We use cookies to personalize and improve your experience on our site. Visit our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy to learn more. You can opt out of some cookies by adjusting your browser settings. More information on how to do this can be found in the cookie policy. By using our site, you agree to our use of cookies.

Neue Staatsgalerie

James Stirling, Michael Wilford & Partners, Stuttgart, 1984

 

Subscribe now to instantly view this image

Subscribe to the Architects’ Journal (AJ) for instant access to the AJ Buildings Library, an online database of nearly 2,000 exemplar buildings in photographs, plans, elevations and details.

Already a subscriber? Sign in

The colourful elements, such as the fat tube parapet handrails, counteract the possible appearance of a monumental stone quarry 

Richard Bryant and Alastair Hunter     Download Original

  • The colourful elements, such as the fat tube parapet handrails, counteract the possible appearance of a monumental stone quarry    
  • Ramp up to galleries as it emerges over the sculpture terraces    
  • Entrance to chamber theatre opens off arch which leads to entrance level terrace    
  • In its details, traditional elements are used in a modern way    
  • A jokey reference to the monument in ruins - but as Stirling points out, the only real stones are on the ground - all the rest are veneers of sandstone and travertine    
  • The juxtaposition of the stone and stucco walls contribute to the informal monumentally    
  • The administration block with its Corbusian overtures, is at back side of site    
  • Banner at entrance to complex from Konrad Adenauer Strasse    
  • The entrance hall    
  • Stair from gallery level down to spiral which leads to entrance hall    
  • The brightly coloured lift assembly and the sunburst ceiling lighting contribute to the informal    
  • Theatre foyer- steps lead to ramp    
  • Archways frame your view throughout your tour    
  • The central     
  • Gallery space    
  • Lantern over bookshop    
  • Vent on the east side recall Stirling    
  • Lecture theatre    
  • Spiral staircase connecting all three flors of the library. It is enclosed by perforated metal panelling    
  • Ramp from foyer to chamber theatre    
  • Ramp mounting towards drum next to entrance hall    
  • The building was featured in the December 1984 edition of the Architectural Review    
  • Site plan    
  • Entry level plan    
  • Upper level plan    
  • Long section    
  • Cross section of the drum    
  • Elevation    
  • Model of Staatsgalerie in its setting, the old gallery to the top left, the theatre wing towards bottom right    
  • Early sketches for Staatsgalerie studying the basic pieces and possible combinations    
  • Precedent - Karl F. Schinkel    
  • Stirling    
  • Design sketch for big window at back of theatre- ticks indicate that Stirling has approved an assistant    
  • Conceptual development of the central drum    
  • Details of windows under ramp    
  • Setting out drawing of serpentine glazing at lobby entrance    
  • Setting out of windows under ramp in drum    

Sandstone and steel Post-modern art museum in central Stuttgart

The building is a response to the difficult topographical and contextual conditions faced on the Stuttgart site. It consists of 'shelves' of accommodation stepping up the site and overlapping in section.

The ground floor is occupied by a car park, with a first-floor terrace leading to the entrance foyer, from which a staircase leads to galleries on the floor above. These take the form of a U-shaped block in the centre of which is a large open-air rotunda acting as a sculpture court.

The central circular atrium, which houses the sculpture garden, is circumvented by a public footpath that leads pedestrians through the lot, turning the area into an 'architectural landscape'. This feature allows the public to reach the higher elevation behind the museum from the lower front of the building's main face.

The building incorporates warm, natural elements of travertine and sandstone to contrast the industrial pieces of green steel framing system and the bright pink and blue steel handrails.

Data

  • Completed: 1984
  • Sector: Arts and culture
  • Address: Neue Staatsgalerie, KunstVermittlung, Stuttgart, 70038, Germany

Professional Team