The building has already been commissioned, but the official opening is scheduled for January 30, 2010: in the coming year Essen and another 53 cities and towns within the Ruhr region will receive the challenge title of the European Capital of Culture, and the Ruhr will be the first region to receive this honor: all of its “predecessors” were cities.
The large-scale renovation of the Folkwang Museum, considered the first European museum of modern art (founded in 1902), will be a key event in 2010. The collection of the museum includes paintings and graphic works by leading Western artists of the 19th and 21st centuries, a large photographic collection, and the German Poster Museum, which has more than 350,000 exhibits. For the successful display of the permanent exhibition and temporary exhibitions, as well as the safe and convenient storage and restoration of works, this cultural institution has long needed to expand the area. Until recently, it was housed in the main building built in the 1950s, replacing the original one, destroyed in World War II, and in the building of 1983, which it shared with the Museum of the Ruhr Region; during the reconstruction this building was demolished.
David Chipperfield erected 6 buildings and 4 courtyards with gardens and galleries in its place. This technique, as well as the general style, was borrowed by him from the old building of the museum, which opened in 1960: it has the status of a monument and is considered one of the best post-war museum buildings in Germany. The style of modernism of the mid-20th century, close to the individual "handwriting" of the architect, seemed to the customers, the Krupp Foundation, the most suitable for the new building: in the 2007 competition they preferred Chipperfield's version to the proposals of David Adjaye, Zaha Hadid, MVRDV bureau and SANAA.
Entering the museum via the open front staircase, the visitor enters the courtyard, which plays the role of a foyer: a bookstore, a cafe and a restaurant are open. All public and exhibition spaces of the new wing are located on the same, upper level, which made it possible to make extensive use of natural light through the glazed floors. The main hall, with an area of almost 1,500 m2, is intended for temporary exhibitions, while the rest will display post-1950 art, graphics, photography and posters. The Chipperfield building also houses a library with a reading room, an auditorium, storerooms and restoration workshops. Together with the nearby Institute of Art History, it forms a new urban planning unit.
