed during the 1930s.
They’ve also added a snake-like extension that stretches out from the north-west facade, accommodating reading rooms, offices and storage facilities over six storeys.
“In architectural terms the addition blends with the existing building, but without weakening the independence of either,” say the architects.
Dark red brickwork contrasts with the brown bricks of the old building, plus the architects have infilled original windows to create a protective enclosure for housing the archive’s fragile contents.
The building is scheduled to complete in November.
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