Marbach Museum of Modern Literature, Germany (2007)
Following reunification, texts by German authors previously dispersed to east and west were brought together in this new museum. The entrance sequence is brilliant. The visitor crosses an open terrace overlooking the valley, then negotiates a series of shallow steps to enter through giant hardwood doors. It is at the moment of descent that the building shows its pedigree – a sense of progression to somewhere beyond, combined with a rich but selective palette of materials, illuminated with subdued top lighting. In the permanent collection space glass cases containing original manuscripts form a magical flickering landscape.
There were many things to praise about this building – the architect’s control and discrimination in the choice of materials has by now become a
signature – but above all it is in the handling of the ‘difficult whole’ that the building excels. This is a building that is simultaneously rich and restrained, a trick that Chipperfield pulls off as well as any architect working today.
To create an environment that would draw people to look at books and manuscripts that they cannot read more than a page or two of (except by arrangement) was a tough brief. Chipperfield responded by making a building that itself made up half of the visitor experience; it is if not a temple then a shrine to the soul of a literate nation.
David Chipperfield Architects
