The Kolumba Museum in Cologne, Germany is built on the ruins of the Gothic Church of St. Columba & houses the Roman Catholic Archdiocese’s collection of art, which spans more than a thousand years. The architect, Peter Zumthor, has designed the museum to respect the uniquely layered history of the site & reflect the essence of the art on display.
”They [the Archdiocese] believe in the inner values of art, its ability to make us think and feel, its spiritual values. This project emerged from the inside out, and from the place,” Zumthor explained at the museum’s opening.
Zumthor, universally revered for his attention to detail, searched quite a while to find the perfect material for the museum & the light grey bricks he used were specifically developed for this project. Handcrafted by Petersen Tegl of Denmark, the were fired with charcoal to give them a warm hue.
There are no windows, apart from the perforations lining the top, which allow diffused light into the museum. A zig-zagging pathway guides you through the archaeological excavations, between slim concrete columns pinning up the ceiling. As you stand in the room with all its layers of history exposed, protected by the outer walls, there is a feeling of serene calmness and odd timelessness.
”They [the Archdiocese] believe in the inner values of art, its ability to make us think and feel, its spiritual values. This project emerged from the inside out, and from the place,” Zumthor explained at the museum’s opening.
Zumthor, universally revered for his attention to detail, searched quite a while to find the perfect material for the museum & the light grey bricks he used were specifically developed for this project. Handcrafted by Petersen Tegl of Denmark, the were fired with charcoal to give them a warm hue.
There are no windows, apart from the perforations lining the top, which allow diffused light into the museum. A zig-zagging pathway guides you through the archaeological excavations, between slim concrete columns pinning up the ceiling. As you stand in the room with all its layers of history exposed, protected by the outer walls, there is a feeling of serene calmness and odd timelessness.