DETAIL Prize 2012: Visitor Information Centre, Messel Pit

Nominated for DETAIL Prize 2012: Visitor Information Centre, Messel Pit, Messel, Germany
landau + kindelbacher architekten – innenarchitekten Gmbh

For the Visitor Information Centre of the fossil excavation site in Messel, which has been added to Unesco's World Heritage List, architects landau + kindelbacher architekten – innenarchitekten made intensive use of the location's variegated history. The stratification of the oil shale as the genius loci serves as the underlying graphical idea for the building's design. Like a slice of rock taken out of the earth, the building breaks loose from the existing angular support wall and, with its monolithic wall sections, is orientated towards the original pit – the actual highpoint of the site. This motion ends in a projecting viewing bridge. The building itself is exactly tailored to the exhibition, which has very specific requirements. As a result, the overall appearance of the respective exhibition rooms immediately generates an atmosphere appropriate to the topics explained there. The selected materials are intentionally simple and reserved so as not to obstruct the showing of different exhibits.

DETAIL Prize 2012: Online Reader Voting The main prize – the DETAIL Prize 2012 – will be picked by an internationally renowned jury, while the winner of the Reader Prize will be chosen by the readers themselves in an online voting procedure specially set up for this purpose. Choose your favourite project until September 20th! Further information on DETAIL Prize 2012