Bergbau Museum Bochum
The Deutsches Bergbau-Museum (German Mining Museum) lies in the heart of the Ruhr Area, in the city of Bochum. The museum is one of the most important mining museums, and one of the most popular museums in Germany. To accommodate the growing number of visitors, the 12.000 square metres of exhibition space needed to be expanded.
Saint Barbara: Guardian saint of the miners
The new building, a 1.795-square-metre extension, is linked to the original structure by bridges. The extension houses temporary exhibits (and research presentations) and the existing permanent collection devoted to Saint Barbara, the most important guardian saint of miners. The new building reflects a cross-section of a mine: a solid, dark, black cube with illuminated passages and mine shafts.
Illuminated passages
Coal inspired the rough, black surface of the facade. The colour of the passageways ranges from white to light orange and deep red. The building looks like it was extracted straight from a mine. A clearly marked route from inside to outside avoids any dead ends.
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