With a consistently sustainable design and minimal, targeted interventions in the existing structure, ATELIER BRÜCKNER has won the Europe-wide tender for the architecture and exhibition design of the upcoming Museum Selma in Cologne-Kalk.

Museum Selma will be a unique cultural space that tells the history of Germany as a society shaped by migration. The project is an initiative of DOMiD (Documentation Center and Museum on Migration in Germany), founded by migrants in 1990. The museum will position migration as a driving force of societal development, creating a space where Germany as a country of migration becomes tangible. It will contribute to the transformation of the former industrial district and serve as a pioneering example for the sustainable reuse of industrial buildings and resource-conscious construction.

The museum will be built in the roughly 10,000-square-meter industrial hall 70 of the former KHD factory in Cologne-Kalk, constructed between 1913 and 1916. "This industrial building is a deliberate and well-chosen site for the topic of migration," says Michel Casertano, partner at ATELIER BRÜCKNER and lead architect for the competition. "After all, industrial labor and migration are closely linked in Germany." The site’s history also served as the starting point for the architectural concept. Museum Selma will tell many stories, but the building itself has an equally rich story to tell, which will remain visible and experienceable after its transformation. The design proposes additional modular timber structures while simultaneously highlighting the strengths of the original hall and incorporating its existing elements: the cross-section of Hall 70a becomes a central axis; crane tracks, doors, rails, and surface textures are preserved and integrated into the new design. The renovation will follow Cologne’s climate protection guidelines for non-municipal new construction projects. All planned materials, such as wood and polycarbonate, were selected according to Cradle-to-Cradle principles.

DOMiD’s collection includes over 150,000 contemporary testimonies of migration history, ranging from objects to photographs and documents. The exhibition will showcase a selection of these and focus on the history of migration in Germany since 1945. Participation and interaction will be core principles of the exhibition design.  
In addition to exhibition spaces, the museum will include offices, workshop rooms, storage facilities, event spaces, workshops, a café, cinema, and a library.
The name Selma exists across many languages and cultures, already making a statement for the plurality of voices the future museum aims to represent.

The construction of Museum Selma will be jointly funded by the German federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). The City of Cologne is providing the building and the site. The opening is planned for 2029, subject to external factors.
 

In cooperation with:
Werner Sobek AG: Structural design, technical building services, building physics and sustainability
Hahn Helten Architektur: Project planning PH 6-8 
Halfkann Kirchner: Fire protection
Licht Kunst Licht AG: Light planning
Medienprojekt P2: Media planning

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ATELIER BRÜCKNER is an internationally leading design studio and museum planner for cognitively challenging and emotionally ground-breaking visitor experiences. Founded 1997 in Stuttgart as an experimental studio for exhibition, scenography and architecture, ATELIER BRÜCKNER has become a renowned name over the last 28 years, now employing over 130 people, realizing over 220 international projects, which have been awarded 350 prizes.