Collections and Research Centre of the Tyrolean State Museums
Architect: Franz&Sue
Location: Hall, Tyrol, Austria
Type: Cultural
Year: 2017
Photographs: Andreas Buchberger, Christian Flatscher
“We wanted the building to exude confidence and constancy and to feel like a fortress, secure and impregnable.”
Corinna Toell, project manager at Franz&Sue
Priceless collections
The following description is courtesy of the architects with edits. Human memory is short, as we all know, but here it is preserved. The foot (though not the rest) of a 3,000-year-old mummy, a million specimens of alpine butterflies, Gothic sculptures, prehistoric hand axes, string instruments by the legendary Tyrolean violinmaker Jakob Stainer – the list goes on. Millions of historic treasures from state museums in Tyrol with
an estimated value of over one billion euros are stored in the new Collections and Research Centre in Hall.
Reduced and hermetic
Like a gigantic safe the monolith on a square plan guards countless cultural treasures brought here from collections and storage facilities throughout the state. Against the powerful backdrop of the Alps a dark and
mysterious looking treasure chest protects and preserves Tyrol’s cultural memory.
“I particularly like how the building does not vie for attention with the mountain panorama even though it contains so much space under its roof.”
Laura Resenberg, head of the conservation workshops
Andreas Buchberger
Titel
The façade has the hermetic, unyielding look of a suit of armour; bulges in the shape of hand-axes protrude
here and there from its grey, fibreglass-reinforced concrete panels (FibreC). Only a few reduced openings
perforate this strong protective shell: the vehicle gate, ventilation louvres, the legally required windows of
the carpenters’ workshop, and the main entrance. When the double gate is opened outwards on workdays
its bright red inner faces are exposed to view.
“The atrium conjures up the atmosphere of a cloister. We found it quite appealing to have such a stark contrast between the inside and the outside.”
Christian Flatscher 
Andreas Buchberger 
Andreas Buchberger
Built like an onion
The spatial concept is clear and simple. Like the rings of an onion the different zones of the building are formed around its centre. The outermost zone offers 7,500 m2 of storage space; the next ring is a connecting circulation zone; and at the core, light-flooded workshops and studios for the ca. 35-strong team are grouped around an introverted green atrium. Research staff had expressed a wish for a contemplative space of this kind that would facilitate concentrated work.
“This is more than just a storage facility. Expertise is going to move in here. This is a sensational leap in quality!”
Wolfgang Meighörner, director of the Tyrolean State Museums
A place to store, research, conserve
Two of the building’s three floors are completely embedded in the ground, ensuring an optimum climate
of 19 degrees Celsius and 50 percent humidity in the storage area and eliminating the necessity for
complex climate-control technology. The side elevation shows how the building is cut into the sloping site.
Through airlocks, the circulation ring provides easy access to the items stored in the outer zone from all
offices, workshops, packing, unloading and conservation rooms as well as the photo studio and the carpenters’ workshop. ‘For us conservators the working conditions have greatly improved,’ says Laura Resenberg, head of the conservation workshops. ‘Now, you can simply go and take a quick look at an exhibit. The studios are located directly across from the relevant storage zones. Being able to move on one level with our carts without any obstacles makes everything so much easier.’
Researching, thinking, reflecting, discussing questions with other experts – all in one place, focused, undisturbed, with the respective object close at hand. Human memory is short and preserving it is a lot of
work, but it is certainly worth the effort.
Project Details
- Type of commission: EU-wide open competition
- Scope of commission: All planning services and site supervision
- Awards: Competition winner
- Client: Federal State of Tyrol, Department of Structural Engineering
- Location: Hall, Tyrol
- Design: 2014–2015
- Construction: 2015–2017
- Status: Completed
- Net usable floor area: 12.760 m²
- Gross floor area: 14.030 m²
- Building costs: € 23,9 million
- Team: Corinna Toell (PL), Joseph Suntinger, Arnim Dold, Wolfgang Fischer, Theresa Wauer, Susann Murtezani, Diana Nemeth, Eveline Leichtfried
Project Team
- Structural engineer: petz zt-gmbh
- Building physics: Schöberl & Pöll GmbH
- Thermal building simulation: Jung Ingenieure
- Building services: DI Dieter Schwaninger, HG Engineering
- Lighting design: Pokorny Lichtarchitektur
- Landscape planning: idealice Landschaftsarchitektur
- Fire safety planning: FSE Ruhrhofer Schweitzer GmbH
- Signage system: Lichtwitz Leinfellner visuelle Kultur KG
- Site supervision: Gelmini & Baumgartner GmbH
- Museum planning: Prevart GmbH
- Photography: Andreas Buchberger, Christian Flatscher
