The existing complex of the museum, also the work of Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, is a grain mill reconstructed by them in 1999, built at the beginning of the 20th century. Its end is adjoined by the steel cylinders of the elevator, which appeared in the 1930s; now it will also turn into an exhibition space. According to the architects, material values were previously stored there, now it is the turn of the spiritual.
The desire to expand the museum's space was prompted by an increase in its collection: the collection of the Ströers spouses was added to the Grote collection (both are composed of works by leading German artists created after 1945). Also, new construction was one of the stages of preparation for the festive 2010 - when the entire Ruhr region will become the cultural capital of Europe (Essen won the competition for this title, but then it was decided to expand it to all 53 cities in the region).
The new building of the museum will consist of a rectangular glass block mounted on an elevator; the outlines of the new structure will resemble a giant hammer. On the ground floor of the complex, there will be a lobby connecting the new annex to the existing building, as well as a space for various social events. From there, with the help of elevators arranged in the "towers" of the elevator, visitors will go up to the exhibition halls: there will be 22 of them, 11 on each of the two new floors. The facade of the building will be double: in addition to the main one, made of metal panels, it will be “wrapped” from the outside in a transparent plastic film; a gap of 1 m will be formed between the two layers, helping to maintain a constant microclimate in the halls.
The construction is fully supported by the Duisburg authorities: another "iconic" building is very useful for the regeneration of the city harbor area, which has been running since 1991 according to the general plan of Norman Foster.
Work on the construction of the new building of the Küppersmühle Museum will begin in winter 2009 and will be completed by 2010.
