Alf Lechner Museum in Ingolstadt

With simple means, the architects have converted a run-down inner-city industrial building dating from the 1950s into an elegant art gallery. The building was redesigned to present the work of the steel sculptor Alf Lechner. It contains exhibition areas of 1,000 m2 on the ground floor and 800 m2 on the upper floor. The existing structure has been simply clad in aluminium on three faces. The north side, in contrast, was opened up, and a two-metre-deep steel-and-glass “showcase” structure was added, allowing views into the exhibition spaces. All internal fittings were removed. For cost reasons, the architect’s proposal to link the exhibition levels via a staircase in the glazed vestibule has not been implemented. The cladding, in silvery aluminium sandwich panels, is distinguished by its restrained details. The 250mm ventilated cavity to the rear accommodates the existing rainwater pipes that drain the north-light roof. The lines of the doors and gates are almost imperceptible in the aluminium skin; while the ventilation openings and office windows are concealed behind perforated aluminium sheeting. Nothing distracts from theclear lines of the building, which derives its distinctive form from the saw-tooth profile of the roof over the cubic volume. The roof was insulated and the covering and north-light glazing were renewed. An unusual system ofheating was chosen with pipes installed in the outer walls at plinth level to heat the solid construction. Surprisingly, there is no external insulation to the walls.