Staab Architekten

A new building for events, temporary exhibitions, and a library extends the Jewish Museum in Frankfurt. It also forms the new main entrance to the museum and is located in the former garden of the listed Rothschild Palais, which previously housed the museum. The freestanding volume is the visible address of the museum. It preserves the typology of the Mainufer Palais and forms an entrance courtyard with the existing buildings that opens up to the embankments. The old buildings are connected by staggering the courtyard area, which simultaneously takes into account the museum’s security regulations. The public forecourt is separated by a sunken intermediate zone from the higher café terrace, which covers the foyer leading from the new building to the old building. The interior spatial impression of the new building is defined by an atrium, from which all the museum's offerings are accessible. Library, cafe, and workshops are organized on mezzanine floors around the atrium, a broad stair leads visitors to the exhibition spaces in the basement and older buildings. The listed buildings were renovated, freed of built-in components, and connected into a barrier-free, clearly structured exhibition space.